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

Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 284
Series or Stand Alone: Book One in the Gallagher Girls series
Summary: Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, 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. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her? 
Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

Review:

Cameron "Cammie" Morgan is just your average girl--except for the fact that she's a spy attending the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. When she encounters a normal boy who wants to be her boyfriend, Cammie pulls out all the stops her spy training has to offer her in order to pursue a relationship with him. Will Cammie be able to keep Josh and her life as a spy separate?

I want to preface what I'm about to say with this: I read the next three books in the series and enjoyed them. I fall on the side of the Gallagher Girls books. However, this was not my favorite book. I felt like maybe my expectations were too high for this one. Many people have raved about these books to me, but I felt like the first installment did not live up to the hype for me. Part of the problem was that I found Josh to be very boring up until the very end. His beige nature made me want Cammie to find a more interesting boyfriend. I felt like the time the girls sent in suburbia wasn't worth it.

Moving on to the positive side! The concept of a spy school for teenage girls makes for great young adult book topics. I like that these books have a "thing"--and that thing happens to be training brilliant, strong young women to be government operatives. The girls presented in these books are adventurous, brave, and intuitive.

I liked the relationship Cammie had with her headmaster mother. The multifaceted nature of it made it so Cammie never knew which piece of her mother to expect--be it headmistress, mother, or spy extraordinaire. It all depended on the situations they faced at the same time. I loved that Carter was able to explore the complications of such a relationship effectively.

I also enjoyed the relationship between Cammie and bad girl Macey. I assumed that Macey was just going to end up being Cammie's mean girl adversary, but was pleasantly surprised instead! The relationships Carter created between Cammie and everyone but Josh made me interested in the rest of the series.

While I'd Tell You I Love You, But Now I'd Have To Kill You didn't live up to my high expectations, I did enjoy the concept behind the books. This one dragged for me a bit, but I continued on with this popular series because I saw the potential it held. I wasn't disappointed by the ensuing novels in the series!

Rating: 2.5-3 okay/fair.