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Monday, July 22, 2013

Review of Katie McGarry's 'Dare You To'

 
 
Goodreads Description:
 
Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."


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....
 
 
About Author:
 
 
KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, katielmcgarry.com, follow her on Twitter @KatieMcGarry, or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.
 
 
My Review:
 
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book going into it. I figured it wouldn't be bad because Katie McGarry is such an amazingly talented writer, but this is Beth's story and after reading 'Pushing the Limits' I wasn't the biggest fan of Beth. Somehow McGarry made me care about her though. In the end I loved this book.
I've read reviews that said Beth was a little too stubborn in this book, but I think it wouldn't have been true to her character if she hadn't been. Beth has a dirty mouth, she's abrasive, and to be completely honest she's kind of a bitch. But underneath all of that attitude is a scared little girl. Her story revealed what's under her façade and in the end she was a better person. She truly learned to love and trust and in that she became better. Her story teaches us a beautiful lesson about life and the healing power of both love and trust.
I adored Ryan too of course. He came across to the outside world as perfect and a touch arrogant, but underneath he had his own demons to face down in the story. Beth helped save him just as much as he saved her. I couldn't get enough of their scenes together and watching their strained interactions slowly turn into scenes of honesty and trust. I felt the story of their relationship was incredibly realistic and sincere.
The writing and story were perfectly written and organized. Katie McGarry is one of those writers where their books are so satisfying to read and flow really well, but I can't place my finger on why exactly. There is just something about her writing that is so amazing, but I have a hard time articulating what it is that makes it so good. It's kind of ironic considering I fancy myself a book reviewer. Maybe one day I will be able to place exactly what makes it so awesome, but in the meantime I am just grateful that writers like McGarry exist.
After reading this book I can't wait to read her next book, 'Crash Into You' which tells the story of Isaiah falling in love. I loved him in 'Pushing the Limits' and I loved him just as much in 'Dare You To'. I felt really bad for him in this book. In 'Pushing the Limits' it alluded to Isaiah being in love with Beth, but in this book he finally admitted it. Beth had to shoot him down both because she wasn't in love with him and because she fell in love with Ryan. I can't wait to read about him getting his happy ending, assuming he gets one (fingers crossed).
The bottom line is I loved this book just like I love everything McGarry writes and I'm now counting down the days until her next release.
 
 
My Rating:
 
 
 

1 comment:

  1. Great review! I really liked this book too. I actually read it before Pushing the Limits so I was able to be unbiased with Beth. It was interesting to read Pushing the Limits second and see how she acted in that book.

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