Wednesday 4 April 2012

Review: 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 (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter
Publisher: Hyperion
Release date: May 2006 (original US hardback)
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

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.


My thoughts:

Ally Carter writes scarily accurately as a teenage girl. I felt immediately like Cammie was 15, and real, and would compare her narration to that of Georgia Nicholson in the Louise Rennison books, both in terms of age-authenticity and in that level of quirky humourous narration. Unfortunately, this made me feel a *bit* old. It's fairly rare for YA to do that to me, but when I first started reading this I felt every bit of the 7 years I have on Cammie age wise. Fortunately, that feeling disappated after several chapters, but it did leave me feeling this was more of a series for teenagers than it was YA...if that makes sense.  

I felt the same way about the other book characters, they all had awesome personality traits and quirks  and all acted/spoke like typical teenage girls which I liked. The idea of a spy school was pretty awesome, and I liked hearing about all their classes. I think Bex was my favourite, and not just cause she was British ;) her humour and acting skills were pretty damn awesome.

The plot was excellent, with plenty of action and cute moments and hilarity. My only issue (aside from the one above) was that I got fed up with all the Gallagher Girls references and how they invented like, EVERYTHING. It reminded me of another book that does something similar, but I can't rememeber what it was. I caught myself rolling my eyes and thinking "yeah, yeah" whenever it happened.I loved the level of drama in this book, all the near misses and frantic action, it was pretty cool. I loved how normal Joshua was, and that that was his main appeal, and his and Cammie's relationship was pretty cute. I love how they all had a crush on their teacher...that's pretty much how it was at my school too ;) I loved how it was told in hindight and in the form of a report, that was pretty cool.



This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and one I never would have read if it weren't on Netgalley. I will definitely be continuing with this newfound and super-fun series. 

I reviewed this for netgalley, so the cover image is the american one. The UK release is published by Orchard books, and the cover is:

 

15 comments:

  1. It's a really fun series, and the Gallagher Girls references taper off as it goes on. I'm glad you liked it!

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  2. Nice review.
    I keep looking at this series when I'm in work and it sells well but for some reason I haven't been tempted to buy but may just have to give it a read now.

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  3. Thanks for the review! I'm tempted to give it another go after reading this, I gave up halfway through last time :(

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  4. its sounds so fun
    gr8 review cait

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  5. I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOVVEEE the title! It's the title that made me interested to read this book! I have only read the first 2 books in the Gallagher Girls series but your review makes me want to continue reading!

    Awesome review, Cait! So glad you enjoyed it! ♥

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  6. I keep hearing how adorable this series is. I eventually will probably read it, but yes, I definitely know what you mean about it seeming more for teens than for young adults. I think a lot of time YA gets labeled as teeney-bopper books when it isn't. I'm glad you were able to get past that with this one, Caitlyn!

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  7. I'm so glad you liked this. It's a fabulous series. Ever book gets better. And it gets much more serious. You don't feel the age difference as much.

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  8. Fantastic review, Cait! I love this series, and I'm glad you do too.

    Jessica from Booked Up!
    www.bookedupbloggers.blogspot.com

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  9. It took me forever to finally start this series too. I'd heard so much about Ally Carter, but it wasn't until I got lucky and won the GG series did I actually give the first a go... and LOVED IT! SOO much fun, I recently read the second book and felt the same. Definitely more of a Zach/Cammie shipper. Josh is a sweetheart, the boy-next-door kinda guy and I do so adore him, but I like that Zach had a bit more mystery to him.

    Anyway, I so agree with your brilliant review, m'dear. Like you said, Ally Carter really taps into that 15-year-old mindset SO well. And who DOESN'T love the idea of a spy school? Next to Hogwarts, that'd have to be my boarding school of choice.

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  10. I'm looking forward to reading this soon - it sounds like a lot of fun and I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. Great review! :)

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  11. I have heard that this is a super fun series. I would love to read it, but I have so many other books on my TBR list that I know I wouldn't have time to get to it any time soon. I love the UK cover. I think it's better than the US one. Thanks for the great review. :)

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  12. I've heard so many great things about this series and this only adds to it. It really sounds like a fun one and I like that Ally Carter offers a realistic teen voice. It sounds like a fun series so I hope I get to it at some point!

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  13. I've been hearing MILLIONS of THINGS about this series and I've just been ignoring them, shrugging off the not-so-attractive covers and going, YEAH. WHATEVS. I'VE GOT COOLER BOOKS THAN THOSE TO READ. I can be such an internal snob, I swear. I shall rectify my lack of reading this series and will begin ASAP. I like 'thoroughly enjoyable' books with 'scarily accurate' teens and just general hilarity ;)

    Asher

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  14. I'm so happy you liked this book :). I really liked Bex too! But Zach's my favourite - you've yet to meet him, but trust me, he's awesome. You should try Heist Society too, it has a slightly older feel to it and I think you'd like it. Fab review! :)

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  15. I Really enjoyed this series and have just read the second... I see what you mean about it being a series for teens rather than ya but I love it all the same :)

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