I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1)
Compelling
Emotional
Sweet

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1)

Ally Carter2006
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.
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Reviews

Photo of Liv N.
Liv N.@cinnamonsunshine914
5 stars
May 27, 2025

Just as good as when I was younger.

Photo of Sarah Sammis
Sarah Sammis@pussreboots
5 stars
Apr 4, 2024

Link+ due 10/17/12

Photo of jennifer
jennifer @booksvirgo
4 stars
Dec 18, 2023

In elementary school when I pulled this book out of my backpack my friends were so concerned.

Photo of Colleen
Colleen@mirificmoxie
4 stars
Apr 15, 2023

4 Stars This was a fun YA espionage story. Although a series about a spy school for teenage girls is a little farfetched, my teenage self would definitely have been over the moon about it. The story had a good balance of action and the cuteness of first love. And I loved the characters! RATING FACTORS: Ease of Reading: 5 Stars Writing Style: 4 Stars Characters: 4 Stars Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars Level of Captivation: 4 Stars Originality: 4 Stars

Photo of Beatrix Haase
Beatrix Haase@bjhaase888
5 stars
Feb 15, 2023

This book always gets me. I love it so much. The characters the plots the cuteness. This book is everything to me. One of the book series that has gotten me into reading! (view spoiler)[I don't have anything to say except that I like another particular book better than this boy... If you have read the book you know who I am talking about! (hide spoiler)] xoxo, Bebe

Photo of Jamieson
Jamieson@jamiesonk
4 stars
Jan 23, 2023

iconic

Photo of tina
tina@folklorde
4 stars
Dec 19, 2022

RE-READ: Sept. 05, 2017 Reading this series again brings forth a surge of nostalgia. I read this when I was 10 or 11 years old, and while everyone else's gateway to YA literature was the Twilight saga, mine was the Gallagher Girls series. It's what led me to discover the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the Selection series by Kiera Cass, and so many more amazing YA books that have become one of my all-time faves as of today! This series isn't the best that the world of YA genre has to offer, but it's a fun read filled with just the right amount of humor, romance, and action. And even though I know this series has flaws, it will always have a special place in my heart.

Photo of sam
sam@sammiev
3 stars
Dec 15, 2022

“invisible” by anna clendening "the outside" by taylor swift omg reading this again was so nostalgic

Photo of Nicole Sonja
Nicole Sonja@nicolesonja
3 stars
Dec 10, 2022

I absolutely love this world! This was everything I wanted as a little girl. The princess thing was too safe for me. I guess that's why I love the idea that there's a school in this book designed to teach young girls how to be spies. This book is mild compared to the rest of them. And I love the close bonds. I really wish I had something like that! The relationships were all done well and the girls actually felt like they were in their early teens, which is a problem in many children's books these days actually, so I'm impressed. (Do note that this series is for teenagers and perhaps younger.)

Photo of jupiter
jupiter@toryvega
4 stars
Aug 16, 2022

so cute <3 cammie my daughter

Photo of Callie Anna
Callie Anna@callieanna
3 stars
Aug 12, 2022

Cute. It was under my reading level, but was exactly what I needed after a lot of stress. I'm not going to go out of my way to read the others, but I might at some point.

Photo of Cristina Battelli
Cristina Battelli@crisisincrisis
3 stars
Aug 11, 2022

Very funny book.

Photo of Marissa Luzio
Marissa Luzio @marissacelina
5 stars
May 18, 2022

Holy crap, I love this book! its been a while since i read it, ill admit but I still remember it crystal clear! It was such a great way to open up the series, and how Ally Carter sucked you in straight from the beginning. Good job Carter! Amazing book!

Photo of Marsh Wu
Marsh Wu@narrativore
2 stars
May 16, 2022

Quick read, nothing special.

Photo of Angelica Gonzalez
Angelica Gonzalez@gelieg
4 stars
May 7, 2022

Really good book, even better series.

Photo of Nedu
Nedu@nedu
5 stars
Apr 8, 2022

omg i love this, i'm screaming at josh crashing their exams

Photo of Crystal A.
Crystal A.@roguephoenix
5 stars
Mar 12, 2022

4.5 stars

Photo of Archita Birla
Archita Birla@architaxb
5 stars
Feb 27, 2022

reading this felt like a hug from an old friend! the writing is so incredible, the story is great, I just love it!! forever a Gallagher girl <3

Photo of Jeff Brown
Jeff Brown @jeffb23
3 stars
Feb 25, 2022

I don’t know what to say about this one, as I’m not its target audience. I needed a YA title for a challenge, and this mentioned “spy”, so I thought it was worth a shot. I forgot about the endless pages of budding romance, so for every page of an interesting spy sequence, there were 5-10 about teenage girl stuff. Which was fine and appropriate. It just wasn’t for me. I think it would be great for a teenage girl and would recommend it wholeheartedly to her.

Photo of Emily Ruth Carter
Emily Ruth Carter@emyru
4 stars
Jan 10, 2022

Very cute YA novel. The end had a moment where I actually laughed out loud. Left me looking forward to next book.

Photo of Amy Grieve
Amy Grieve@blossomamy
4 stars
Jan 9, 2022

Cammie Morgan is no ordinary girl, she's a second generation Gallager Girl. Gallaher Academy is an all-girls boarding school for 'Exceptional Young Ladies, located just outside of Roseville, Virginia. From the outside Gallager Academy looks like you run of the mill elite boarding school, but what lies behind the 12-foot stone walls and the guardhouse is a totally different story. Gallager Academy is really hope to some of the country's best teenage-female-spys-in-training. Here the girls learn Covert Ops, Espionage and The Art of War. Not exactly the normal life of a teenage girl. But, Cammie has grown up at Gallager Girls, safe inside the walls. When Cammie meets Josh, a Townie boy, she finds herself facing the hardest mission of her life: Being a normal girl... This is my second Ally Carter book so far and I am already a fan of her writing. I loved the setting of this story and all its content. Even though it didn't blow me away, I found it enjoyable and fun. Another book that make me love espionage even more than before.

Photo of Mika
Mika@mikaomoji
4 stars
Dec 17, 2021

First read in 2011. Reread this 2021. A decade later, I still got cute butterflies in my tummy for reliving this. Such a good romance and adventure book for teenage me.

Photo of Samirah Arif
Samirah Arif@violetsandprimroses
3 stars
Dec 16, 2021

I remember this series. The last book was definitely the best, but this was ok. here's what I remember: - I read it because the title caught my eye - boy obsessed girl - token black character - lowkey kinda boring - kinda fun tho - I read the entire series except for the extras - how the heck was she the best spy?

Photo of ashley hopkins
ashley hopkins@bookaholicsanonymous
5 stars
Dec 5, 2021

** spoiler alert ** As the outline says the book follows Cammie (and friends Bex, Liz, and later in the book Macey) on an undercover mission to find out if the boy Cam likes is what they call a Honeycutt. In between following the boy Cammie and friends deal with going to classes, lying to the adults, fake cov-ops missions, learning to accept new friends, and more events in the life of a Gallagher Girl/Spy. The beginning of the book is basically telling you that this is going to be like a report the main character is doing. (it's not written like a report just parts are) This was a first for spy books I've read, but it was great. I loved the whole private school for girls that's really a spy school thing. I adored the writing too. I guess because in a way it reminded me of how I write my reviews and other stuff on here. (Lots of paraenthesis and other little quirks that make writing fun for me) Also it reminded me of Kiersten White's writing in Paranormalcy (which I also LOVED by the way). The same kind of fun and bouncy style. If there's one thing about books that will keep my attention it's that they can actually make me laugh out loud while reading them, and people asking what's funny. The characters were fun too. Another I liked about it was there really wasn't a romantic triangle like most books. It was just the one boy. Which I liked because you could get a feel for a relationship that could have been developed, and not have some girl whining over who she likes better. Hopefully the books stay this way, but who knows since it's only book one. Cammie (the chameleon) was the MC. She was a sweet (but dangerous) 15 year old ( I think maybe 16. I can't remember) whose mom was the headmistress of the school. When it came to her friends she would do almost anything for them. (Not telling her friend something she found out to keep her from getting hurt, may have seemed mean but it wasn't.) Bex (Rebecca) was Cammie's in your face kind of friend. Strong-willed and also would fight for her friends. Liz (elizabeth) was the brainy, always wanting to do extra credit work, and teacher pet type girl. She seemed like maybe more of the innocent, shy girl. (But we know these girls are a deadly force) Macey was the new girl that came in a little later, and was the prom-type girl only more gothic-y. If that makes sense. Once the other 3 girls got use to her she helped them on their "boy mission" to learn about Josh and see how he reacted to Cammie. All the teachers seemed fun and at times a little weird, but I guess if you spent all your time in the CIA, FBI, whatever other spy like agency there is you'd be a little nut-so too. The teacher (Professor Smith) that always had a different disguise come a new school was fun because he thought he was being followed. Dr. Fibs wasn't in it much, but from was was told about him he was a genius who could make almost anything. I told you I loved just about every character. There was one thing that I'm not sure I liked about the book, but I can't say because then it kind of ruins some parts of the book. If you must know though...*Highlight the next few* *There wasn't really a villian that I could tell from the story. Which I guess is fine, but I'm use to all my books having someone be kind of mean. Maybe that was Macey's job before the girls started liking her. Other than that it seemed like at first maybe the boy would be, but turns out he wasn't really. That's all*

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