I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You [With Headphones] (Playaway Young Adult) [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

Ally Carter (Author), Renee Raudman (Narrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: Playaway Young Adult

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school - that is, it would be 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. 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 (one of which involves 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 a boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through town without his ever being the wiser - but can she have a 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 beginning her most dangerous mission - falling in love.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–Cammie Morgan, 15, is a student at Gallagher Academy, a top-secret boarding school for girls who are spies-in-training. She studies covert operations, culture and assimilation, and advanced encryption, and has learned to speak 14 languages. Her troubles begin when she falls for Josh, a local boy who has no clue about her real identity. Keeping her training secret forces her to lie to her new love, which leads to comic complications. Subplots include Cammie's relationship with her mother–the headmistress at Gallagher–and her grief over the loss of her father, who died while on a spying assignment. The teen's double life leads to some amusing one-liners, and the invented history of the Gallagher Girls is also entertaining, but the story is short on suspense. The stakes never seem very high since there are no real villains, and the cutesy dialogue quickly becomes grating. However, the novel has been optioned for a film and will likely attract readers who enjoy lighthearted, frothy tales and squeaky-clean romances. Unfortunately, it lacks the warmth and appeal of other teen books turned into movies, such as Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries (HarperCollins, 2000) and Ann Brashares's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Delacorte, 2001).–Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Review

If ever there were a new series chock full of characters to make Harry, Ron, Hermione et al look like wimps, then this is it. -- thebookbag.co.uk A great guilty pleasure read for those of you out there who also harbour secret dreams of becoming a spy, or even those who just want a light-hearted break from studying for their exams. Go out, grab a copy, step out of your reality bubble and enjoy! -- Teen Today A short, fun, fast-moving book. -- INIS 20100901 This book is absolutely incredible. -- Teen Titles 20100801 I couldn't put it down. -- Katie, 15 20100801 I was so excited when I got this book I read it in 24 hours...11/10! -- Toya, 14 20100801 Tore through it in like 4 days, and really loved it. It's a nice guilty pleasure. -- Aime, 15 20100801 Best book in the world. -- Ellie, 13 20100801 Entertaining and witty... refreshing -- Southern Daily Echo 20110620 Ally Carter is an author that you simply can't miss. -- Gripped into Books 20111124 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Publisher: Playaway (May 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608475166
• ISBN-13: 978-1608475162
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,080,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ally Carter writes books about spies, thieves, and teenagers. She is the New York Times Best-selling author of Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals, and the popular Gallagher Girls series, including I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, and Only the Good Spy Young.

She lives in the Midwest where her life is either very ordinary or the best deep-cover legend ever. She'd tell you more, but...well...you know...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars highly entertaining and well-written, September 11, 2006

By 

Alexandra (Medford, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Library Binding)

Cammie Morgan is your typical student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. She takes the same classes, and she has the same ambition: to become a spy. Under the guise of a school for rich geniuses, the Gallagher Academy is really a spy academy for exceptional young women. And exceptional they are. Martial arts black belts, fluency in fourteen languages, and expert hacking abilities are simply par for the course if you're a Gallagher Girl. Sophomore year is when the students start their first field work, in Covert Operations (CoveOps to those in the know) class. Cammie and her friends are thrilled that they're finally getting real experience. Then Cammie takes on a covert operation of her own. Out one night she meets a boy -- and falls for him. Unfortunately, he's an ordinary boy, and Cammie's no ordinary girl. Unable to tell him who she really is, she uses all her skills to track him and accidently-on-purpose bump into him. But is that enough? In a school where final exams involve being kidnapped, Cammie is about to get her most challenging assignment: transforming herself into a normal girl to date a normal boy. Quick-witted, clever, and poignant, this story is as interesting as any CoveOps assignment, with a cast of characters that makes it unforgettable.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars YA Lit Gets High-Tech Makeover, April 23, 2009

By 

Lindsay Johnson (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls) (Paperback)

When my little sister handed me this book and told me to read it, I took one look at the cover and gave her a look that said, "you must be kidding me." I like YA literature and will even pick up the occasional "fluff" book, but this? This was too much and thus it sat on my nightstand for about a month before I gave it a chance. Surprisingly clever and enjoyable, this book is written from the perspective of Cammie Morgan, student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women (she also happens to be the headmistress's daughter). However, this is no ordinary school, it happens to be educating the next generation of super spies (think Mission: Impossible meets Harry Potter . . . with a female protagonist). As Cammie and her friends try to successfully navigate the new girl, challenging classes, and fourteen different languages, Cammie is thrown a curve ball that takes her out of her comfort zone when she gains a male admirer on the outside.

Carter has created a cast of likable characters and breathed new life into an overdone teen literary genre by giving it a new, high-tech twist. The plot is not complex, but it is compelling - admittedly I steamrolled through this book in two days. Moreover, I am always glad to see books on the shelves that contain intelligent, independent young women destined to be extraordinary in a world that seems to encourage mediocrity. The "Gallagher Academy created everything" from velcro to duct tape line gets a little old and repetitive, yes we get it you are a bunch of spy geniuses, but all in all it's a nice breezy read with a good premise. The next book in the series is currently sitting on my nightstand, but this time I can say with certainty it will not take me a whole month to dive in.

29 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, April 20, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Library Binding)

Welcome to The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, an all-girls school located just outside of Roseville, Virginia. Anyone looking at this elite private boarding school would see just what The Gallagher Academy wants you to see--a preppy school for privileged girls, complete with a guardhouse and stone wall to keep the curious away from their precious charges. And they'd be right, of course, and yet they would be so very, very wrong!

Because The Gallagher Academy isn't exactly what it appears to be. It's an elite school, that's for sure, and the only boys who grace its grounds are the male teachers. After that, though, the similarities between The Gallagher Academy and every other elite boarding school in the world ends. Instead of math and reading, English and horseback-riding, the girls who attend this school take courses in Covert Operations, Ancient Languages, Countries of the World, Culture and Assimilation, and Protection and Enforcement. The Gallagher Academy is, in a word, a school for spies.

Cammie Morgan is a second-generation Gallagher girl--her mother, who also attended the school, is now the headmistress. Her two best friends, Liz and Bex, are both super-smart, and the best spies-in-training she knows (except for Liz's lack of coordination, but that's another story). Cammie has spent most of her life inside the walls of The Gallagher Academy, and now that another semester is starting, complete with new CoveOps teacher, hunky Joe Solomon, she's really looking forward to the new school year.

But then things start to get a little out of control. Mr. Solomon seems to know all about Cammie's missing-and-presumed-dead father. She meets a boy in town, Josh, who finally sees her, really sees her, like no one else ever has. After all, she didn't get her nickname, "the chameleon," for nothing. But now Cammie is balancing on a dangerous ledge--knowing that no one outside of the gates of The Gallagher Academy can ever know who she truly is, and wanting nothing more than to spill all of her secrets to Josh.

As lies tangle with truths, as first love duels with obligation, Cammie will need to learn exactly what it means to be a spy, her mother's daughter, and a young girl falling in love.

I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU is a wonderful, laugh-out-loud, action-adventure extravaganza. Filled with plenty of cool gadgets, intriguing teachers, and heart-pounding first-love moments to keep the reader interested, you won't be able to put this book down once you start. A true winner, and I definitely can't wait for a sequel!