48 pages • 1 hour read
Ally CarterI'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Appearances Affect How We Treat Others
The characters of I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You show the world various faces. As a result, they are treated differently depending on how they are perceived. As seen through how the townspeople treat the Gallagher girls, how Cammie and her friends treat Macey, and Josh’s family dynamics, the novel explores how appearances affect how people treat others.
The Gallagher Academy’s cover story is as an elite boarding school for rich girls. Though few of the girls who attend the school actually fall into this category, the people of the nearby town know nothing about the school’s true purpose and so judge the Gallagher girls based on the cover story’s appearance. In Chapter 9, while Cammie is out during driver’s ed class, Josh gives the school van the “Gallagher glare,” which she defines as “when people look at me as if I must be privileged” (97). Until the end of the book when Josh learns where Cammie goes to school, he treats her like a “normal” person, but when he learns the truth, he instantly turns on her, despite the fact that Cammie never acted like the stereotype of a Gallagher girl. He’s angry she lied to him, but that anger is rooted in believing she did so because she’s a privileged rich girl who likes to play games.
When Macey first comes to the academy, Cammie, Bex, and Liz treat her similarly to how the townspeople treat the Gallagher girls. Macey really is a rich girl from an important family, and her entry to the school shows how the Gallagher girls aren’t immune to judging others based on their appearance. Cammie and her friends want nothing to do with Macey in the beginning because she’s stuck-up and rude. As the book progresses and the girls get to know Macey, they realize they’ve judged her based on how her family status made her appear, rather than who she actually is. Macey proves herself as a competent spy and true friend, and by the end of the book, the girls change how they view her. Macey’s outward appearance changes when she alters her attitude, and as a result, people treat her differently at school.
Different treatment doesn’t apply only to Gallagher girls. Within his family, Josh is the golden child who’s expected to follow in his dad’s footsteps and run the family pharmacy. His parents treat him as if this will definitely happen, implying that they would change their treatment if Josh announced he wasn’t going to take up the business. As an outsider, Cammie sees Josh differently. Rather than the perfect example of what she wants him to be, Cammie just sees him as a boy that she likes. She doesn’t put pressure on him, and the less intense way she treats him allows Josh to relax around her. Josh’s and Cammie’s fresh perspectives of one another allow them to see themselves in a new light and find the parts of themselves worth changing. For them, being treated differently turns into a growth experience.
When the characters of I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You see past outward appearances, they help one another change and grow. Letting stereotypes and ingrained ideas of who someone is rule our thinking traps us in stagnant thinking. Being open to the idea that others aren’t always who they seem lets the characters see past differences to how they are all similar on the inside.
The Power of Secrets
Many characters keep secrets throughout I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You. All of these secrets carry some kind of power, and that power is different for the secret-keeper and the people who have secrets kept from them. Through the secret of the Gallagher Academy’s true purpose, the secrets Cammie keeps from Josh, and the secret Cammie and Macey keep about Bex’s dad, the narrative reveals how secrets can help or hurt us.
To those in the know, the Gallagher Academy has a reputation for producing the best female spies in the world. The school’s cover story for the town shrouds it in secrets that help it remain in operation without drawing undue attention. The closely guarded secret of the school’s nature means there is no reason for the townspeople to question the academy’s cover story. Even among the “elite,” the school’s purpose is not shared, evidenced by how Macey’s parents are not let in on the secret. Such tight security allows the school to pass under the radar of anyone seeking more information. The simple secrecy around the school gives it, and by extension everyone within its walls, power, and that power lets the girls train to save the world, showing how secrets can help on a global level.
The main plot of the novel revolves around the secrets Cammie keeps from Josh about who she is and where she goes to school. As long as she keeps these secrets, Cammie holds the power in their relationship, only giving Josh enough information to know the girl she wants him to like. Cammie devises details about her made-up life that are designed to steer Josh away from suspecting that she attends the Gallagher Academy. By contrast, Josh tells Cammie the truth about his life, which creates a different kind of power imbalance. Cammie can alter the details about herself at a moment’s notice, but at the end of the book, Josh’s truths prevail where Cammie’s secrets fall apart. The tea Josh drinks will make him forget Cammie and the school, preserving the academy’s secrets. The secret of the school overpowers any secrets Cammie keeps from Josh. Secrets don’t need to be kept from someone who doesn’t know something exists.
In later chapters, Cammie and Macey keep the secret of Bex’s dad being potentially lost. While Bex remains blissfully ignorant of what’s happening, the secret tears Cammie and Macey up inside because they hold on to the pain for Bex. This single secret has the power to influence emotions in two different directions. When Bex’s dad does check in, Bex’s response to the “hello” he left for her is “that’s nice,” to which Cammie thinks she ““would never know how nice” (244). Having lost her dad, Cammie understands the damage this secret could bring to Bex, and once there’s no longer a need to keep it, the relief is palpable. By contrast, Bex was never let in on the secret and was spared from the pain of its knowledge.
While secrets have power, it isn’t necessarily for good. Secrets keep the school out of the public eye, but they also damage Cammie and others by wreaking havoc on their emotions. The truth can overpower secrets, but secrets have power that the truth does not.
No Family Is Perfect
The families, both blood and found, in I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You show the importance and imperfection of family. The characters want what they don’t have without always understanding how good they have it. Through how the Gallagher girls are like family, how Cammie and her friends treat Macey, and how Cammie views Josh’s family, the novel explores the different types of families and how each affects its members.
Several times, Cammie says her fellow Gallagher girls are like sisters, even telling Josh she has sisters as part of her cover story. Though none of the girls are related by blood, they are very close, and they trust each other by virtue of the Gallagher sisterhood, perhaps more than blood sisters would. The Gallagher girls may be compared to a sorority, if one with less drama than those found in the average university. The girls share information about one another like sisters do, but unlike blood sisters, the Gallagher spies have the resources to learn information their sisters may wish kept private. Where blood sisters might use private information against one another, the Gallagher girls have an unspoken agreement to not use their skills to harm each other.
Macey’s acceptance to the Gallagher Academy does not automatically make her a Gallagher girl or part of the sisterhood. Her status as a latecomer coupled with her attitude toward the school make the girls dislike her and not want to let her into their circle. A few times, Bex almost starts a fight with Macey. Where fights within the sisterhood are usually frowned upon, the girls don’t stop Bex or jump to Macey’s aid because Macey isn’t “one of them.” Like blood sisters, the Gallagher girls can be exclusive when they want to be and push away those they don’t see fit to make part of the family. As Macey proves her worth to the girls, both by offering boy advice and by showing her skills and willingness to protect her sisters, she becomes part of the family. By the end of the book, the Gallagher mindset becomes more open toward expansion and change.
Throughout the book, Cammie grapples with her own family. She loves her sisters and her mother, but after seeing Josh’s “normal” family, she wonders what it would be like to have a loving relationship without the backdrop of secret missions and cover stories. Josh’s complete family (two parents and sibling) makes Cammie long to have her dad back, and she gets so lost in wanting what Josh has that she loses sight of the sisters that care so much for her. Regarding taking over the pharmacy, Josh expresses his discontent with his family and tells Cammie she’s lucky because “no one's waiting on you to be some kind of chosen one” (203). Given Cammie’s status as a Gallagher legacy and the pressure put on her by her parents’ reputations in the spy world, Josh’s observation is untrue. Cammie has just as much (perhaps more) pressure put on her by her family. Despite her status as a spy and Josh being a “normal” American teenager, their families are more similar than they are different, something Cammie doesn’t realize until the end of the book.
The families in I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You are complex, and despite their differences, they have more in common than not. The Gallagher girls and Josh’s family each have their issues, which are easier for an outsider to see. Any family can appear perfect when viewed in its best moments, but choices about which situation is better should not be made off best moments alone.
