Review: Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter.

Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter.
Page count: 294
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: March 13th, 2012
Book: Hardcover
Who I'd Recommend It To: Fans of the previous Gallagher Girls books.
Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home. 

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

Review:

Dear Ally Carter, 
You are now on my list of "Authors who I am convinced are trying to kill me one book at a time". (See also: Cassandra Clare, John Green, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins.) Try not to hurt my babies too much in the next book, OK?

Love, me.

Out of Sight, Out of Time is the fifth installment in the Gallagher Girls series. Now I'm sure people have read those books where the first was really great, but everything after that gradually gets worse and worse? Yeah. I've read my fair share of those. But I can assure you now that this is NOT ONE OF THEM. As this series has gone along, it has just gotten better and better -- not to mention more heartbreaking and shocking and totally bad ass.

Remember book one? It was light and fluffy and totally cute. The biggest thing Cammie and the gang had to worry about was boys, really. But the stakes are definitely high in this book. It's constant action and suspense and it's absolutely terrifying at times.  And oh, wow, did it ruin me. It was an emotional rollercoaster. This was like a Cassandra Clare  type of rollercoaster, and if you've read her books, you know what I'm on about. The stuff that everyone goes through in this book -- especially Cammie -- is truly heartbreaking.

From the first page, this book pulls you in and never lets you go. You want to know what happens next. The writing style is excellent, as always. And the plot is absolutely fantastic. It's unpredictable and you never see anything coming. It's also really fast paced, but not so fast that you like "Wait, what just happened?"

All the lovable characters from the previous books are in this one -- Liz, Bex, Macey, Zach, Mr Solomon, Agent Townsend, Aunt Abby, etc. I really love how each character, even the supporting ones, stands out. In Ally Carter's books, there's no boring and undeveloped characters. Her characters are layered and flawed and are totally kick ass. Cammie and her friends develop a whole lot more in this book than in the previous ones. You see a different side to everyone. I loved Cammie and the gang as always, but missed their usual shenanigans, as everything in this book was more serious. I also really loved Zach. (Excuse me while I fan myself.) He also showed a different side to him and I really loved his and Cammie's relationship in this one. They've come a long way since book 2. Annnnd, thankfully, they weren't one of those annoying couples who make out in the most inappropriate times. You always get those couples who are running for their lives or something, and seem to think that's when they should profess their undying love for each other and then go make out against a wall.  Cammie and Zach  get that there are bigger things to worry about than their relationship.

In short, this book was undoubtedly amazing. I'm convinced Ally Carter is some sort of genius. The writing style is great, the plot is action-packed and is fast-paced and the characterization is fantastic. Out of Sight, Out of Time is the best book in the Gallagher Girl series yet and will leave you an emotional wreck. Looking forward to the next (and hopefully not the last!!!) installment to the series.