cover image I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

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

Ally Carter, , read by Renée Raudman. . Brilliance Audio, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-4233-1179-9

The spy game isn't just a guy game, as witnessed by Carter's diverting entry into the flurry of teen espionage novels flashing loads of girl power. Unfortunately, Raudman sounds like she's straining (and sometimes squeakily so) to sound younger than she is—and her intonation is a bit off, giving her reading a falseness that's hard to overcome. Cammie is a sophomore at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women—a place that lives up to its name, as Cammie knows 14 languages and is a skilled killing machine. Of course, Gallagher girls become the most elite spies, and Cammie fires ahead on that career track (as was her mother, now the school's headmistress) until romance—with an ordinary guy, no less—threatens to derail her progress. Despite any shortcomings, aficionados of this burgeoning fiction genre will be tempted to give this title a go. Ages 12-up. (May)