Spy School Cool

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

Written by: Ally Carter

Released: May 1, 2006 by Hyperion

Summary: The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women lives up to its name. Not only does this exclusive boarding school teach advanced language skills and correct deportment; its students also master the arts of tapping phones, hacking into computers, and spying in public places. At school, second-generation Gallagher Girl Cammie Morgan has impeccable credentials: She is fluent in 14 languages and able to kill an assailant in seven different ways. But recently life has dealt Cammie a card that she never anticipated: She has fallen in love with an ordinary boy who knows nothing about her exotic double life. A truly covert romance.

This was such a cute novel. I’ll admit that after reading this first in the Gallagher Girls series I’m still a bigger fan of Heist Society, but I can completely see myself getting attached to these characters and falling in love with these books.

Cammie was such a likeable character. I loved reading how she first stepped into the teenage realm of dating and boys (all while balancing her impressive school work and extra credit projects). Take away the school and the spy stuff and she really was just this teenage girl who knew nothing about guys but was quickly learning after being pushed into the deep end.

And the romance was so cute! I loved reading the adorable scenes between Cammie and Josh. I grinned like a mad-woman over just how sweet they were together (even when Cammie’s friends were hanging from the roof).

The supporting cast of characters in this novel were spectacular. The teachers were hilarious, the townsfolk ridiculous in their separation from the Gallagher Academy students, and the students were just jealousy invoking. I seriously wish that I had been able to attend spy school and learn 1002 different languages and accents all while participating in covert operations.

The really great thing about this novel was how Cammie and her friends stuck together no matter what. You could tell from the very beginning that Cammie, Liz and Bex had this concrete friendship but after adding Macey to the mix you really saw that a link was missing even though it wasn’t necessarily wanted at the beginning. It was great to read a novel where friends will really do anything for each other – like digging through garbage and hacking through firewalls – if it means even just one person being happy.

The only thing that I was disappointed in with this novel was that it was missing the action and adventure that I assumed it would have. Maybe it’s because I read Heist Society first or maybe it’s because this is just the first in a series, but I wanted some kick-butt scenes against bad guys. You get a little of that at the very end of the novel, but it wasn’t quite enough for me.

Still, I’m so happy that I was able to score the box-set of the first three novels in this series at a used book store because I can’t wait to read the next one! I’m giving this novel a 7/10.