This is how you keep everything from collapsing.Īnd it’s only ever a partial vision, because that’s the only way to keep everyone up in the air. Don’t look left.Įyes on the Flyer’s eyes, shoulders, hips, vigilant for any sign of misalignment, instability, doubt. Right spot, keep your focus on the right flank. Left spot, keep your focus on the left flank. Your only focus should be your girl, the one you’re responsible for the one whose leg, hip arm you’re bracing. There, you have to bolt your gaze to the bodies in your care, the ones right above you. Later, watching ourselves, it never feels real… It’s nothing like it is on the floor. I particularly liked this passage, as Addy explains the intensity and interconnectedness of their stunts:īeing part of a pyramid, you never see the pyramid at all. The pressure is intense, and the risk is real, and yet these girls keep throwing themselves into it, with applause and adrenaline - and a sense of cheating death - the reward for success. The author attempts to describe the high physical risks involved in this sport as well, the peril of flying, pushing, pulling, and lifting, with only the other girls’ arms and attention keeping one’s head from crashing onto the ground. Beth is not one to take insult or injury lightly, and she goes to war in her own patented, insidious way, with Addy caught in the middle and at risk of being pulled apart.ĭare Me presents a rather appalling peek inside the world of cheerleading, as the girls indulge in extreme dieting, punishing workouts, and casual self-induced vomiting in order to be at their fighting and flying best. Coach French pegs Beth for what she is right away, knocks her from the top of the pyramid, as it were, and sets in motion a chain of events that turns disastrous very quickly, with emotional and physical casualties piling up along the way. Only Addy has seen past Beth’s facade and knows some of the inner working of Beth’s tumultuous and devious heart.ĭisrupting the power structure and rocking it to its core is the arrival of a new coach. Addy, however, has known Beth since elementary school and Pee Wee cheer, and they’ve been best friends ever since. The snide comments designed to undermine others’ confidence, the hip-shaking strides down the school corridor, the ability to put anyone, boy or girl, back in their place - their place being always subservient to Beth - these are Beth’s tools of the trade, her natural forté.

The story focuses on Addy, lieutenant to cheer squad captain Beth, happy and secure in her number two role, always right at the heart of the power. Comedy, not at all.ĭare Me is a very dark look at the hearts of high school girls - their secrets, desires, power plays, and manipulations. For some reason, after hearing this book compared to “Heathers” and “Mean Girls”, I was expecting dark comedy.

Dare me book series megan abbott