I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1)

I love Cammie. I think one of the reasons I like Cammie is because she's so much like me and I like it when I can relate to characters, you know what I mean?

I also really like Bex, I think she is so funny and she kick serious butt; they all do. Bex is easily one of my favorite characters of the series.

Next there's Liz, another one of my favorite characters. Liz is just so cute and also a little naive and clumsy, but she's still a very lovable character.

And then there's Macey. I really love Macey. In the beginning of the book Macey seems to come of as a jerk but as the story progresses she's really not; plus I read the books out of order so I knew ahead of time that Macey was awesome before reading this book.

I also like Josh. He's so sweet and kind of cool.

I really like the parts when Macey is telling Cammie, Bex and Liz what Josh's notes mean, and the part were Mr. Solomon was walking toward the girls and Cammie just puts Josh's note in her mouth until he leaves, I also love the parts when we meet Macey and Mr. Solomon for the first time, I also really like the part when Macey finds out it's a spy school, and the part when they made the Mission Impossible reference. A lot of good stuff in this book.

This book is like the best of both worlds it has the excitement of spies with a hint of romance. It's the ideal book for any teenage girl that doesn't love anything too mushy but still loves a cute forbidden boyfriend plot.

When I picked this book up, I didn't know what to expect. I almost left it in the library. I'm so glad that I didn't!

I first picked up ITYILY because of Dot Hutchinson. She reviewed the entire series on her blog, and I figured, "Hey, if she likes it, I guess it can't be that bad." My little sister also loves the series, but that doesn't hold much weight with me. She's fifteen and our tastes in books are polar opposites (excluding very important exceptions such as Hunger Games and The Thief). My sister's obsession with Cammie Morgan came in handy, however, because it meant I could appease my curiosity without spending a dime.

Cammie is a spy-in-training at a super-secret spy school, Gallagher Academy for Girls. It's like every other super-exclusive boarding school, except for the secret passageways, the sign outside the dining hall that sets the language spoken for the day (anything from American English to Mandarin Chinese or Farsi), the electrified sword that routinely sets inquisitive seventh-graders on fire, and the fact that every student is a certified genius.

At a school like that, surprises are sort of expected, except Cammie usually knows at least some of the secrets ahead of time. After all, her mom's the headmistress. Only her mom didn't bother to mention the new Covert Ops professor, Joe Solomon, or the fact that he obviously has some sort of history with Cammie's mom, or the fact that he's smokin' hot.

A hot single male in a building full of teenage girls can cause a lot of buzz, even if that buzz travels around in seventeen different languages. The only thing that could make a bigger buzz is Macey McHenry, the spoiled daughter of Senator McHenry and the newest girl in school. To Cammie's chagrin, her mom decides to stick Macey in with Cammie and her roommates, brainiac (even by Gallagher standards) Liz and in-your-face Brit Bex.

Suffice to say Cammie has enough on her plate when Solomon sends her, Liz, and Bex out on a "mission" for class. As bona fide chameleon or "pavement artist," Covert Ops should be right up Cammie's alley. She can follow anyone anywhere without being noticed.

Except she is noticed. By a boy. A normal, non-spy boy named Josh who thinks she's just another normal, non-spy girl.

Quicker than a roundhouse kick to the face, Cammie finds herself in a real-life mission. Her objective: to decode said boy's "Boy Language" messages (both verbal and non-verbal), exercise her chameleon skills to take on the befuddling role of "normal girl," and, above all, not get caught by her mom.

What a fun book. I mean, really, it's very fun. This isn't a terribly deep book, nor terribly twisty, despite being about spies. There are some surprises, but nothing that will make you drop your jaw and go "Holy cow!" It has the light, fluffy taste of cotton candy with the munchability factor of popcorn. Despite telling myself that it was "just okay," I found myself eager to return to see what would happen next.

The front of my sister's book proudly proclaims that the ITYILY has been optioned by Disney (which means someday it may be coming to a screen near you), which makes sense to me. It totally felt like a Disney movie, in the best possible way. The professors are crazy in a non-threatening way (I heart you, Mr. Moskowitz), and the girls are charmingly boisterous in a way only fifteen-year-olds could pull off. I laughed out loud when Cammie started freaking out that Macey could decipher the mysterious language known as Boy, because it was all so over-the-top yet incredibly like how I remembered my awkward younger years. Boys are weird, y'all.

Sure, there are a couple minor things that bugged me. The book is supposedly Cammie's official report to her mother but included far more extraneous personal detail that a spy would ever put in a report... or a teenager would tell her mom. Seemed to me like there was a better way for the author to frame the narrative. Some of Cammie's more outrageous claims (mom allegedly killed a man with only a People magazine) grew a bit old. Also, there were some moments where I had to suspend disbelief (just wait 'til you get to the scene with the ropes and Josh's roof and...), but I maintain that these moments are what would make the book a great Disney movie.

All in all, a surprising yet pleasant experience. I've already torn my way through the second book and am eagerly awaiting the next two (see, I have this little thing called work that disallows me from reading 24/7).

***Points Added For: Non-dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship, homeschoolers (even if it's just a cover), a female rival who isn't a total you-know, giddy teen girls who balance the line between amusing and twee, an unexpected resolution.

***Points Subtracted For: A girl named Dee-Dee who dots her i's with hearts, full sentences in German and French that are never translated, Roseville's unsatisfyingly explained hatred for Gallagher Academy.

***Good For Fans Of: Heist Society also by Ally Carter, 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (so says Amazon), Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (so says my sister).

***Points For Parents: One d-word and one implied b-word, some lying to authority figures.

Cammie is a chameleon, she blends into the crowd without being noticed. This is the way she likes it since it's never good for a spy to be noticed. She's known all her life that her destiny was to become a spy like her parents and now she's out to prove it to everyone. Starting off at the elite all girls spy school that her mother runs makes this book exciting and will have you turning pages until the very end. The characters are all unique and really show the true meaning of sisterhood when Cammie gets into a bind. A great book to kick start an awesome series! I can't wait for the 5th book to be released to find out what happens next!

Reader reviewed by Katie

This book is about a girl who goes to an academy for spies-top secret, of course-then meets and falls in love with a regular guy. If you really like spy stories, read it, but if you're considering jumping into the genre, don't read this first. Not a book to lie awake thinking about at night, definitely. Fun when you're reading it, but as soon as you put it down, a fleeting thought can expose the plot holes throughout. This is a book of spun sugar, fun for a bit but not filling, and teeth-rotting. In other words, it was okay, just not great.

Reader reviewed by emma

Cammie is an average girl who if you met on the street you wouldn't think twice about. She is the very definition of average. At least thats what it appears. Cammie is actaully a genius who go to an all girls school for spys. But unless you had high enough clearece you like everyone in the near town of Roseivelt would think it was just a boarding school for privilaged girls.

While studing for the life she is destined to live she mets a normal boy who thinks shes a normal girl. Now Cammie and her three roommates must do eveything in their power to keep her relationship a secret. Cammie must decide between destiny and true love.

Ally Carter puts a new twist on the classic tale of forbiddied love in in this savvy novel that had me grinning like an idiot laughing out loud and making me feel like a Gallagher girl.

Reader reviewed by Lilibeth

Cammie Morgan is not your ordinary girl-next-door, though she may look it. Cammie Morgan is a spy-in-training at The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Where girl-geniuses roam, The Gallagher Academy is the most high-tech, place-of-knowledge in the United States. From the grade of seven, The Gallagher Girls are tested at every turn and are expected to be prepared for what comes at them. During her first Coverts Operation, Cammie is unexpectedly flabbergasted by the fact that she has been spotted--and not by The Subject she was assigned to dutifully keep surveillance on. That is when Cammie realizes that she has a whole other test, operation, experiment that is hers to accomplish, no matter how unskillful in the subject. One that doesn't exist inside the containment of The Gallagher Academy's walls. One that is going to take all of her roommate's help.
Josh.

Can I just say that there is probably not another novel out there that has a title as accurate as I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You--the book, not the title. This debut novel was something very different from my collection of urban fantasies and paranormal trilogies. They did not prepare me for the boy-challenged genius Gallagher Girls. Though, to my surprise, the novel captivated me from the first few pages to the unexpected last ones. I'll have to admit that there were parts where I had to put it down because I knew the next event was going to be a bit mind-blowing--or hilarious, which I enjoyed; but, in the end that was a good thing. Albeit, thinking at times that there could have been more details about the girls, but what was supplied was enough to satisfy to the very end. The creative details of all the Academy's gadgets and secret passageways were impressive and so unprecedented that you do not see it coming. That's not just about the material things at The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, the girls will shock you with their knowledge--or with Tasers, whichever the situation demands best. I applaud Ally Carter for her creativeness and courage to bring to the YA community something I am sure must have been top secret. Seriously, the ending was so well-planned and -plotted that, in the end, I was amazed. Though, as a reviewer of YA novels, I have to say that this really is a new taste for me and I'm still testing out the flavor. I recommend this YA read to fellow reader of the age, to try something of variety for once and check out The Gallagher Girls; you will be impressed, I know I was.

Reader reviewed by Sara

From back cover: Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school typical, that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and the students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but its really a school for spies.
Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man seven different ways with her bare hands, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks shes an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the sill of a real pavement artist but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Favorite characters, quotes/lines: Cammie: I thought she was really funny and spies are awesome!; Josh: totally worth sneaking out of Gallagher for!, Macey, Bex, and Liz: awesome partners in crime and friends&

When I finished this book I felt: I really liked it& it was an easy read, with lots of comedy, romance, and espionage!

Other books to read by this author: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

I would recommend this book to: Lovers of spies, romance, and teen fiction

Reader reviewed by stephanie