Lost in Wonderland: Review- Dare You To (Katie McGarry)

Synopsis

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....

- Goodreads.com

My Review

Katie Mcgarry is an amazing writer. She has the rare talent of taking a typical YA topic, which would normally be turned into an over clichéd YA high school romance with no depth, and gives it a complete overhaul. Everyone’s read at least one book about the popular jock falling for the quiet, reserved girl...or in the case of Dare You To, the loud, obnoxious girl from the wrong side of the tracks. But this book is different, it just is. There’s a spark in this book that really makes it stand out from all the other YA contemporary books.

As for the actual story and characters, let’s start with Beth. We were first introduced to her in ‘Pushing the Limits’ and it was nice to see her story being told. I felt Beth’s personality was carried over consistently from the first book. The best word to describe her; firecracker. She has all the right tools, pretty to look at, fiery but definitely dangerous if you get on the wrong side. As the story progresses though we obviously get to see her mellow a bit, and her character really develops. The only time I really got frustrated with her is in reference to her talking about her mother and how she felt the need to protect and look after her. I must be a horrible person, because all I wanted to do was reach into the book and throttle Beth and tell her to just give up, because it's a lost cause.

I suppose I should also mention a little something about Ryan...*sigh* he was everything a male lead should be. All of his actions had a sincerity behind them that made me actually believe his feelings for Beth were real. Even though the whole ‘romance’ started off as a dare on his part, the feelings he developed were genuine and as a reader there is nothing more satisfying than a genuine romance.

There were a few things that I was upset about in regards to this book, mostly the fact that I thought all throughout ‘Pushing the limits’ that Beth and Isaiah would become the couple, I’d been longing for them to become. But to be honest I don’t mind that Ryan turned up out of the blue. He’s a pretty decent guy, and it also means we get to read Isaiah’s story next *fan-girl giggle*

Overall I actually think I enjoyed this book a little more than I did ‘Pushing the Limits’, but to be honest they are both great books, and I cannot wait for ‘Crash Into You’ which is all about Isaiah.