[All Fall Down] Ally Carter

     Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:

1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.

***THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE***

Genre: Suspense, YA, Mystery

Author: Ally Carter

Content: Things get the tiniest bit violent at a few points.

Recommended for: Anyone who wants to have their soul brutally ripped apart, pureed, and then served back to them on a spoon.

Kidding.

(Mostly).

Fans of Ally Carter (le duh), suspense, fast pacing, geeky sidekicks and international intrigue. 

Memory: "I stare back and then something occurs to him. "Oh, you need me to turn around? Here. I'll turn around.""

Rating: Five. Freaking. Stars. 

     Overall:

     I am a big Ally Carter fan. I have been for almost three years now. She's one of those authors that I trust will always give me a good story. I don't have to spend time deciding if I want to buy her book when it comes out or not because it's been preordered since the option was available.

    So, going into this, I knew I would love it. 

    I just didn't know that I would love it this much. 

     Gosh, I don't even know where to start with this. There's so much I love about this book, honestly. I love love love the setting - Embassy Row is so fun to read about. I also love the way that Ally sets up the plot - I won't go into great detail because SPOILERS, but it's...

      Well.

       Remember what I said about plot twists galore? 

       They're in here. Trust me. 

        GAAAH. I really don't even know how to describe this book without spoiling the entire thing or being too vague. D: You know what? I'm going to be lazy and make a list. Because reasons. 

• GRACE. I love Grace. I love how it feels being in the mind of someone who cannot even trust herself - it makes you think twice about everything that you're told. 
• The fact that real-world relations between countries affects relationships between the Embassy Kids (does that sound like a band? I think it sounds like a band.) Particularly the Noah/Iran situation, and the whole relationship between Alexei and Grace. 
• The mystery. It was impossible to follow, but in a good way. The moment I started to feel like I knew where things were going, Ally gave out a new bit of information that completely changed everything I knew. And the end is explosive. Did not see that coming. 

     Speaking of the ending...you wanna know where, exactly, I finished this book?

     In Rooms-To-Go. 

     While one of the employees was helping my mom. 

     Just picture this, okay? I'm sitting on a couch (because why not), reading, blah blah blah...and then I'm maybe five pages from the end. I lower the book in horror. I squeak. I'm pretty sure I grow pale. I pull the book closer and read the last few pages and then just kind of...flop. 

     My grandma asks, "What's wrong? What happened to her?"

     Ally Carter, Grandma. Ally Carter happened. 

Characters:

     Obviously I am a sucker for characters. It's usually my favorite part of a book. 

     This is no exception. 

     And I'm resorting to lists again. Oops?

• Grace. Grace. GRACE. Grace is mean at times, maybe crazy, slow to trust, and a wreck, and she's one of the best protagonists I've ever read. Because on top of all of those other things, she's loyal, and she really does care, and she's heartbreaking. 
• N O AH . Easily one of my favorite parts of the book! Noah is a dork, really. He's part Israeli and part Brazilian, a footballer, and just an all around cool guy. The quote in the Memory section is actually from him - and it was the exact moment I realized he'd become a favorite. 
• Megan: I have mixed feelings about you, Megan. You kick butt. You are pretty darn cool. But I'm also, somehow, not sure you can be trusted? Hmm. 
• Rosie. AKA the most adorable 12-year-old girl to grace (ha. Grace.) YA history. Really, though. The first thing you hear her say is that she was going to be a gymnast but now she's too big, and that she likes to take tours of the Roman tunnels beneath the city. 
• Alexeiiiiiiii. You're a darling. And I eventually am going to need you and Grace together, 'kay? My ship must sail. I think, somehow, we're going to get a lot of his backstory - something probably very sad that will make everyone collectively aaaawwww and D: at the same time - next book. 
• Ms. Chancellor. This lady, okay? Imagine a combination of a female version of Uncle Eddie from Heist Society and Aunt Abby from Gallagher Girls, with a bit of Julie Andrews in The Princess Diaries thrown in. Then you have an almost-complete picture of Ms. Chancellor. Imagine. The. Sheer. Awesome. 

     TL;DR: I love this book. Please go buy a copy and read it and sob and laugh and fall in love with it.

      I need book 2.