If there’s one thing to be said about Hannah Jayne, it’s that she definitely knows how to creep a reader out. Of course, I mean this in the best possible way. Most of the horror stories I read may be horrible, but they sure don’t scare me to the point that The Dare did. For the maximum scare level, I recommend reading The Dare during the night when everyone else is asleep. Reading by candlelight or flashlight increases the scare factor greatly as well. And if you’re extremely daring, I dare you to read The Dare on Halloween. That is, if you can wait that long before picking it up!
Before, Bryn and her best friend Erica were basically joined at the hip. Then came a dare to jump off the pier of Harding Beach. Two girls jumped, Bryn and Erica. One ended up jumping to her death though. So Bryn, now overwhelmed with guilt, tries to start fresh. New school, seemingly new persona, new life. Too bad that something, rather someone, from her past has returned. Erica Shaw, or at least that’s the name of the person on Twitter who’s sending creepy messages to Bryn. Not only does Bryn now have to deal with the past, but she also has a mystery to solve as well.
My only noteworthy complaint is that The Dare was slow-paced for most of the book. Maybe the pace was intended to scare the readers even more? Maybe the story got bloated in the name of suspense? Either way, all that I know is that the middle tended to drag, especially as I grew more and more impatient. That’s not to say The Dare is a long novel. Just over three hundred pages, The Dare isn’t long at all. It just seems lengthy when there’s nothing going on in the middle of the book.
Although I love the chilling feeling that The Dare gives off, it’s actually not my favorite part of the novel. Hannah Jayne’s writing is. There are parts where her writing is so realistic that I don’t feel like I’m a reader. Instead, I’m Bryn as she relives the events that changed her and Erica’s lives. I’m Bryn as she tries to create a new life for herself. I’m simply entranced by the author’s ability to make everything seem so real.
The Dare has surprisingly been a really enjoyable read! Although it’s not my typical novel, this contemporary mystery has made me hungry for more of Hannah Jayne’s writing!
Rating: 5 out of 10
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (July 1st, 2014)
Source: Netgalley
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ISBN #: 9781402294570
Length: 304 pages (Paperback)
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