Dare Me

I've been reading mainly YA and juvenile fiction, just because it tends to go quicker and I'm trying to get through as many books as I can before I get slammed with assignments. Megan Abbott's Dare Me is not, though it reads like one. I simply grabbed it from the new books shelf as my toddler tugged at my arm (without looking at the cover). When I began reading and realized that it was a cheerleader book, I gritted my teeth and kept reading. The dialogue is ridiculous, as is the whole concept of cheerleaders as goddesses of the school. These girls are supposed to be in the current day, and Abbott does a good job of capturing the use of technology, but it feels dated in the depiction of cheerleaders. While I'm sure that many schools still exist in which football players and cheerleaders rule the school socially, in my experience this is no longer true. High school society is segmented enough that many student openly mock these social groups and are admired for it. Many schools are so large that no one social group can claim hegemony.
Despite this theory that makes the book possible, the Abbott does excel in showing the difference between traditional and competition cheering, which is a sport. The mystery develops so slowly that I didn't even realize the book was a mystery until the chaos had enveloped all major characters. As the book reached its end, it actually improved, which is uncommon. If a reader is interested in books analyzing the high school social scene and the cruelty of young women, Dare Me the answer, though most readers, even many high school girls, will be disgusted at the drama of everything.