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

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks, 2006. ISBN-10: 1423100034; ISBN-13: 978-1423100034. 288 p.

Plot Summary
Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. It's just your normal private school--normal, that is, if every private school taught Advanced Swahili, martial arts for P.E., and the latest advances in chemical warfare in science. Gallagher isn't just a school for geniuses--it's a school for spies. Cammie Morgan may be a genius, but she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Can she handle a relationship with a boy who can never know the truth about her?

Critical Evaluation
Frothy fun. Like any chick lit novel, the end is determined from the first page, but Carter writes with liveliness and makes every page fun. This book will appeal to any teen who likes clean romance with strong girls thrown in the mix.

Reader’s Annotation
Cammie Morgan is a regular high school student--except that she is training to be a spy. She can't tell anyone about her future career, so naturally, she meets a boy who wants to be with her. How long can she go without telling the truth?

Author Information
Ally Carter is the pen name of Sarah Leigh Fogleman, who is a writer living and working in Oklahoma. She attended Oklahoma State University and Cornell University. Her website is http://www.allycarter.com/.

When asked how she first came up with the idea of a spy academy, Carter said "I remember that moment so well! I was in my living room watching Alias with the sound on mute. I glanced at the screen to see a group of girls running through a big, dark building, and the first thing that popped into my mind was "Did she go to spy school?" Well, I turned the sound up and figured out it wasn't a school for spies, but by that point I knew what my next book had to be."

Genre
Chick Lit

Curriculum Ties
None

Booktalking Ideas
How does a spy become a spy? What if there were a high school just for training girls to be great spies?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 7-10

Challenge Issues
None.

I included this book because my 16-year-old sister recommended it to me.