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Gallagher Girls #0.5

The Spies That Bind

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Listening Length: 2 hours and 55 minutes

An original novella and prequel to Ally Carter's New York Times best-selling Gallagher Girls series, exclusively on Audible.

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.

Ally Carter is the author of many beloved series, including Heist Society and the Embassy Row novels, and Not If I Save You First.

3 pages, Audible Audio

First published June 25, 2018

61 people are currently reading
3863 people want to read

About the author

Ally Carter

47 books18.2k followers
Ally Carter writes books about sneaky people and movies about Christmas. She is the New York Times Best-selling author of the Gallagher Girls, Heist Society, and Embassy Row series for teens as well as WINTERBORNE HOME FOR VENGEANCE AND VALOR for younger readers. Her books have been published all over the world, in over twenty languages.

She encourages you to visit her online at allycarter.com and embassyrowbooks.com.

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5 stars
754 (22%)
4 stars
1,238 (36%)
3 stars
1,096 (32%)
2 stars
230 (6%)
1 star
39 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 505 reviews
Profile Image for Jenny Baker.
1,490 reviews239 followers
May 20, 2019
This was one of my free monthly Audible Original audiobooks. It’s my first experience with Ally Carter’s novels and it was cute, but I doubt I’ll continue the series.
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,212 reviews2,339 followers
November 26, 2019
The Spies that Bind by Alley Carter and narrated by Rebecca Soler is a short prequel with hand picked 7th graders going to a special school to train to be spies! It's a girl's school and this story revolves around the first week. Lots of great characters, interesting world building, and girl bonding. I think I might follow this series, it is so clever and delightful at the same time.
Narration was excellent.
Profile Image for Ian.
1,431 reviews183 followers
February 9, 2019
Well, this was just great fun!
A young adult adventure with secret passages and spy gadgets set at a girls school that trains spies.
Very much a book for young readers but still quite a hoot.
Profile Image for Mahlon.
315 reviews174 followers
January 8, 2019
I’m not sure whether I will continue with the series after reading this Audible original, it maybe too YA for me but if you like spy stories or stories about female empowerment you may enjoy this series. The characters are really well written, it was a fun way to kick off my 2019 reading Challenge
Profile Image for Kimmm.
714 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2019
I picked this as one of my free audible originals. I had never seen the author or knew of the series. I just picked it because of the synopsis and i had so much fun !! I really liked this naroraters voice. Don't expect anything fancy, its just a story about a 12 year old girl and her first week in spy school. I enjoyed it so much that i probably will pick up the next book when i feel that i need a pick me up !
Profile Image for Alaina.
7,344 reviews203 followers
January 21, 2019
I'm not one hundred percent positive.. but I doubt I've even read a book from this series. If I have, I apologize because I don't remember a thing. Oops? Maybe I need to dive into this series because this novella was short, sweet, and kind of got me hooked.

In The Spies That Bind you will meet Cammie Morgan. It's about her going to school and how it may or may not have been what she was dreaming about. Cammie was adorable. I loved how she was so excited and scared about this school. Then there's the fact that keeping your friends close but other spies closer. Wait, is that even a saying? Either way, I like it.

Cammie, Liz, and Bex were extremely likable and I can't wait to read more about their friendship. Overall, I totally looked up to see if I read a book from this series and I haven't! I'm in the clear guys but now I found a new series to dive into.

WOOHOO!
Profile Image for Melissa.
2,542 reviews267 followers
January 28, 2019
This is a short story about the very start of the Gallagher girls, I loved this whole series and this was a fun book to start it out. I think this took a little long in coming. I read this series years and years ago and I think I would have been more invested had this came out years ago. I was a little worried this was going no where but pulled out a fun ending with a purpose.
Listened to it on Audible and it was great.
Profile Image for Lauren.
1,345 reviews366 followers
February 14, 2019
This was a cute romp back into the Gallagher Academy! It's a prequel to the GG series and introduces how the girls come to meet in their first week at school. It gave me some good nostalgic feels for this series, which is one way of saying how young it feels compared to how old I currently am! haha. If you read the series and are curious about this, give it a go!
Profile Image for Kitty Thomas.
Author 56 books4,957 followers
March 20, 2025
Okay I HIGHLY recommend this! I can't rec this enough! So I've read and enjoyed Ally Carter's adult spy romcom books. So I decided to check out her YA. This is a prequel to her Gallagher Girls series. The main series starts with the heroine at about 15 or 16, but this prequel she's 12 and going to a spy school for girls for the first time. I did NOT expect to be this sucked in! So now I have to listen to the whole series!
Profile Image for Vicki.
2,709 reviews112 followers
January 12, 2019
I absolutely loved this prequel to the Gallagher Girls series. I had read book one in 2014 and to be honest I didn't care for it. I only gave it 2 stars. So I wasn't real happy when I got this and then realized it was part of a series that I only had read book 1. But this audiobook was absolutely so fun to listen to and it brought Cammie Morgan's character to life. The reader is who truly made this read so fun, and I'm going to give the series another try now.

The story opens with an introduction to The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a spy school for young girls. Or, as Cammie called it, a sisterhood. Set in 1872 Virginia, the school built of limestone walls and the most beautiful stain glass windows Cammie had ever seen, was home to young female spy wannabees. Liz, Bex, and Cammie are just so fun to follow throughout their first week in the academy, which is the period of time this book covers.





Profile Image for Dr. Andy.
2,537 reviews256 followers
January 21, 2019
Read this just for the heck of it!

This was a short story about Cammy's first day at Gallagher Academy and how she bonded with her roommates Bex and Liz throughout their orientation. This book definitely gave me the nostalgic feels. I loved Gallagher Girls when I read the original series. I loved seeing the "origin story" of Cammie's nickname too.

All in all, this was a cute, short and entertaining read that is tempting me to read the rest of the series again!
Profile Image for Aly.
3,181 reviews
January 22, 2019
This was a cute short story. I haven't read the rest of the series, but this makes me want to! I love the girl power and an all girls secret spy school is awesome. The girls were cute as little seventh graders and I liked seeing their friendship form.
Profile Image for Rissa.
1,583 reviews44 followers
February 2, 2019
Oh my gosh this was adorable and brought back nostalgic feelings of my childhood. If you liked this series this is a must!
Profile Image for Bianca.
Author 1 book108 followers
April 11, 2021
So happy I managed to get access to this one! Really cute intro to this series that I love so much!
Profile Image for Ethereal Amorist.
467 reviews2 followers
August 25, 2024
4.75⭐

Listening to this audiobook I realised how similar Ally Carter's and Meg Cabot's writing style are for their respective characters Cammie and Mia.

It was a very enjoyable and dramatic begin to the Gallagher Girls series. I'm glad I could finally listen to this. It was amazing to know Cammie's friendship with Liz and Bex actually began.

I was, however, confused with the ending because it did not make sense to me at the time. It has been years since I read it series, so I did not really understand what happened in the end. My sister had to explain it to me to make me clear.

Also, I found some parts to kinda unbelievable -

Other than that, it was a lovely novella showing the start of Cammie's spy journey.
1 review
February 7, 2019
I listened to this via audible, and I would rate that version one star based on the voice acting.

I know this is a book for a younger audience, but a lot of books are, and they're not all this bad. I recall a chapter where they mentioned bombs and wall climbing. And they continued to throw those things back at me like I shouldn't believe them. This is a book about spies. Even most children who read this will know about spies and the things involved in their line of work, so to try to force how incredulous I should be is just bad writing.
Profile Image for Andie.
1,041 reviews9 followers
January 16, 2019
This was a free Audible book and is YA Harry Potter fan fiction about young girls at a school for spies and appears to set up the beginning of a series. Nothing fancy here, but middle school girls should like the adventure of learning to be spies, as well as recognize the obligatory mean girl characters who appear in the plot. This seems to be an empowering series of stories for young girls.
Profile Image for Helena.
577 reviews9 followers
January 13, 2021
More like a 2.5 stars! I picked this one up because it was included in my audible membership and i want to start the series. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either!
I hope the other books are better...
Profile Image for korrinamoe.
129 reviews
October 26, 2023
Cute, quick prequel to the GG series. I’m rating this from 12 year old me’s POV, and I would’ve liked this. It’s perfect for 10-12 year olds who might need a reminder that everyone belongs, and that you can find friendship in people you might’ve judged too quickly.
214 reviews
December 16, 2024
audible phase of 2020 omg

i liked this and really wanted the series, but i rem being scared to ask my parents coz the first book says 'i'll tell you i LOVE you, but then i'd have to KILL you'
and those are dangerous words for a child in a desi fam to utter
welp
Profile Image for Maggie.
146 reviews28 followers
April 22, 2019
Short but wonderful listen - I hope this leads to more GG novellas/stories in the future! I miss these characters dearly.
Profile Image for S.A. Krishnan.
Author 31 books231 followers
April 18, 2024
Delightful story
Cam enters the Gallagher Academy when she is twelve and she knows all her life that she has to be there. But on coming here and with her father being dead, and Bex and Liz, being there and her mother as the new headmistress of the Gallagher Academy, things take a different turn. Lovely enjoyable story. I heard the audio story and it was performed very well.
Profile Image for Laura LJ.
196 reviews23 followers
June 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

am so glad I saw the prequel on audible. I had just bought the entire series in books and I have not started them so when I saw the prequel and it was free I just listened and absolutely loved it!!! I feel this is going to be an amazing series and am anxious to start reading them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 505 reviews

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