Review: Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Title: Dare You To

Author: Katie McGarry
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release date: May 28th, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Summary: 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... (summary from Goodreads)

My thoughts: This book is about Beth, who we meet in Pushing the Limits, who is Noah’s friend. Beth moves to her uncle. He has very strict rules, like no smoking, not showing too much skin, and not visiting Noah and Isaiah. She is scared of letting people in, because of her past, and doesn’t think anyone could actually love her. Before she moved to her uncle, she used to smoke pot, drink and smoke, but can’t continue when she moves. She misses her friends, and she’s worried about her mother, who has some serious problems, like an abusive boyfriend.

   Beth’s father left her and her mother when she was a kid, and she thinks it was her fault he left.

   Ryan is a jock. He’s in Beth’s new school, very popular, and used to date the popular girl in school. His family seems perfect on the outside, but really, they have some major problems, like his parents ignoring his older brother, Mark, because he told them he’s gay. 

   Ryan plays baseball, and he’s really good at it, too, and his father is really supportive, when it comes to baseball. He’s also good at writing. He has some problems with standing up to and defying his parents, even when it comes to things when it seems like the best thing to do is to defy them. They are very concerned about how everyone else thinks of them. He’s pretty confused, and doesn’t know what to do with his future.

   As I expected, Beth and Ryan were really relatable. It was very interesting to follow their struggles with questions about life, love and the future. They really grew throughout the story and learned from their mistakes. They weren’t perfect, but had flaws. It was really captivating. I shared their happiness, their sadness, their worries and their love. I couldn’t put it away; I needed to know how everything would go for them.
   I loved the other characters, too, although I didn’t get to read anything from their perspective. I especially loved Lacy. She was a really good friend, really loyal and sweet.

   The plot was good. It moved along pretty quickly, and was easy to follow. It never got boring to read. It had details, but only the ones that made the book better, they didn’t make it too long.

   Overall, a really good read, and it lived up to my expectations of it, and I'd really recommend it.