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

Gallagher Girls, Book 1

By: Ally Carter

Narrated by: Renée Raudman

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

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 14 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.

©2007 Ally Carter (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Appeals to the teen girl I once was

Ok, so this book wasn't good as Heist Society, but I am fast becoming an Ally Carter fan! The Gallagher Girls are just great fun. Not only did I relate to the boarding school misconceptions, I whole-heartedly enjoyed the homage paid to Alias and other spy genre greats. I wondered if the main characters in both series would be similar, but Carter crafts them uniquely despite the similarities in their secret-filled lives. I enjoyed the light-hearted humor that kept potentially intense scenes from being taken too seriously. Unlike Alias, this is no "Project Christmas" creating super-human spies. No matter what the girls' special skills, they are all still just high school girls with high school girl problems. See you in sub level 2.

Great YA with it all-romance,mystery,action

I love this whole series. My first dip into YA fiction. Boarding school narrative with a twist- these girls are training to be spies. The townies think this is an exclusive school for spoiled rich girls. Our lead character acts on a crush on a townie and her suitemates help her. These girls have rigorous classes and exciting training exercises. Great book for middle schoolers and older.
# audible 20 review sweepstakes entry

Pleasant Spy Romp

Light hearted spy tale with fun characters. Some predictable elements but a great listen overall.

Great Middle School Read

Cammie Morgan goes to the Gallagher Academy for exceptional young women. IT’s your typical boarding school, except it’s where girls go for spy training. This book is geared towards middle school readers but every now and again an adult could just use a fun, light read, that’ll make her laugh. At some points in this book I felt like I was listening in to a group of 15-year-old girls and their typical angst which, when it’s not you or your daughter, is pretty funny to listen to. In “I’d Tell You That I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You” Cammie meets a “townie,” a boy that lives in the nearby town of Roseville. He’s her first crush and she uses her sleuth skills to sneak out of the boarding house (also referred to as a mansion) to see him, forgetting that her mother, who also happens to be trained as a spy and is the head master at the school, has some pretty amazing sleuthing skills of her own.

BLUSH FACTOR: There is discussion of “getting to second base” and kissing, etc. but I’d let my daughter read it (if I happened to have a middle-school aged daughter), perhaps with a discussion of appropriate behavior and what it means to get to second base.

THE WRITING: This is the second Gallagher Girl book I’ve listened to and I found it to be well-written. Ally Carter captures the essence of teenage behavior well and like I said, I found the book extremely humorous. This book is written from Cammie’s perspective.

STAND-ALONE OR CLIFFHANGER ENDING: Though this book is part of a series, it has a solid ending.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Well done.

NARRATOR OF THE AUDIBLE VERSION: Very well done. The narrator sounds like a teenage girl except when an adult voice is needed.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

Fun, lighthearted girl series.

I liked this series. Was it the best thing I ever read? No. But it was entertaining enough to read in its entirety. Mindless and easy fun.

Worst in Series but I recommend rest of books

**NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW :)**
ABOUT THE BOOK: Cameron Ann Morgan is know as the chameleon. She lives and studies in a spy school with her best friends at her side, Cammie is in the dark about many things, like her fathers missing. But, for now, Cammie is studying at spy school, she is with her "hot" new covops teacher, Mr. Solomon. And a question is pressing on Cammie's shoulders, if she wants to be normal or have a risky life as a spy. On top of that, Cammie meets Josh, a normal boy who thinks Cammie is home schooled and has a normal cat named Suzy. Cammie has to decide if she wants to be normal and be with a boy like Josh, or become a spy.

MY REVIEW: I personally really, really like Ms. Carter's work, it had beautiful writing and colorful characters. This is Ms. Carter's first book she has ever published, so I can understand why some buys aren't as good as her other books. I think that some of it is like teen soap opera. I do enjoy how the character thinks and how she is trying to make everyone happy but learns that she has to make herself happy too. I didn't enjoy how whiny the narrator sounded. I recommend the rest of this series and the rest of Ms. Carter's work, but feel this was the worst in the Gallagher Girl series.

NARRATION QUALITY: This book had the worst narration quality out of all the others in this series and out of the rest of Ms. Ally Carter's work. The narrator sounds like a whiny 4th grader, it might be easier for some to read this first book instead of listing to it. But the rest of the series is fine to listen to for me.

BLUSH FACTOR: There is a kiss and talk of the teachers being "hot." I wish there was less blush factor and more spy work, but that is just me.

RECOMMENDATION: Anyone can listen to this, but I would recommend this to teens and young adults.

Thanks for reading my review!

I wanted to love this, but it missed the mark.

The story was a little too focused on boys and romance for me; I wanted this to be a little more adventurous and a little deeper, but found instead that it was typical teen stuff, in a new setting.
I also found the narrator cloying... she worked hard to make her voice sound young, and while she settled in after a while, it didn't work for me. (The times when she portrayed adult characters, I found her voice much richer.)
all that said, I LIKED the story, I just hoped for something a little more.

Cute story

This is the second series I have read/listened to by Ally Carter. I LOVED the Heist Society novels and the first in the Gallagher Girls series didn't dissapoint. The book is humorous and witty. Despite the fact the main character is a fifteen year old spy in training, she still deals with real teenage girl problems.

For girls already into crushes and “sexy” teachers

I got this for my nine-year-old daughter after getting a free copy of the spies that bind on audible. The spies that bind is the prequel to the Gallagher series, and we loved it! However, the storyline is for much older girls and was a bit inappropriate for my daughter. Also, the narrators voice is so very different and we have gotten attached to the one in the prequel. We would’ve much preferred that narrator voice in the series. We will not be buying the rest until my daughter is older.

Love this series!

Started with the prequel. I hope someday this is made into a movie! I am starting book 3 today!