Review: Dare You To

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Release: May 28, 2013

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If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Last year, I read Pushing the Limits without any expectations. I also read it at a time in which I wasn't that into contemporaries. Pushing the limits rekindled my love for that genre, and Dare You To is the impressive follow up. It's a companion novel, so it's a full story all on it's own, but you do get to see a few familiar faces: Isaiah, Echo, and Noah. This book follows Beth's story as she's moves in with her uncle to start a new life. Beth is pissed, and wants nothing more than to go back and save her mother from the dangerous cycle of drugs, addiction, and abuse. She has no time to think about Ryan, the baseball player who seems to have a thing for her. 


With Ryan, it started off as a simple bet with his friends in a taco bell: to get her phone number. When Beth brushes him off, he's insulted...and intrigued. But Ryan's life is not quite as perfect as everyone would think. His father is a massive tight-wad, convinced his son will eventually play pro. Ryan also feels the loss of his estranged brother (estranged for reasons that are better left unsaid in this review). On top of that, he discovers his talent for writing, and is conflicted about his desires to play ball and to go to college after graduation. 


What I love about Katie McGarry's books is her ability to tug at your heart strings. She doesn't just write about love. She writes about life. These characters are all flawed, but they feel real. And I can't help but find myself crying, and laughing, with them as I read about their journey. The third (and final) companion novel can't come soon enough. I will read anything Katie McGarry writes. 

RATING: 5 SLICES