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

So, if you happen to be looking for a nice light read, and enjoy both teen and spy novels, you’re in luck. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter has just hit the press, and it is a total hoot. Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy For Exceptional Young Women. While the name implies the epitome of snooty girls’ private school, it is anything but. Not only are the girls all geniuses, the Academy is a covert operation for young female spies in training. The girls get extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. PE involves advanced martial arts. And science class teaches the latest in chemical warfare. All the training in the world doesn’t help Cammie when it comes to dating though. She may be able to speak fourteen languages, kill a man seven different ways with her bare hands, or follow him without detection, but she gets weak in the knees when it comes to ordinary boys, especially one by the name of Josh Abrams. Of course any self-respecting spy is aware of the danger of infiltration, so Cammie’s friends decide to check Cammie’s potential new boyfriend out just to be on the safe side. Breaking into his house, hacking into his computer, and checking out the family trash are just a few of the tactics hilariously employed.

Carter’s book is a blast. She’s obviously has a solid handle on the James Bond variety of spy fiction as well as her target audience. This was a fun read, which has, by the way been optioned by Walt Disney so don’t be surprised when it arrives at a movie theatre near you. In the meantime though, Ms. Carter is working on a sequel, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. I can’t wait to read Cammie’s further adventures with her friends, with boys, and with the whatever mission Gallagher Academy For Exceptional Young Women or life throws her way.