Series: Gallagher Girls #1
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Hyperion Paperbacks
Publication Year: 2007
Language: English
Format: paperback
Pages: 284
The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school, that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE, the latest in chemical warfare in science; and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes computer class. So in truth, Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but its really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan is a second generation Gallagher Girl, and by her sophomore year she's already 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 one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for is what to do when she falls for 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 his 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, shes beginning her most dangerous mission; she's falling in love.
I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You is the first book in the Gallagher Girls series. The series is about Cameron Morgan, a teenage girl who goes to a private school called the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary all-girls private boarding school. Except that it’s not, because it actually teaches its students to become a spy. You can expect unconventional subjects in their curriculum such as Covert Operations, Protection and Enforcement, and other interesting subjects.
In the first book, Cameron or Cammie was in the middle of an ‘outside class activity’ in the Roseville town carnival when a boy named Josh singled her out. It could be considered as a meet-cute if only Cammie was not in the middle of a tailing surveillance exercise and she’s not an exceptional girl who went to a spy school. In this book, we follow Cammie’s struggles juggling between figuring out her first love experience and being a student at a spy school.
I picked this book with no expectation except that it’s gonna be a fun book; and it is. This book is delightful. It’s fun, hilarious, cute, and full of action. The conflict in this book is mainly how Cammie balance her life as a teenage girl and a spy-in-training. Even though Cammie and her friends are genius, they have zero knowledge of boys. So Cammie and her friends approached this area with the technique they know best. They hack into the government and school database to find out Josh's personal information. They did various covert operations just to get to know him better and wrote a report about it. Cammie practically approached it as if she's on a mission. Reading them trying to understand how to interact with a boy is awkwardly hilarious.
If we want to lay out the plot, this book's story is basically one big miscommunication. Cammie couldn't tell the truth about her identity to Josh (at least the one which Josh is allowed to know). It could be solved if only Cammie was a bit honest to Josh. Yet, the plot doesn't feel dragged out. Probably because I enjoy the narration and the dialogue between the characters. The narration might seem childish, with all the exclamation point and capital letters to MAKE A POINT!! But it didn't annoy me. It's fun.
Another thing that I like about this book is how the girls are not damsel in distress. They are smart and tough. Though sometimes they have to hide the fact that they are trained spies (depending on your clearance), still, reading about amazing tough girls is always a plus. They also know their priorities, which is quite a rare case in YA books. Sure, there are times when she doubted it. But not to the point where she makes dumb decision, at least in my opinion, and I totally support that.
All in all, I'm surprised at how much I like this book. If you're looking for a fun and fast-paced YA book, I totally recommend this book. As for the rest of the series, I'm looking forward to read them.
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