I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, v. 1)

Ally Carter

2006. Hyperion. 288 pages.
Mystery/Romance.
Ages: 12 to 16

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it's a school for geniuses what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn't have a code name?

Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti), but the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she's doing something riskier than ever—she's falling in love.

Read Chapter 1 HERE.

This was a fast, fun read. I wanted to be a spy when I was Cammie's age and I would have loved reading a book like this back then. There is enough adventure to be entertaining and keep you on the edge of your seat at times, but it never dips down into the gore. The romance is sweet and light, some hand-holding and kissing but nothing I'd be embarrassed to have my mother or my daughters read.

The characters are great. Cammie and her friends are likeable, smart, totally believable and yet not always predictable. They are also not cookie-cutter girls. They come with very different backgrounds. strengths, weaknesses and personalities. I like the "girl power" message and how the Gallagher girls take credit for inventing everything from velcro to duct tape.

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

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Content Ratings

Language: One use of d***; they also refer to the "b-word". (They don't actually use that word, but call it the "b-word".)

Violence: There's a scene where Cammie thinks her friends have been captured and tortured. It's moderate intensity.

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Immorality: Hand-holding, very light kissing.

Values/Themes: Cammie sneaks out of school to see her boyfriend but she pays the consequences for it. She also learns that supporting her friends is more important than being popular.

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I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter.
Release Date: May 1, 2006. Hyperion. 288 pages. ISBN# 978-1423100034.
Paperback release: April 1, 2007. ISBN# 1-4231-0003-4.
Awards: 2007-2008 Texas Lone Star Reading Book List; 2007-2008 Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers; 2007 Amelia Bloomer List.


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