Dare You To

Tattooed, pierced “skater girl” Beth and high school baseball star Ryan narrate alternating chapters of this coming-of-age love story that begins with a dare and escalates into a gritty and erotic trust-building exercise. The staid suburbs of Louisville, Ky., and the city’s perilous underbelly provide divergent backdrops to the story’s emotional and physical dangers. Raised on opposite sides of the tracks, both teens contend with selfish, manipulative parents who use their children to satisfy their own desires; both also have mentors and family members offering guidance and support. While threats to undermine the couple’s growing affection come in multiple forms (Ryan’s appearance-obsessed community, Beth’s compulsive efforts to rescue her drug-addicted mother) McGarry (Pushing the Limits) captures their greatest obstacle: the aching vulnerability underlying Beth’s tough exterior: “Fairy-tales happen, just not to me. Time to tell the prince he rescued the wrong girl.” Sex, drugs, profanity, and violence, as well as subplots about loved ones who escaped town for emotional survival, heighten the dramatic tension but don’t disguise the wholesome, girl-next-door quality of this well-paced, satisfying romance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (June)