Book Review: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

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

by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea 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, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

Personal Fave Punch: “I looked around and thought, Oh, yeah, I can see why I'd be tough to spot. I was sitting on a bench in plain sight.”
Movement/Mood after reading: Resisting to pick-up the next book.
Bit on Bits: FUN and CUTE read, with slight family issues.

This was the first YA book I read last year and I was so happy with it that I started reading more from the genre. I was a bit apprehensive that I might find it annoying and a waste of my time. Good thing I felt the need for something new and that I picked a book by Ally Carter.

“Around me, the hall filled with whispers and giggles— fuel that would have the rumor mill running on high by midnight—and I remembered that,even though the Gallagher Academy is a school for girl geniuses, sometimes the emphasis should be kept on the girl.”

I kept alternating between giggling and laughing throughout the book. It was so easy to fall-in-love with Cammie and her thoughts. Every time she's facing a situation, she thinks like a spy and finds it hard how to think like a teenage girl that she is. She gets help from her friends Bex, Liz and, later on, Macey. Only Macey, though, really knows how to deal with her current major problem: Josh, of the wavy brown hair and Roseville village, outside the Gallagher Girls Academy walls (therefore should be restricted access). Using lessons from their new teacher, also classified a real hottie, Mr. Joe Solomon, Cammie goes through a whole new world while trying hard not to get in trouble with the Head Mistress, her mother.


I didn't go to a spy school (much to my disappointment) but I can see my teenage self in the book. It deals with being comfortable in one's “invisibility” most of the time but wanting to be noticed at certain occasions. I also understood how a person can be highly-skilled at something and yet totally clueless about lots of things in life. The diversity of the group of friends is clichéd but I'm sure I have the same types of friends in real life. Insecurity, confusion, wanting praise and indecision. There's a lot of “normal” issues for a spy novel that it felt real and relatable.


The storyline is quite simple and lacks the usual details I look for in spy or romance novels. I had problems with Josh being obviously cute but not swoony enough and with Cammie being drawn immediately, without much resistance. But it was such a fun read that I had to find the other books in the series. Some may bash Ally Carter for her writing style here but the parentheses and exclamation points for emphasis and punches didn't bother me. The book was talking the way I talked to myself, always with a trailing thought that I want to insert. It might be just me but the writing style works.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You is a light-hearted introduction to the Gallagher Girls Series and if you're fan of kick-ass female characters and spy things, this is a great book for you. I can assure you that the next books will not be as light-hearted, though. The story gets better and this might be the last time that the whole thing is “just cute”.

Rating:

Note: 
I'm writing this series of reviews as part of the #GGReadathon Books As You Know It is hosting this month. I wanted to do this for September because I might get the last book around last week of next month (life can get very busy) but this seemed much more fun to do. Plus, it will certainly keep me motivated to restart blogging. Check their blog for details and discussion!