Book Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Initial Thoughts:

If I am completely honest, I didn’t want to read DYT because of Beth. She broke Isaiah’s heart and I couldn’t forgive her for that. Kayla kept telling me, Come on you’re gonna love it, and I refused until I finally caved on my own.

Review:

Why didn’t I read this sooner?! Honestly I’m kind of mad at myself it took me this long to kinda get over what Beth did to Isaiah so that I could finally read it. I’m glad that it finally happened though.

Date You To is Beth’s story right after Pushing The Limits. We saw Beth in PTL, and DYT is her and Ryan’s story.

Since I just mentioned Ryan can I just say I need a Ryan in my life. He is perfect. For me at least. He is a writer to begin with. I’m a sucker for those, and musicians too… and mechanic dudes like Isaiah. OMG, okay, a lot of guys are my type. Haha.

Anyways, Beth’s story surprised me so much. I did not expect her story to go like this. I personally think it sheds a light on her, and her very “tough” attitude. As a reader, we finally get a in-depth view of the circumstances in her life that made her hard and bitter. The beginning made me cringe a lot because of the effort Beth’s uncle was making to try to make her life better, yet he couldn’t really do much. The entire book is about her journey and how both her uncle and Ryan little by little start chipping away those walls she has built around her heart. Towards the end of the story, her walls hadn’t all collapsed, but she we can clearly see she is on the road to recovery (by that I mean her heart and mental state), and for those who have read Crash Into You, we know she is doing a lot better a few months down the road after DYT.

Ryan’s story made me cry a little. Okay, my eyes just got a little misty. The home he lives in is horrible. Can you imagine living in that type of hostile environment and having to be exactly what your parents want you to be 100% of the time? It made me upset that his father wouldn’t support his writing career. If your kid is good at something, I say support him in that. Don’t make him something he isn’t. Okay, I’m getting off my soapbox now.

I think the most important thing I learned from Beth’s story is the importance of realizing that our loved ones are not always how we picture them. We can’t make excuses for their bad choices. Beth’s mom didn’t learn her lesson and wasn’t going to either. Beth couldn’t see the damage and danger her mother is to herself and to Beth. When she realized that at the end, I finally exhaled in relief. Her mother needs helps, just not Beth’s help. If Beth wants her life to change, she needs someone else to take care of her mother.

Overall, I thought it was a great book, and I’m glad I read it.

(Reviewer note: Sorry Guys! I meant to post this review up like 3 weeks ago, but the job training I’m going through in Utah is intense and doesn’t leave me time to read or even write reviews, but I made time today! The blog will be back to regular schedule the month of August!)

Rating: 5/5