ALA Booklist (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

After a childhood spent assisting her father, one of the world's most talented art thieves, Katarina Bishop tries to leave the family business behind when she forges her way into a New England boarding school. She quickly discovers, though, that her past is inescapable. Her father has been accused of stealing already stolen masterpieces from a dangerous Italian billionaire. Certain that her father is innocent, Kat resolves to find the missing paintings and return them to their unsavory owner, who has given her a two-week deadline. Carter, the author of the Gallagher Girls series, skillfully maintains suspense as Kat assembles a team of teen accomplices, travels across Europe, and plots an impossible art heist to save her dad. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, cinema-ready adventure, and the details of thieving tools and techniques, lavish settings, and cast of eccentric characters, including possible spies and love interests, all add texture and depth to the action. Readers will hope for a sequel to answer the book's central mystery: if Kat's father isn't guilty, then who is?

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The daughter of notorious thieves, Kat Bishop has enrolled in the exclusive Colgan School to escape the family business and try to live a normal life. But when she is kicked out, Kat has to return to her roots. She is informed that five priceless paintings have been taken from the powerful mobster Arturo Taccone, and that her father is Taccone's only suspect. It is up to Kat to return the paintings before Taccone takes matters into his own hands. Kat embarks on a daring, dangerous heist, immersing herself in the world of art, money, and extreme power. With the help of her friend (and crush), Hale, and a band of teenage coconspirators, Kat crisscrosses the globe to locate Taccone's paintings. Carter takes on large themes—family, friendship, loyalty, and good versus evil—and effectively gives readers light lessons in geography and art, as well as thought-provoking commentary on artwork stolen during the Holocaust. With a smart and stealthy heroine who should appeal to Gallagher Girls fans, Carter's story is fast-paced and popcorn-ready. Readers will likely look forward to Kat's next adventure. Ages 11–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

School Library Journal (Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gr 6-10 Tired of her lifelong involvement in her family's illicit dealings, teenager Katarina Bishop enrolls herself in a prestigious boarding school. Then after a mere three months there, 16-year-old billionaire Hale arranges for her to get kicked out. He informs her that five paintings have been stolen from the menacing Arturo Taccone and that her father is the prime suspect. Determined to save him by locating the real thief and stealing the paintings back, Kat gathers a crack team of larcenous teens for the heist to be pulled off before the two-week deadline. However, her resolve falters when she learns that the paintings are Nazi war spoils. She negotiates complicated relationships in an action-packed plot, and the unknown identity of the thief suggests a sequel. This irresistible light-fingered fairy tale is elevated by glamour and mystery. Carter's style is conversational, smooth, and clever, exposing Kat's wry humor and her steely determination. Amid themes of family loyalty and identity, the protagonist comes to understand herself, her beliefs, and her place in her family. Daring, delicious, but filled with a sense of purpose, Heist Society mixes classic elements of the adolescent bildungsroman into a high-stakes escapade. Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT

Voice of Youth Advocates

Kat Bishop wants to give up her life of crime, which began at age five when she assisted her father in a heist. She gets herself admitted to the exclusive Colgan School seeking anonymity only to get framed for hoisting the headmasterÆs 1958 vintage Porche on top of the fountain in the quad. Few people could pull off such a stunt, but fifteen-year-old Haleùalso a thiefùis one. When Kat is expelled from Colgan, Hale meets her in a long, black limousine with a proposition for her. She must steal back some paintings that her father allegedly lifted from gangster Arturo Taccone if she wants her father to remain among the living. Kat flies from New York to Paris to confront her father who has a steadfast alibiùhe was in the midst of another heist at the time. Taccone refuses to believe this defense, however, so Kat recruits five teenagers amongst family and friends to pull the bravest heist ever. If one can suspend belief, this novel is enjoyable. The characters are funny, and the action is nonstop. The fifteen-year-old protagonists will appeal to teensùthe light-fingered team hops planes like adults drive cars. KatÆs teen angst about her looks when comparing herself to her peer jet-setting cousin Gabrielle and her feelings for Hale come through loud and clear. Although the protagonists are male and female, this novel will primarily draw in girls, as do CarterÆs other books. It will have a ready readership.ùEd Goldberg.