Truth or Dare

April 1, 2013
A well-plotted suspense tale aims itself at the Pretty Little Liars fan base. Two wealthy BFFs, Caitlin and Tenley, suspect that Sydney, a scholarship girl they've always disliked, lurks behind a nasty truth-or-dare game targeted at them. They don't know that Sydney also receives menacing notes threatening to expose the three girls' hidden pasts. The girls strive to overachieve: Caitlin's mother pressures her to get into Harvard, so she takes on far too many extracurricular activities; Tenley's mother insists that she continue winning teen beauty contests; Sydney uses her passion for photography to escape from the pressures of high school society. Serious tensions abound in all three of the girls' families, and all try to hide confidential problems: Caitlin hasn't truly recovered from being kidnapped as a child; Tenley has had breast augmentation; Sydney has a craving to set fires. Numerous possible suspects surface, although Green doesn't drop any noticeable hints that would tip readers off to the solution. This, when revealed, leads to suspense and a major surprise and propels readers into the next installment in the series. Befitting its genre, the story focuses on popular, beautiful girls, turmoil over boys (all of them devastatingly handsome) and girl-girl rivalries. As it switches the point of view among the three girls, the story moves ahead nicely and should hold readers' interest quite well. Good intrigue designed for the chick-lit crowd. (Suspense. 12 & up)

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June 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Quiet and disturbed Sydney, Ivy League-bound Caitlin, and spoiled beauty Tenley are the focus of this chilling tale. To establish herself as the party queen of Echo Bay, Tenley hosts a huge blowout that ends with an intense game of truth or dare. But long after the game is over, someone forces the girls to keep playing. Sydney would rather be developing photos in the darkroom, Caitlin barely has time to sleep with all of her college application-padding activities, and Tenley is just trying to fit in again after almost four years away. However, the three are receiving notes threatening them with exposure of their darkest secrets if they do not perform dares. The teens vacillate between going along, accusing one another and others of being behind the notes, and involving the police. The game gets deadlier, stakes get higher, and someone won't survive it. Green offers an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The characters are all well drawn and believably flawed. There is a good deal of underage alcohol consumption and some drug use and sex. The protagonists' fluctuating reactions to the horrible game are realistic and everyone is a suspect in this town. With just the tiniest hint of the supernatural, Echo Bay itself seems haunted. Creepy and dark to the core, this is a great offering for fans of Lois Duncan and Christopher Pike.-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

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