#rereading LYKY

[gildengirl]

"Tina Walters swears there's a top secret boy's school somewhere in Maine, and every year she petitions my mom to let us take a field trip."

Seriously, who are Tina Walter's sources?

[averagejoesolomon]

So, I've been completing a Gallagher Girl reread recently. I'm currently rereading CMH. As is often the case with rereading, I've come across a question, so I'm bringing it here.

Why do you think that Rachel kept that photo of Joe/Matt under her desk? How long had it been there?

Grief is a funny thing, friend. For one, Cam doesn't know about Joe, and maybe Rachel wants to keep it that way—at least until she brings Joe in to teach Cam, and all bets are off. At that point, Rachel may want to prevent any questions about this new teacher who is maybe Not So New to the Morgan family. But also! I get the sense that Matt's death was very public in the clandestine world. In LYKY, everyone tells Cam that they knew her father, that he was a good man, that they're sorry for her loss. It's a handy little narrative element for that book's plot, but it also presents the possibility that Rachel never gets to handle her grief in private. At first, she was looking for Matt. Then the whole agency was looking for Matt. Then Matt was declared MIA. The whole thing just lacks closure all around. So maybe Rachel keeps this picture close because it's the only part of Matt she gets to keep to herself. A picture from the days when she, Matt, and Joe were still together, before they knew what tragedy was to come. There's so much possibility! What do you think?

[blackchessknight]

I was rereading LYKY and in chapter 9 Cammie says she didn't want there to be a file with Josh's name on it in Langley. To which I laughed and said out: "Oh Cammie, what am I reading?". Because the books are mission reports.

And it hit me, that I'm reading the report. Meaning I have clearance. We're Gallagher Girls! We are spies. Because we have access to these reports! How cool is that?

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

We all love zammie here, but in what part of the book, what particular scene do you think is the part where you're like, "Yes, this two is meant for each other"?

This is a great question because I do remember being on board with Zach very quickly. At the end of LYKY I did not think Josh was coming back as Cammie's love interest again. They broke up and I believed that was it for them (I was also, like, in seventh grade lol). So, when Zach showed up in CMH I was like okay it's gonna be him. I didn't realize that until the boys showed up at Gallagher, I was with Cammie in the beginning thinking he was just a guy. I'm not sure how I knew that Josh was done and Zach was there to stay, but I definitely did.

That doesn't mean I thought they were meant for each other immediately. I wasn't shipping them I was just aware of the direction we were going in. Like when Zach held her hand in front of Josh I knew he was going for the quarter, but that's not what she thought about

Luckily, I'm rereading CMH right now so it's fresh in my mind. I think I started really liking them when he saw her after they saw Josh and DeeDee in town. When Cammie is about to duck into the passageway behind the tapestry and she tells Zach she's over it. He tells her she's not but that she will be. It's bold, definitely, and adds to the weird mosaic picture we're painting of Zach. For me he always showed he cared about her just enough that I never thought he was bad. So even though we get scenes like "you don't look hideous" we also get him being upset she blew off their date at the end.

And then there's the kiss of course.

[bishopsbelova]

When you think about fact that these books are set up to be Cammie's covert operations reports and there's a small - like the smallest tidbit of information in this first book that completely changed the course of her entire life, it really hits you 

[gildengirl]

Rereading LYKY, and I will never not tear up at the part where Cammie sees Rachel crying in her office on Matt's birthday. Never.

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

Alright, I finished rereading LYKY. Here are some of my thoughts:

Cammie mentions Buckingham has a cat that is at the school with them. The cats name is Onyx. For some reason when Cam makes up a pet cat later she makes up an entirely different cat even though using this one would be way less of a lie

Cammie really goes in on how late Joe is for him to only be five minutes late. Like I get it, they’re spies, but I feel like that was girl Cammie reacting not spy Cammie lol

They straight up take the aforementioned cat and rub it all over Cammie before her first date

Cammie is such a dork. All of the girls are so dorky. It’s very 15 of them and I love that

The PAIN of her blowing off her mom to go on that date with Josh when you know it’s her dads birthday and Rachel is putting on a brave face but is gonna be so sad later is just… *inhales**screams*

Cammie not telling Josh how her dad was dead (or missing as far as we knew at the time) so she didn’t have to be the girl without a father for a little while has the same energy as Zach not telling Cammie about his mom because he wanted someone who didn’t see Catherine when they looked at him. I just- the PARALLELS. They’re the same your honor. I can’t wait to see my boy in the next one

Also as someone who loves found family Cammie did not lie about having sisters Josh. She does.

[bishopsbelova]

Okay so I definitely don’t buy the fact that Liz refuses to go anywhere barefoot and yet that girl is from the south. 

[bishopsbelova]

So landlines work in the Gallagher Academy, but cell phones don’t? Is that what I’m supposed to be understanding here. 

[bishopsbelova]

It’s hilarious to me that the last name Cammie tells Josh is “Solomon” and that’s the last name of her future step father. 

[bishopsbelova]

“It’s true. Gallagher Girls don’t fight in the hallways. We don’t slap and we don’t shove. But mostly, we don’t use the skills of the sisterhood against the sister.” 

Well, unless your name is Catherine.

[averagejoesolomon]

You know, there was a period of time when I didn't like rereading LYKY, but Joe Solomon is honestly so funny, I don't know how I ever skipped over this one.

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

Thoughts while rereading CMH:

(Also me exposing myself as Zach/Zammie trash)

Every day I think about how my friend read this book and I was like “Keep on the look out for my favorite character!” Then after Zach’s first line of dialogue my friend was like “It’s him. You love him, don’t you? And he’s baby, and your son, and you want to protect him.” A call out.

The same level of dorky, teenage, awkwardness is here. Cammie is also soooo dramatic. I remember being on her side when I first read these but I still think she feels the way she does for a valid reason. High school and your problems during it literally feel like they’re going to last forever. Then you get out and you’re like that’s it? It’s just over?

At the same time Cammie thinking she’s “immune” to boys because she had Josh is so funny. No one has ever gotten under her skin like Zach has.

Part of the reason for this reread was for my fic about Joe trying to set up Cammie and Zach and scenes like the one where Zach and Joe are just blatantly looking at her and talking makes me want to write more after the events of LYKY. Which was not the plan but…

“I got news for you, Gallagher Girl, if you’re not enjoying this, you’re in the wrong business.” He’s right though. Somehow this phrase made it into my casual vocabulary before I got to this part in the book so my subconscious really retained this series over the years

Zach tells Cammie “they’re playing our song” when he asks her to dance and it’s just a silly throw away line he’s giving her and the song actually playing is never described but I’ve always like to imagine it’s whatever song played in the elevator. Not elevator music obvi but an instrumental version of an actual song

I think this is the first time it’s hit me how BAD it looks that Cammie ran away from the ball, while dancing with Zach, who then found her by a secret passageway. Yikes girl

But also… give me an AU where they did try and go to the party in Roseville. That would be so fun.

Zach lying about being with her and Tina believing him over Cammie makes my blood boil

That being said the way Cammie’s main friends, Bex, Liz, and Macey, support her while being 100% real and honest with her is very important. Hope nothing changes that later

The whole scene in the P&E barn is just *chefs kiss*. Zach wants to be her boyfriend so bad lol

Look I know Cammie thinks her dad went to Blackthorne because of the picture and her mom wearing her dads clothes reminded her of him. But goddamn girl you have it bad for this boy. Like imagine you’re Rachel watching Cam and Zach interact and then she asks if you met her father during the same exchange.

I forgot about him catching her coming out of the fireplace and her hitting her head. They’re so cute

Cammie’s confusion over Zach lying, teasing, insulting, and ignoring her while simultaneously being interested in her is justified and entirely too real.

It’s hilarious to me that both when I was 13 and now at 23 I’m sitting here like “Can we get over Josh please? Pursue Zach” 😂

“It would be okay if you liked him, you know.” That sound? Me screaming.

Their date moves so fast and it’s all over the place I’m getting whiplash PLEASE. I did like them joking around. I need that part to be longer.

The phrase “you organized a war party”

Zach being more upset and off put by her ditching him than the organizing of the war party.