Dare You To by Katie McGarry: A Review

Beth’s the bad girl that no-one wanted, not even parents.
Ryan’s the high school hero that everyone wants a piece of – even if no-one knows the real him.
Their paths should never have crossed – now they’re each other’s only life line.

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s mum they’d send her mother to jail. So seventeen year old Beth protects her mum at all costs. Until the day she can’t. Suddenly sent to live with her uncle in a small town Beth’s now stuck with an aunt who doesn’t want her, and at a school that doesn’t get her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t go anywhere near a girl like Beth. . . .

Ryan Stone is gorgeous, a popular jock and the town golden boy—with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Even his friends. As Ryan and Beth dare to let each other in, they’re treading on dangerous ground – and the consequences could change their worlds forever.

(From NetGalley)

I first became aware of this author with her debut book, Pushing the Limits, a book which I really enjoyed for its gritty portrayal of the romance between a good girl with issues and a bad boy with even more hard-hitting issues. I wasn't sure what to expect with Dare You To because I was wondering how the author could top the first book, but I didn't need to worry. The author very capably depicts the romance between the main characters, just as she did in Pushing the Limits, only in this case, the roles are reversed - the girl is bad and the boy is golden. But, somehow, it works. And even though their relationship begins on a dare, it really blossoms into something else and it does so in a believable way.


I really liked the characters. Sometimes I wanted to shake Beth and scream at her not to throw away her second chance - just as I would if she were a real person. Sometimes, it really grated on my nerves that she kept pushing Ryan away and was so stubborn in her anger toward her uncle - who was really just trying to help her - but I'm glad I stayed with the story long enough to see it through to the end. It was well worth it. Ryan, on the other hand, was just the type of guy you want to take home to Mom - loyal, kind, and a little bit tortured. His biggest flaw is probably his loyalty to people who don't always deserve it, namely - his parents. They drove me crazy. They were so into image, they didn't really care what was important to their sons.
So if you liked Pushing the Limits or - if you haven't read that one yet (you should) - you just like gritty, realistic contempiorary YA stories, you should really give this book a try. Dare You To.

Pushing the Limits - Of My Reading Pleasure!

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.  

"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter,  New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.  Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

(From Goodreads)

This is one of those rare books that comes along and challenges you every step of the way. It challenges your perceptions of people, their motives, and what their true natures really are. For m, that is a very good thing. I don't like stories that are so predictable that I get bored half way through and can't even finish them. I much prefer stories that grab me by the shirt and demand that I read, from start to finish, in as little time as possible because I just have to get to the end to see how it all works out. Pushing the Limits is such a book.

I was hooked from the beginning of this book and it dragged me through to the end, a captive audience of one. I lost sleep over this book, staying up into the early hours of morning, because I just couldn't put it down. i had to find out what would happen to Echo and Noah. Let me just say this: I loved these two characters. They were, at first glance, so different from each other that they seemed like an unlikely pair doomed to failure. But as the story progressed, it turned out that they weren't so different after all. They both have secret desires, secret agendas, and pretty messed up lives. The only difference being, hers is a more privileged upbringing than his. Despite their differences, they find a common ground and before they know it, they are very involved with each other, and the story just takes off from there. I won't spoil any of that here - you'll just have to read it and decide for yourself. For me, this was an enjoyable, slice-of-life read.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Simone Elkeles, Sarah Dessen, and Jennifer Echols.

(Copy provided by NetGalley)