Not If I Save You First 
by Ally Carter
Publisher – Orchard Books
Release Date – March 27th 2018
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository

Dear Logan,Someday I’m going to write a book: How Not to Die in Alaska – A Girl’s Guide to Fashionable Survival.

I bet you don’t know that a hair pin can make an excellent fishing hook. You may think you can use just any kind of mud for mud masks, but trust me, you CAN’T! In a pinch, nothing starts a fire like nail polish remover. Alaska is tough. You might know this, if you ever replied to my letters.

After Maddie’s Secret Service dad takes a bullet for the president, he takes Maddie somewhere he thinks they’ll be safe – far away from the White House and the president’s son, Logan.

But when Logan comes to Alaska, so does the danger.

If there’s one thing Alaska has taught Maddie, it’s how to survive. And now her best friend’s life depends on it …

This book took me back – Ally Carter was the highlight of my teen years with The Gallagher Girls series and then All Fall Down a good few years later. Carter likes a good mystery and/or conspiracy especially within the the famous White House, and it doesn’t disappoint in her latest conquest.

Her latest novels takes of the shape from a dual perspective, the President’s son and his best friend; Logan and Maddie. They are inseparable, always finding new tunnels or secrets doors to explore, whilst running rings around their security. That’s just what you do when you live in the White House. Maddie’s dad is the President’s secret detail, the guy that will stop a bullet and protect the the most sort out family in the United States. That’s exactly what happens, the Russian’s nearly kidnap the First Lady and her dad gets shot, to protect him, his family Maddie had to move away, to furthest, most secluded place in the world, Alaska. Logan and Maddie were inseparable, now they’ve been apart for 6 years, until Logan comes to stay, to stay out of trouble, trouble soon finds them once again.

If you want a book full of girl power, you’ve come to the right place. You can’t get anymore than that. Maddie is the epitome of badassary, girl power, flare, feisty and she is not afraid of being more than just a teenage girl. She’s had to become strong, a survivor of the fittest, she has learnt the hard way by growing and shying away from the 10 year old girl raised in DC that she used to be. Alaska isn’t for the faint of heart, it’s hard, it’s cold, it’s rough, full of predators both animals and humans and totally devoid of all technology. It’s only the letters that she sends to Logan that even have some semblance of the life she used to have.

What I loved behind all of Carter’s books is the premise of friendship and danger all-in-one. Logan and Maddie had something special once, but one day destroyed all of that. Maddie wanted to hang on to it, Logan dismissed it, he felt that he didn’t deserve to have a friend when it was his family that sent her away. Logan was a tricky character for me to like, he’d changed so much and then when they finally found each other again, Logan and Maddie whilst a tense beginning seem to unravel and find a mutual ground where they both knew each other but also getting to know each other once again.

Ally always knows a way to a girls/readers heart, her characters and stories are always fashionable, relatable, funny and for me a breath of fresh air. It’s one of those books that is just a guilty please reliving my teen years all over again. 📚

Rating – 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to Orchard Books for providing a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.