When I started watching Dare Me on Netflix, and my husband immediately started messing around on his iPad, I knew it was a series just for me. **rubs hands together mischievously**
I was hooked on the intense dynamic between the secretly ambitious Addy and bad-girl Beth, and beyond that, it took me back to my cheer days. I told my husband it was one of the darkest cheer shows I’d ever watched.
Once I finished the series on Netflix I found out there would be no season two! 🥲
…therefore I had to check the book out from the library. That’s how sucked into the world I was. I HAD to know how it all ended.
But I just want to highlight a few reasons I love this story so much. (NO SPOILERS I PROMISE) I finished it a few days ago and the ending did not disappoint.
THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DARE ME— The Book and the Series
It’s a well-paced suspense
If you’re not familiar with the premise, Dare Me is a mystery that follows a high school cheerleader, her best friend, and their new cheer coach as they unravel the truth of a suicide. Everything is a mystery, from the coach’s motives, to the relationship between the protagonist and her best friend. It’s hard not to constantly feel sucked into the narrative, craving more revelation.
It’s emotionally intense
Addy, the protagonist, has a very raw relationship with her bad-ass best friend Beth.
You never really know where they truly stand with one another, and you can tell that their connection runs deep, but you’re not always shown exactly why.
They are like a train-wreck waiting to happen-and it’s often hard as hell to look away.
Coach French represents the never ending dichotomy of personal desires and domestic life
Let me be clear, as a former teacher I wasn’t enthralled with how quickly Coach French invited a teenager into her life, but hey, it is fiction. *smiles*
But something else that intrigued me about Coach, other than her scandalous affair, was that she seemed really torn between her own desires, and her responsibilities as a mother and wife. This is a very realistic struggle that many women face, and it felt good to see it depicted—it made me feel validated.
We won’t get into her moral compass or the lack there of though…*sips tea like kermit*
CHEERLEADING!
I was a cheerleader in high school and we had our share of drama…but this right here? This story delivers.
Though my cheer experience wasn’t nearly as dramatic, the narrative does remind me of back in the day when I had a young cheer coach who we all wanted to know about. As teens we were curious, and wanted to know the juicy ins and outs of womanhood.
Addy’s POV is honest and takes me back to a simpler time in my life, when I was just trying to figure it all out. Which in many ways I still am but I digress…
Have you watched Dare Me on Netflix? If you like suspense, I suggest you check it out; its addictive! The book was delicious as well. If you’ve seen it or read it, let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Love,
Nia Venus
