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



Carter, Ally. 2006. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. New York: Hyperion.
1-4231-0003-4.

Cammie Morgan is 15 years old. She is a sophomore at Gallagher Academy For Expectational Young Women, which evidently her mom is headmistress. And, she is in love with Josh. Cammie has a lot of secrets, of which she can no tell Josh. She doesn't tell him what school she goes to because it is known as school of spoil rich heiresses. Cammie is not a heiress bu actually a spy. The Gallagher Academy For Expectational Young Women is actually a school to train young spies. She was actually on a mission when she met Josh. However, she and Josh start dating. But Cammie's life becomes a life of deceit. She sneaks out of school to see Josh and constantly lies to him to keep her cover. She lies about her school and home life. Her cover is blown when one of Josh's friend sees her enter the Academy. Cammie comes clean to Josh about everything. Josh breaks up with Cammie. As a final exam at school, Cammie is "kidnapped". Josh, thinking the kidnapping is real tries to rescue Cammie.
     Young adult mystery plots, characters etc don't have to be believable but they can be exaggerated as in this book. The first passage that made me realize that this was an out of the ordinary teen fiction was:
"After all, when you're on a plane home from Istanbul with a nuclear warhead in a hatbox, the last thing you want to do is write a report about it." It doesn't seem the typical girl falls for guy and tries to win him over book. It is adventure and mysterious but I want to read about the falling in love part. The exchanges between Josh and Cammie are believable. Some teens may identify with Cammie when she states that she like to disappear and be invisible, in the first line on this novel. However,one theme may be lying and deceit. Cammie has to constantly lie to Josh and lie more to cover up the first lie. She has to sneak out of school to see him and make sure n one is following her when she returns. In following with characteristics of a mystery young adult novel, Cammie is clearly in a romantic relationship her clear focus and problem is to keep Josh away from her true identity. And just like all, mysteries, all the ends of the mystery/adventure tie up nicely.

     Although, this book didn't win any major literary awards, it is a fun book to read. The book may be made into movie, which I can see with the "spy" theme. One critic wrote: 
"However, the novel has been optioned for a film and will likely attract readers who enjoy lighthearted, frothy tales and squeaky-clean romances.Unfortunately, it lacks the warmth and appeal of other teen books turned into movies, such as Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries (HarperCollins, 2000) and Ann Brashares's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Delacorte, 2001."–Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library for School Library Journal.