Dare Me

A Novel

By: Megan Abbott

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

From the award-winning author of The Turnout and Give Me Your Hand: the searing novel of friendship and betrayal that inspired the USA Network series, praised by Gillian Flynn as "Lord of the Flies set in a high-school cheerleading squad...Tense, dark, and beautifully written." Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls -- until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as "top girl" -- both with the team and with Addy herself.

Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death -- and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain.

The raw passions of girlhood are brought to life in this taut, unflinching exploration of friendship, ambition, and power. Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott, writing with what Tom Perrotta has hailed as "total authority and an almost desperate intensity," provides a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl.

Mental Health Was an Afterthought if that

I was disappointed that serious issues such as eating disorders and self harm were glossed over or made light of. I understand they were a part of the plot and not the focus but it concerns me greatly that they were handled so casually.

good thriller; lot of teen angst

good thriller with a lot of teen angst. good if you like that kind of thing.

Not a fan of this mean girl story

If you like twists and turns, you might enjoy this. I found no redeemable characters in the story.

Lifetime movie vibes?

Sooo the story was mor simple than i thought it would be but voice acting and everything is great..wont read again though.

not so great

I picked up this book because I saw that one of my favorite mystery authors, Gyllian Flynn, recommended it. Parts of it felt too YA for me even though I enjoy a good YA novel. Other parts were like, "whoa! this is for kids?" The character development was pretty good in a lot of ways. But the rest of it just didn't pull together for me. Almost like a trashy teen novel trying to pretend it is something more meaningful.