Dare You To
(Pushing the Limits 2)
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ TBD
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....
Beth’s life couldn’t be more horrible. Her mom is a drunk, her mom’s boyfriend likes to beat her and Beth, and Beth gets high just to numb it all. Beth knows she has to protect her mom no matter what, even if it means taking the fall and landing in jail. But then her uncle Scott returns, gets custody of her, and she finds herself in another town with a fresh new start. Thing is, Beth doesn’t want it.
Ryan’s life couldn’t be more perfect. He’s the team leader for the school’s baseball team, his parents are one of the most respected people in town, and a scout for the Cincinnati Reds, his freaking dream team, told him he was promising. But Ryan’s biggest secret is that his family is far from perfect. So Ryan spends his days playing the perfect son, the perfect jock taking dares from his friends, until he meets his match.
What starts off as a dare turns into something deeper. Beth and Ryan will risk heartache and dreams, because deep down they know what they have only come once in a lifetime.
Once again, Katie McGarry pushes the limits of YA with the awaited sequel Dare You To! It’s powerful, emotional, and one hundred percent heartfelt!
Beth is one of the most stubborn characters I’ve ever met. The girl has serious trust issues and, though she was right to not believe Ryan at the beginning, she was way too prejudiced against all jocks. Or just prejudiced against people in general. Beth so afraid of connecting with people that she pushes everyone away even when they care for her or want to help her. She knows caring leads to hurt, but she has to learn that sometimes you have to peel all the broken layers away and try again, start again.
Ryan has to be the most adorable jock character ever. Oh my goodness. Baseball has never been so interesting as when Ryan is telling me about it! Of course, boys and boys and Ryan wants to complete the bet, but as time goes by and he gets to know the real Beth he slowly but surely ends up falling for her! He doesn’t give up, even when Beth is all nasty and pushing him away.
These two were more than perfect for each other. Beth encourages Ryan to go after what he wants even if it means going against his father’s wishes and to follow his heart concerning his brother. In turn, Ryan makes Beth see that no everyone bails, and he is going to be there for her always. New beginnings aren’t so bad when you have people who love you there with you every step of the way.
This one didn’t make me cry uncontrollably like the first one, but it still tugged and ripped my heartstrings. I love this series and I can’t wait for the next installment of Crash Into You which tells Isaiah’s story. Two words: cars and racing!
*Arc copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley*
Favorite Quotes:
~Messing with Ryan~
My life shouldn’t be the only one that sucks. “He hit on me.”Silence as my words kill the moronic baseball conversation. Scott rubs his eyes. “You just met him.”
“Not now. Friday night. He hit on me and he stared at my ass while he did it.”
Joy. Utter joy. Okay, not utter, but the sole joy I’ve had since Friday night. Ryan yanks off his hat, runs his hand through his mess of sandy blond hair, and shoves the hat back on. I like him better with his hat off.
“Is this true?” Scott asks.
“Yes,” stutters Ryan. “No. I mean yes. I asked for her phone number, but she didn’t give it to me. But I was respectful, I swear.”
“You stared at my ass. A lot.”
~Girl Scout Badges~
I did good. Me, Beth Risk—I did a good deed. I would have made a great fucking Girl Scout and I so would have scored the Reunite Your Jock-sorta-boyfriend with his Jack-gaybrother badge. If they don’t make those, they seriously should.
