Basically that's it. Oh and a suicide thrown in for good measure. And a hint of pseudo lesbianism thrown about which doesn't even materialize into anything, but constantly lingers. One of my complaints of the John Hughes cycle of high school movies from the 1980s is that adults were nearly always portrayed as entities that teenagers either wanted to avoid or wanted out of their way. The teacher-student sub-genre is one of my favorites and Abbott takes great care building a dynamic relationship between master and pupil here. It may or may not be a healthy relationship once all is said and done, but it's a compelling relationship, with Addy seeking approval and emotional support, and Coach reaching out for companionship and just maybe an alibi for the police, with Beth lurking like The Shadow through much of the story seeking to deny them both that. Al final me he quedado como diciendo: jo, qué rabia. La verdad es que era una novela destinada a gustarme por varios elementos, pero que finalmente por varios motivos siento que se queda algo desinflada. Es como que no termina de darme todo lo que podría, aunque es verdad que hay cosas que jamás habría pensado en la historia, pero no sé... DARE ME is narrated by 16-year-old Adelaine (Addy)- who at the start of the story is best "frenemies" and lieutenant to Beth- the manipulative and emotionally abusive captain of their school's cheerleading squad- until the arrival of an attractive and exciting new coach- Colette French. As Beth starts losing control of Addy and the rest of her team- coach becomes "the enemy" who must be destroyed. This is NOT the Rah Rah cheerleading I remember from my high school, and DARE ME is NOT the YA reading I was doing in my teenage years. I am not a parent- if I was I would cringe a little if I saw this book on my teenager's night stand- but as an adult I loved it. It has been billed as Fight Club for girls...but it reminded me more of Heathers meets Bring It On.

But the attention hasn’t all been positive. Aldama has been portrayed as a complicated figure: someone to whom the kids can turn for support – which many of them haven’t received elsewhere due to the circumstances of their upbringing – but also someone who rules the squad with an iron fist, encouraging cheerleaders to push through pain, at times to the point of collapse. Concerns were raised about the number of cheerleading-related injuries, including concussions and bruised ribs. Aldama was too tough, critics said, too heartless. but this is megan abbott restrained. it is as though someone told her to use fewer pretty words and focus on the story. First of all, purely accidental injuries are the ones that are the most difficult to deal with. These types of injuries will happen when you least expect them to. Purely accidental injuries could be as simple as somebody doing a jump and then landing on their ankle sideways. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to prevent this kind of injury as it was a pure accident that they landed that way. Another common accidental injury can be ACL tears in the knee. Sometimes a cheerleader will go to do a round-off for a tumbling pass and have their knee at a slightly wrong angle. Again, there is not much you could have done to prevent this type of injury. But my body is tight-tight-tightening. Hard and smooth, like hers. Waist pared down to nothing, like hers.”

This is a fiendishly entertaining, very clever, and uncomfortably realistic novel. The dangerous machinations and power struggles between these teenage girls almost eclipse the murder mystery and is a constant diversion, blinding you to even more sinister developments. By the end of the book I was on the edge of my seat!

I can't even go far enough in this book to find out the premise. I do not even care. This is god awful. This is the worst kind of writing ( edit: FINE. THE WORST KIND to me. I suppose you're allowed to like it). So many analogies that don't actually even MEAN ANYTHING. You can't just... say things... and call it writing. 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. To inspire and inform young athletes, Moffatt and Potter detail how the sport has moved from the sidelines onto the center stage, as well as how they predict the sport will continue to grow and evolve in the coming decade. To say I was "hooked" was an understatement. I was landed, gaffed and dressed like the marlin in The Old Man and the Sea. I have SHIT TO DO and now I'm going to spend the entire evening reading about noir cheerleaders. Damn you, Megan Abbott.

Customer reviews

I really wanted to like this book. I actually convinced myself that I did for a while. But now that my mental health has...changed, I can definitely tell that this book is not good. At all. It’s too problematic and insensitive. I came in looking for a dark aesthetic thriller with good tension and compelling characters. disclaimer: I DNF'd the book after Chapter Nine and have only seen a few clips of the TV show on YouTube. So my review is only based on the little bits that I have seen/read/heard.] I must provide a disclaimer however that my enjoyment of this novel (which includes incidents of teenage bullying) does not mean that I, in anyway way, condone that behavior. When I read this book, I was in fact dealing with anorexia. And the way this idolized dieting, losing inches off my waist, eating nothing but “weight-loss” foods and spending hours working out...that was harmful. It put me in the wrong mindset.