Nostalgia Friday: Gallagher Girls (Books)

Do you need a young girl's coming of age story with a strong sisterhood and spies? Gallagher Girls is one of my all time favorites series of books. I read the first few when I was in middle school and then reread the entire thing when I was in college. What starts off as just some run of the mill YA series about a girl liking a guy, and something keeping them, apart quickly turns into an international terrorist organization take down. 

Really though the bulk of the books aren't about a girl obsessing over a guy, most of it is a girl trying to figure out what kind of person she wants to be, and who she already is. Cammie, our lovely main character, was born into the spy business and has been attending her picturesque spy academy, Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, since she was 12. All she knows is how to be a spy, and it quickly becomes one of those "I don't want to be special, I want to be normal" kind of things. With the help of her freaking amazing friends and a bit of a push from (again) an international terrorist organization, Cammie realizes exactly who she is. 

I love everything about these books. The writing perfectly captures the voice of a precocious teen, the female friendships, and a defining characteristic; everyone is a badass in their own way, and honestly, it gives me a little taste of all the spy games I played as a kid. 
Because of these books, I finally started going to Krav Maga, and I started teaching myself Spanish. They make me want to be a badass. I think that there are so many people who need these books in their lives. Even if they aren't in middle school anymore.