jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
3.0
In this case, it was a mistake to watch the TV adaptation before reading the source material. The story here is dark and moody, focusing on the complex power dynamics within a cheerleading squad and exploring the meaty themes of ambition and loyalty. Abbott's writing is often biting and smart, absolutely nailing the essence of teenage girls, but the story didn't fully engage me and I never came to care about the characters' ultimate fates. In contrast, the TV show does a lot more with the book by giving the characters additional depth, which worked wonders for mostly one-dimensional Beth on the page, and increasing the perspectives to widen the tale's world.
throatsprockets's review against another edition
4.0
Dare Me is a noir thriller about a cheerleading squad. It tells the story of a rivalry between the new coach and the squad captain, from the point of view of the captain's "lieutenant". It captures that element of teenage life where everyone is simultaneously jaded and naive, and where friends can flip in or out of a popular clique over the smallest things.
It's a dark read, completely bereft of sympathetic characters. Megan Abbott captures the way teenagers can be world-weary and still utterly ignorant of the patterns of human behaviour by giving her narrator a vocabulary beyond her years but showing her missing the most basic things even when they're waved in front of her nose.
This is very much the sort of thing I want from crime fiction: not so much a tight plot or a clever mystery, but a sharp and ruthless view of the way people behave at their worst.
It's a dark read, completely bereft of sympathetic characters. Megan Abbott captures the way teenagers can be world-weary and still utterly ignorant of the patterns of human behaviour by giving her narrator a vocabulary beyond her years but showing her missing the most basic things even when they're waved in front of her nose.
This is very much the sort of thing I want from crime fiction: not so much a tight plot or a clever mystery, but a sharp and ruthless view of the way people behave at their worst.
carlyroth10's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Mediocre to the Max. Maybe it was just too unrealistic and unrelatable or it just lacked the shock factor needed to excuse those things. It was so dramatic, it was dark and twisted sure, but to a point where I was sitting here thinking, “lmao when would this ever happen”.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
I've said before that I'm not much of an athlete, and I write a website about how much I love reading, so it probably will shock no one if I admit that in high school, I was not a fan of the cheerleaders. As an adult I've come to understand why wearing a tight, revealing, glittery outfit and flinging one's soft girl parts around leads to popularity (or at least notoriety), but I still feel pretty grumbly about the way the world works. Fortunately, I've also met a few former cheerleaders who are both smart and sweet, shining counterexamples to the plasticky snarks I remember from 2003.
As a sign of my ever-increasing maturity, I decided to give this book about cheerleaders a chance. Were there sections in which the characters glorified their endeavor with ridiculous hyperbole? Did I have to pause occasionally to roll my eyes at the nobility with which they self-importantly endowed their jumps and tosses? Yes, and yes. But I still found myself racing to the end of the book, anxious to find out just how crazy and bitchy these girls were.
The action is narrated by Addy, sidekick to scary alpha girl and cheer captain Beth. When a new coach is hired for the squad, Beth finds herself unseated from her treasured captain's position. Addy, transfixed by the new coach, a late-twenties beauty with a husband, daughter, and a big secret, drifts away from Beth and her catty commentary. However, Beth is not the type to be pushed aside without a fight. A really ugly fight, in which one person ends up dead.
This book is so dark, the girls so ruthless, the competition so fierce, and the dialogue so loaded, it reminded me of the movie Black Swan. You think it's a movie about ballet, how edgy can it be? And then Natalie Portman stabs Mila Kunis with a mirror shard. In the book, it's less about physical violence and more about the power of information—who has it, and what they choose to do with it. And these girls choose total destruction.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
As a sign of my ever-increasing maturity, I decided to give this book about cheerleaders a chance. Were there sections in which the characters glorified their endeavor with ridiculous hyperbole? Did I have to pause occasionally to roll my eyes at the nobility with which they self-importantly endowed their jumps and tosses? Yes, and yes. But I still found myself racing to the end of the book, anxious to find out just how crazy and bitchy these girls were.
The action is narrated by Addy, sidekick to scary alpha girl and cheer captain Beth. When a new coach is hired for the squad, Beth finds herself unseated from her treasured captain's position. Addy, transfixed by the new coach, a late-twenties beauty with a husband, daughter, and a big secret, drifts away from Beth and her catty commentary. However, Beth is not the type to be pushed aside without a fight. A really ugly fight, in which one person ends up dead.
This book is so dark, the girls so ruthless, the competition so fierce, and the dialogue so loaded, it reminded me of the movie Black Swan. You think it's a movie about ballet, how edgy can it be? And then Natalie Portman stabs Mila Kunis with a mirror shard. In the book, it's less about physical violence and more about the power of information—who has it, and what they choose to do with it. And these girls choose total destruction.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
ravenrenee's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cheyenneisreading's review against another edition
4.0
Slow to start but there is a good story in there