Prompt: Describe the author's stylePages read: Start 2 Finish
"This isn't your typical high school cheerleading novel..." is a lie. Dare Me has everything you'd expect out of this topic/genre; with the added bonus of a murder scandal. To give a brief summary, Dare Me focuses on an overly competitive cheerleading team who has just received a new head coach. 'Coach' commands respect, and is often given it. She often invites her team to her seemingly perfect house, where the girls are heavily influenced by Coach's behaviors. However, our protagonist's best friend, Beth, has not taken to Coach and trouble arises because of their tension. Throughout the novel, the reader learns more about each character and why they act the way they do, and whether the murder of Coach's boyfriend (outside of her marriage) is really a murder.
Megan Abbott is well known as a crime author, and this clearly reflects in Dare Me. I would describe the novel as thrilling, even though this type of book isn't my usual taste. Time seems to pass by extremely fast, and before I knew it I had finished all 300+ pages of it. Abbott's word choice isn't complex, and the book is far from verbose. However, her writing evokes a lot of emotion. You can nearly feel yourself being pushed to your physical limit during the team's practices, and to your psychological limits as the tension grows in Coach's household and between Addy and Beth.
One of my favorite aspects of Dare Me was how time was counted down. Much like Looking For Alaska, there is a set date for the countdown to conclude, but the ready really isn't sure what it signifies. In this book's case, the countdown is to "The Big Game" or something along those lines. Another great writing technique in this book was the stopping and starting of the relationship troubles. Addy (our protagonist) and Beth are up and down on terms of their coexistence, and Addy fluctuates between hazy confusion and her steadfast leadership in all areas of her life.
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