Books like I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
If you liked I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, read Stormbreaker, The Name of This Book Is Secret, or The Red Pyramid — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes and reading level.
Closest match: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz — shares spies
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Looking for books like I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter (Realistic Fiction · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of man-woman relationships, nyt:series_books=2010-07-11, and spies. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.
These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.
10 books similar to I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
StormbreakerAnthony Horowitz
The Name of This Book Is SecretPseudonymous Bosch
The Red PyramidRick Riordan- A Wolf Called WanderRosanne ParryA Wolf Called WanderRosanne Parry
Lulu's Mysterious MissionJudith Viorst
My Explosive DiaryEmily Gale
Bink & GollieKate DiCamillo
Point BlankAnthony Horowitz
Red KayakPriscilla Cummings
The CompoundS. A. Bodeen
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Why each is a match
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- Stormbreakergrades 5–8
- Shares themes of spies and overlapping grades (5–8). Amazon → books like this →
- The Name of This Book Is Secretgrades 6–8
- Shares themes of new york times bestseller and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
- The Red Pyramidgrades 3–8
- Shares themes of new york times bestseller and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
- A Wolf Called Wandergrades 4–6
- Shares themes of new york times bestseller, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
- Lulu's Mysterious Missiongrades 2–8
- Shares themes of spies, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
- My Explosive Diarygrades 2–8
- Shares themes of spies, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Bink & Golliegrades 2–8
- Shares themes of new york times bestseller and overlapping grades (2–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Point Blankgrades 6–8
- Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
- Red Kayakgrades 6–8
- Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
- The Compoundgrades 6–9
- Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Books like I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You for younger readers (K–2)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.
- Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton · grades K–3 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
- Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
- We Are in a Book by Mo Willems · grades K–3 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller.
Books like I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You for elementary readers (grades 3–5)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.
- Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton · grades K–3 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
- Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2000s).
- We Are in a Book by Mo Willems · grades K–3 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller.
Books like I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You for high school & teens (grades 9–12)
Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list.
- Lore by Alexandra Bracken · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list.
- The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list.
- Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
- Five Survive by Holly Jackson · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Common questions
- What books are similar to I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You?
- The 10 closest matches to I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter on ReadingList include Stormbreaker, The Name of This Book Is Secret, The Red Pyramid, A Wolf Called Wander, and Lulu's Mysterious Mission. Each is scored on shared themes (man-woman relationships, nyt:series_books=2010-07-11, and spies), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
- Are books like I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You reading-level appropriate?
- Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
- How does ReadingList choose similar books?
- Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.
Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.
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