If Hogwarts Taught Spy Skills Instead of Magic, It Would Look a Lot Like This

Source: Author Website

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter (2006; Disney-Hyperion, 2016, 304pp.)

If Hogwarts were a school for young spies instead of magic, it might look a lot like the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Fronting as a boarding school for bratty rich girls, it’s really a top-secret training school for spies. The school has hidden passageways, eccentric professors, and a rather unique curriculum, including classes in Covert Operations, Culture and Assimilation, and Protection and Enforcement (kind of like P.E., but way cooler). The heroine of the piece, Cammie “Chameleon” Morgan, is a sophomore and daughter to the headmistress, so naturally, she’s a whiz at spy stuff. When it comes to talking to guys, however, she’s clueless. So what does she do when she’s befriended by a sweet, handsome local boy? She can’t tell him anything about herself (that’s classified!), so she decides to make things up. Before long, the inevitable strains between her new boyfriend and schoolwork begin to form. Can her new beau handle the truth? With excellent world-building detail, sympathetic characters, and a strong heroine, the Gallagher Girls series makes an excellent choice for female teens looking for a new series. Recommended for Ages 13-15.