I'm so happy that we got a book for Beth (and that we're getting one for Isaiah!). Even though she was rough around the edges in Pushing the Limits, we got to see the real, more vulnerable Beth in Dare You To.

Dare You To was honestly an emotional roller coaster, not only for the characters, but for the readers. With Echo, we felt the pain and the hurt, but there was always that disconnect between the event, her, and the readers. With Beth, she's immersed in her problems, with her mom and her mom's abusive boyfriend, with Isaiah's confessions and rules, with her lack of trust in her uncle, with her hatred for her new aunt, with her father issues, with EVERYTHING. Beth has every right to run for her life once she finds herself starting to care, because everything she ever cared about before always seemed to let her down.

Then there's Ryan, the town's golden boy. Top notch at baseball, he is struggling with his future, which is being forced upon him by his father, and his own family issues. For some of us, Ryan's family issues seem so.. trivial, but then not everyone is as open to... change... as others are. Ryan's family is always fighting and nitpicking at each others faults, so when Ryan finds something he loves to do, aside from baseball, he's scared shitakeless 'cause his father has only seen one path for him, and it's in baseball, and baseball only.

When these two meet, they change one another's ideals for the better and give them the chance to be themselves, to hope for something better than they have.

Alright, so I can't say I didn't feel REALLY bad for Isaiah. I understand that he just wasn't the one for her 'cause I LOVE Ryan too. It was a hard toss up. But something I just didn't understand was Isaiah's inability to see that no matter what she did, Beth loved her mother unconditionally. By the end I understood her uncles distaste for her mother, but I felt like Isaiah, if he knew Beth so well, would also know that it would be almost impossible for her to let her mother go without something concrete to show that in the end, Beth's mother really didn't care. This was probably the determining factor for Beth, when it came to making a choice... As much as I wish Beth and Isaiah had gotten together, in the end, I can honestly say that they probably weren't the best for each other.

I absolutely loved the characters (if you haven't noticed already) and it was absolutely, heart-wrenchingly, wonderful to read about Beth and Ryan. McGarry's character development is amazing, and her plot building was perfect. What I especially loved was the dares, they were so out there, but at the same time they helped weave together the book, the characters, and the plot. Although I never thought I'd say it, I think I enjoyed Dare You To even more than Pushing the Limits. Dare You To shows that you can get everything you ever wanted if you just pushed yourself. But sometimes, you need someone else to help you take that first step. Definitely an awesomtastic read. Loved it and I can't wait to read Isaiah's story in Crash Into You!

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
GoodReads: 4.25/5

-review by Between Printed Pages