The first day at a new school is tough for any kid, but it’s especially scary when you’re going to a school for spies. Cammie Morgan has spent her whole life dreaming of becoming a Gallagher Girl, but she has no idea what she’ll face when she arrives at The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Secret passages? Check. Lab experiments that might make you lose your eyebrows (and other body parts)? Check. Classmates who are the smartest, strongest, most intimidating girls in the world? Double check.

Cammie might be a Gallagher legacy, but she’s about to learn that the most intimidating part about the Gallagher Academy are the Gallagher Girls themselves. Soon Cammie and her clumsy-but-genius roommate Liz, and the glamorous Bex have to learn the most important lesson of the seventh grade: getting into spy school is hard. Surviving spy school is harder.

First of all, let me just say that I don’t usually listen to audiobooks, but since this is only available through audible, I had to listen to it. Thankfully, the narrator is great and she makes distinct voices for each character so that you know who’s talking before it’s even said in the narration. 

So if you’ve read the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter, you know that the books follow Cammie Morgan and her friends as they attend an all-girls spy school. This prequel takes us back to when the girls first start at the school in seventh grade, where they’re the newbies and have no idea what lies in store for them. It also shows us how the girls met each other and that, even though some girls are spy legacies, they still feel insecure as to whether or not they’ll live up to their expectations.

Cammie isn’t feeling as good of a spy-in-training as the other girls in her class (mainly the British recruit, Bex) and the upper classes because even though she’s the headmistress’s daughter, she’s invisible. Though, in the spy world, that might not be such a bad thing. In fact, it’s her invisibility that allows her to learn more about the school and its students without getting caught.

Between the secret passages and classes, Cammie finds that spy school is nothing like she expected, in both good and bad ways. On one hand, there’s so many cool things to learn in class and in the school itself, but on the other hand, just because they’re at spy school doesn’t mean there aren’t any mean girls around who think they’re better than others. Cammie is put to the test as a spy and friend when one girl, Tina Walters, makes some off-hand, yet bullying, comments toward one of their classmates.

The main point of this review is that if you’re a Gallagher Girls fan and haven’t listened to this prequel, you definitely should. It’s cute, and while I wish it was a little longer, it gives a perfect insight to the beginnings of Cammie and her friends’ journey to becoming spy-school legends.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars