Adventure, Sports and Mystery ~ I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Id-Tell-You-I-Love-You-but-Then-Id-Have-to-Kill-You/Ally-Carter/e/9781423100034/?itm=3&usri=i+d+tell+you+i+love+you+but+then+i+d+have+to+kill+you, accessed October 10, 2009.

Bibliography:

Carter, Ally. 2006. I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 9781423100034

Critical Analysis:

"I suppose a lot of teenage girls feel invisible sometimes, like they just disappear. Well, that's me-Cammie the Chameleon. But I'm luckier than most because, at my school, that's considered cool."

In Roseville, everyone thinks that the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is nothing more that a snobby boarding school. But in reality, it's an undercover, all-girl school for geniuses that teaches the latest methods in espionage. The curriculum includes "Advanced Encryption" and "Covert Operations," not to mention how to speak fourteen different languages. Cammie Morgan attends the school along with her best friends Liz and Bex. Her mom also happens to be an ex-CIA operative and the headmistress of the school. This fall there is also a hunky new teacher on the grounds. His name is Joe Solomon and he does things his way. When the girls go out for their first Covert Operations field experience, things go wrong and Cammie ends up separated from the rest of her classmates. The town, which resembles Mayberry in terms of quaintness, is holding it's town carnival and Cammie finds herself smack dab in the middle of dunking tanks, carnival rides and funnel cake stands with no place to hide. On her way home she meets Josh, a regular boy whose few words to Cammie during their encounter sweep her off her feet. Back at school, she confesses to her friends what happened and the girls go on a mission to find out all they can about Josh and his family, while trying to figure out the biggest enigma of all-BOYS! Keeping her true identity under wraps, Cammie continues to meet Josh through a series of messages left behind a stone in the gazeebo in town square. When she finally figures out a way to go on a real date and her cover is blown, Cammie must make a choice between what she knows she loves and who she thinks she might. The characters in the story are captivating and the relationships real, making it especially appealing to young adult females. Told in an easy-to-read, conversational tone, this book will have it's readers impatiently waiting for the next installment of this engaging series.

Review Excerpts:

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Cammie is a sophomore at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women a place that lives up to its name, as Cammie knows 14 languages and is a skilled killing machine. Of course, Gallagher girls become the most elite spies, and Cammie fires ahead on that career track (as was her mother, now the school's headmistress) until romance with an ordinary guy, no less threatens to derail her progress. Despite any shortcomings, aficionados of this burgeoning fiction genre will be tempted to give this title a go." Ages 12-up.

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "Everyone in the town of Roseville thinks the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a regular boarding school for snobs. But it is actually an undercover, all-girl spy training school, and Cameron Morgan is both a sophomore and the daughter of the headmistress. The curriculum for these high school girls includes "Covert Operations," "Culture," and "Assimilation." Students are expected to speak one of the fourteen languages they know during lunch in the Great Hall. There are lots of other fun spy-related details in the story, which will have most readers chuckling."

Classroom Connections/Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think that there could really be someplace like the Gallagher Academy for Girls?

2. If so, would it be a place you would be interested in attending?

3. How would the story been different if Cammie had told Josh the truth from the beginning?

4. How do you think Cammie's father dying changed her character?

5. Did you like the ending of the book? Why or why not?