Dare Me

I wrote this review while playing Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)." There are reasons why that's appropriate, but that might delve into spoilerific territory, so I digress.Forewarning: this will be a long review, possibly one breaking the character limit. That might be surprising considering I'm giving this (close to) 5-stars. In the aftermath of reading this, I will definitely be reading more of Megan Abbott's work. No question.Short version of this review: I freaking loved this book. Problematic as all heck - I realize - but that was a ride I would want to ride again, over and over. Willingly.The long version of this review gets a bit more complicated because I'll acknowledge this book has significant caveats and (notably) won't strike everyone the same way. It is entirely a love it or hate it read, and it's problematic to say the least (understatement). I understand why, and I'd understand anyone's hesitation to pick it up. I should also mention that while this features a teen protagonist, this is very much an adult book. (I definitely think there are teens who would appreciate this read for what it offers. Considering the content, though, it's a hard bargain. Discretion advised.)I'd honestly say this is one to give a try at the very least because...dude. Let's have a conversation."Dare Me" was yet another library recommended read that I randomly picked up in the context of recs made in the scheme of "Gone Girl." As you guys know, I take comparison reads very lightly. More often than not, they're not always accurate and can set up unrealistic expectations. In the aftermath of reading this, I somewhat see why the rec came about. For one, it's a very dark read - the tension in "Dare Me" is so thick wading through it, you find yourself lost in its pull of the trainwreck variety. I could not stop reading this book once I started. Even putting it down, I wanted to pick it back up again because I had no idea where the heck it was going. It has more than its fair share of twists and turns.Another similarity: the characters are supremely unlikable. I didn't like a single character in this book, not even the protagonist Addy (who arguably has some sympathetic qualities, she's quite the anti-hero). So you might wonder why I give close to five stars for a book that's essentially about a bunch of pretentious, self-absorbed teenage cheerleaders abusing Adderall and doing everything they can to maintain slim figures and championing unhealthy eating habits and eating disorder behavior?Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for well-developed, unlikable characters playing head games with each other and exploiting/competing in positions of power, which is pretty much what happens in this book. Almost to the point it could be Shakespearean. Think Othello being manipulated by Iago when it comes to O's relationship with Desdemona. Except this isn't a romance or really something that's heavily suggestive in that scheme. Not in the least (though you could fill a bucket with the sexual tension in this book). Relationships are manipulated and manipulative. Every single character here has their own aims and desires and they'll do whatever they feel necessary to get what they want. Or protect whom they need to in some cases.I'm still shocked that this book pulled me in as much as it did. I had no idea what I was signing up for when I picked up this book and I ended up completely blindsided for the experience.The story on its surface seems like a stereotypical one: you have a cheerleading team that's led by a very strong social butterfly (Beth) for a team captain and her best friend (Addy). Addy is the narrator for this book, and by every measure of description - Addy and Beth's relationship is inseparable. Beth's the queen, Addy's her partner in crime. Their relationship is a formidable one and not necessarily challenged by their peers. At least until a new coach comes into town.The new coach is a young, seemingly powerful woman that gradually wins over the team's affections with her no-nonsense approach to the drills and performances of the team. But it's also her lax demeanor that draws the girls in and allows them to bond with her. Abbott's descriptions for the performances by the team unfolds like watching a dance - I loved the descriptions here, even if sometimes they seem a bit superfluous.My enjoyment's probably heightened there because:1. The descriptions seem so vivid that they're artistically drawn in the prose.2. I'm a graduate in exercise science so the attention given to their bodies and movements really captivated me. I haven't seen that in a lot of texts like this and Abbott portrays it very well.3. The portrayal syncs truthfully with the character voice, for better and worse. Addy's character matches her voice for depictions of events and performances in her witness - she's a spoiled teenage girl with a dark streak and surrounded by other characters who are just as flawed as she is. This is especially well noted in the audio reading of this book. Addy's reflections are indulging for senses and symbolic parallels, yet flawed at the same time. So it worked for me.The coach seems to win everyone over, except Beth. Beth hates the coach with a furious passion, one Addy can't quite put her finger on for certain measures. At first Addy thinks it's because Beth has lost her former power as the team's captain, but it becomes more as Beth's hatred becomes personal, borderline obsessive over the Coach's life and secrets that are kept between the girls.Then the unthinkable happens to someone in their circles, and it throws the coach and the girls into a tailspin. Addy finds herself front and center in the midst of a game of secrets, lies, and manipulations. She's a puppet trying to find out who's pulling her strings and why. I LOVED that aspect of it. The story unfolds like a whodunit mystery but at the same time a dark series of power struggles and sensual tension that builds with a swelling crest up until the "a-ha" moment comes about. I didn't know what route it would go until the last possible point, and it made sense as far as the lying and manipulations were concerned on behalf of multiple parties.Addy's relationship with the coach is palpable, and the Coach, while she seems admirable on the surface, ends up not being much more mature than the students she teaches as her flaws come to the forefront, and she has her own motivations to lie. I saw that as intentional and not a flaw of the text itself. Whether the Coach's motivations are to protect herself or others remains to be seen, and Addy's left to the task of uncovering that on her own. Of course, Addy's pretty much a pawn in some measures, because she's played multiple times between people. It's also revealed that Addy knows Beth is far more twisted for intentions than one would think, to a point that Beth has this hate/love game that she makes Abby play - one piece at a time.While this read might seem cliche on the surface, it's really many layers of a drama built on top of an established stereotype, to be honest. It doesn't mince the fact that these characters are flawed, nor does it push the cast as worthy of emulation - rather stuck in their own delusions. Addy, Beth, and the rest of the crew are all flawed, and standing high on a precipice of denial, indulgence and power, with an event that rattles and threatens to break their foundation. (And I like the parallel that's drawn to the cheerleading routines with this aspect.) It's certainly seen (and felt) with respect to Addy's character, as she tries to navigate the confusion and conflict she feels over events even while she's a character with her own twisted justifications for things. She's also more than willing to hurt whom she has to in order to seek the answers she wants.And OMG, Beth. Can we talk about Beth? She's probably the character that's love to hate here. She's tugging strings and she doesn't care, but the text manages to give her human qualities in the scheme of things, even if you're not sure why she does the things she does up until a certain point, especially when Addy starts revealing things from their past that suggests her own callousness that could run parallel with Beth's manipulations. The two are really more similar than you'd think from the beginning of the work, and neither one of them are necessarily more "moral" than the other. It's just a matter of seeing why they act and react the way they do. Even then, there are points where it leaves you guessing because you're not exactly sure why their loyalties still lie to each other, but yet they're still willing to hurt and manipulate their close relationship. It's a power play, and the fact it's done by these teenage girls who have such social standing is scary enough to think about, especially when it comes to their coach and what they know and how they choose to dance with that information. There's some suspension of disbelief to be had, and I think Abbott works it well - but for some readers, that suspension may not be enough to drive some of the strong symbolic qualities and overarching themes this work has to offer. And that's a shame, because when it hits the ground running, it does remarkably well. I saw it, and I loved it.The ending of the work is hit or miss for events. I thought it was a bit quick for the resolution and even then, there's not a fulfilling sense of vindication for the wrongs that are committed. Then again, I don't think it was meant to be that kind of story, as this cast of fools pretty much end up with a queen and you're watching how all of them collide and function in this bubble, along with the "why".In the end, "Dare Me" answers the question of how far its cast will go to be on top, or risk losing it all, even if it has deadly consequences. I thought the book was brilliant for what it chose to show, with some rough edges and suspensions to take into consideration. I would read this again, readily, for how dark, twisted, and vivid the presentation came across in Abbott's narrative.Overall score: 4.5/5 stars

Addy and Beth had been best friends since childhood. As members of their high school cheerleading squad, Beth was the kingpin, with Addy as her first lieutenant. The balance of power changed upon the arrival of a new, young coach, Colette French.Beth was diabolical in her efforts to show Ms. French who was really in charge of the squad, with Addy to do much of her dirty work. Ms. French, in the meantime, took Addy under her wing and ultimately made her a confidante in a dangerous situation. This was too much for Beth to handle, so she upped her game. Within a short time, the game turned both ugly and deadly.Many thoughts ran through my mind as I read this book. I now understand why high schools and colleges have passed rules which curb cheerleading stunts. Studies have shown that cheerleading can be more dangerous than football. Who, in her right mind, would risk life and limb with a vindictive girl like Beth or her weakling sidekick, Addy, tossing them many feet into the air? Beth held nothing but scorn for her teammates and would stop at nothing to humiliate and even cause injury to them.Where was the once sacrosanct barrier between teacher and student? In my day, we might go out with our coach for a Coke and pizza after a game, but spending hours in the coach's house getting drunk together never entered our minds.Were the school administrators deaf and blind? Kids talk, and I was shocked that the so-called adult got away with her behavior. One "f" bomb to her charges probably would result in some kind of sanction. And surely no school would condone the teacher's alcohol-fueled parties.And, most disturbing of all, where were the parents? A group of drunk high school students driving around town at all hours of the night either defies credulity or is an indictment of the parents.Perhaps I grew up in a gentler, kinder time when cheerleaders and other athletes were nothing more than regular students in the eyes of the faculty. Maybe my local high school, which sends 99 percent of its students to college is an anomaly. Could there be a nexus between strict conduct and dress codes and students who are all required to perform community service before graduation with generally good kids? Are parents who monitor their children's whereabouts old-fashioned and autocratic?Kids starting at an early age will test limits, and to think that there are teachers like Coleen French in our school systems is frightening. Could Megan Abbott have written this book as a warning?Standing down from my soapbox now, I found Dare Me to be darkly mesmerising. The characters were richly developed, and sadly, the dialogue through a high school student's mouth was realistic.I highly recommend this book to parents and to those interested in adolescent psychology. It could be an eye-opener.

A noir-style mystery/thriller set in a high school cheerleading squad? Sign me up! This is the third Megan Abbott book I’ve read, and I’m starting to recognize her work’s hallmarks: the noir stylings, an intense relationship that is ostensibly not romantic but carries romantic undertones, the darkness of teenage girls and the power their developing sexuality holds. This book centers on the friendship between Addy and Beth, two cheerleaders whose longtime bond is threatened when a new coach comes to town. Beth has always been the dominant personality between the two, the captain to Addy’s lieutenant, but as Addy buys more and more into Coach’s methods and persona, the tables begin to turn. But no one is all they seem to be on the outside, and Coach has demons of her own. An unexpected death rachets up tensions even farther, and Addy will have to choose either Coach or Beth. I found this to be pretty successful as a noir-type mystery, the confusion around the death was engaging and kept me guessing. The vibes were generally well-deployed, there was a seemy underbelly type feeling that was David Lynch-ian. The rest of it is a bit of a mixed bag. Another Abbott trademark is an almost florrid style of prose, and that’s on full display here as well. The girls exult in their social power as cheerleaders, in their developing performance skills, and that is reflected in phrasing about glitter and armor and tans and hair that does start to take on a repetitive quality. The characters feel more like types than people, and particularly for Addy as a narrator I felt like I needed more depth to really feel anchored in the story.

Took a long time for it to come, but when it did I was happily surprised to find that it was in good condition. It was a hardcover and an old library book (there was a sticker on the inside with the barcode and the old sheet with the stamps that people used to use to sign books in and out). The pages are starting to yellow, but that isn't too much of a problem. I'd expect that, and for the price that's amazing. Very happy.

It's a nice teenage based book with some good twists and turns ..definitely a must read if you are a fan if adoloscent fiction

Tolle Charaktere, nicht unbedingt sympathisch, aber sehr interessant und authentisch geschrieben. Spannend bis zur letzten Seite, innerhalb von zwei Tagen durchgelesen. Eine klare Empfehlung!

2.5* I enjoyed Megan Abbott’s later efforts, particularly gymnastics-themed ‘You Will Know Me’, but this one fell flat. The writing veered between being self-consciously literary and corny, and the main characters were all unlikeable and mostly one-dimensional. The only redeeming feature was how well she captured the essence of cheerleading. With its slow and repetitive plot, I found myself rushing to the end - not out of excitement, but to finish it so I could read something more worthwhile.

This magnetic. torbid, seductive novel will bind you from the first to the last page. These girls, oh these girls are devils, but not as you would expect them in some stupid, boring movie about teenagers: here you will find something rotten, and yet frail and lovable. And you will find a meaning and a surprise at the very end.