Review Detail

First Thoughts:

I read fewer contemporary novels than sci-fi, steampunk, paranormal and high fantasy, and don’t usually pick up the highly charged emotional novels, because they often descend into the sort of melodrama that causes my eyes to roll up to the ceiling. Yet Pushing the Limits was a real page-turner despite the drama and immediately placed Katie McGarry in my top three addictive writers list – joining Jennifer L.Armentrout and Brigid Kemmerer. There’s something about the writing of these authors that makes me simply devour the stories and it’s not easy to explain why. Whatever it is, when I saw Dare You to on Netgalley, I couldn’t not request a copy

Plot: We met Beth Risk in Pushing the Limits, where she went out of her way to be as uncharming as possible. Despite her confrontational ways, her friendship with Noah and Isaiah hinted at her ability to be a good friend. This story tells us exactly why Beth is such a hard cookie.

As mentioned in the blurb, Beth’s uncle ‘swoops’ in to give her a chance at a new life, but don’t expect Beth to be happy about it. You’d think finally having to only worry about school would be appreciated by Beth, but Katie McGarry does a great job at showing just how complex people can be. Beth’s angrier than ever in her new life, and the last thing she needs is ‘perfect’ boy Ryan Stone trying to charm her. Beth’s convinced there’s something more to his persistent interest and we already know all about his dare, but once again there’s more to this story. The plot examines how different Ryan Stone’s life is from the image his family portray. All in all the plot focuses on how often people make assumptions based on appearances and would be surprised if they were shown the whole picture. Rating: 4 out of 5


Characters: The images portrayed by Ryan and Beth are polar opposites – Mr Perfect and Ms Imperfect. He’s focused and controlled, while her energies are scattered and she’s quick to anger. Beth’s never been allowed to concentrate on herself – not on what she wants, let alone what she needs – which explains why she finds getting a break difficult to cope with (and trust). Ryan’s focused on the dream of becoming a pro-baseball player, while Beth’s not a dreamer…she’s an escape artist who has resorted to drink and weed. Yet below the images and at the heart of the people we find they aren’t all that different after all. Yes, they react to situations differently, but each of them cares about their parent(s), and each have to learn in their own way that truly being your own person isn’t selfish. The jock and the skater girl make for a surprisingly sweet – and sizzling – romance.

The sidekicks for these likeable characters are a great supporting cast, and the realistic conversations and interactions with family members help to bring out the detailed complexity of Beth and Ryan’s personalities. Ryan’s controlling father and perfectionist mother make his life at home less happy and free than most would assume. Beth’s mother demonstrates how not to win the “Parent of a Lifetime” award, after putting her daughter into harms way time and again, the reader can’t help but root for Beth. Rating: 4 out of 5.

Writing Style: The pace was great, making this a page turner. It’s true that the scenes and dialogue that pulled this story are mostly suffused by angst, and usually this would have me running for the hills. Yet when Katie McGarry has her characters exhibit this anger and generalised anxiety about life…well, she makes it work. When you get into the heads of the characters you can understand how they’ve come to distrust having opportunities. You understand why they would choose to live in the shadows than come out into the light.

“Emotion is evil. People who make me feel are worse. I take comfort in the stone inside of me. If I don’t feel, I don’t hurt.”

We move from scenes in Beth’s new high school – Ryan’s personal playground – to her new life with her uncle. Then we head off to Ryan’s dysfunctional family life and back to the horror of the non-family life Beth’s been leading, to her friendships with Noah and Isaiah – the latter who she sees as her best friend and confidante. It’s a world that shows that parents are just people, but given the people that Beth and Ryan’s parents are it’s good to have a couple of pretty swell adults to read about too. Rating 4 out of 5.