I Dare You

by Jeff Ross

What happens when a supernatural hoax turns into a real-life crime? Sixteen-year-old Rainey is surprised when a video he made of a schoolyard fight goes viral. Two schoolmates, Jordan and Rowan, convince him to make another one, this time about a mysterious figure in the woods. Soon rumors are circulating that someone is out there kidnapping kids. Or maybe it’s a ghost. The teens are thrilled with the attention their prank is getting and are setting up a follow-up video when things go horribly wrong. A local woman, convinced that the ghost is related to the nightmares she’s been having for years, drives out to the area to investigate. The sight of Rowan in costume staggering across her path causes her to drive off the road. When the police start asking questions, Jordan and Rowan abandon Rainey. No one else knows what really happened but will a guilty conscience force Rainey to admit to his part in the accident or will he keep quiet?

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Teen, Suspense

128 pages, Paperback

Published August 17, 2021

About the author

Jeff Ross is an award-winning author of thirteen novels for young adults.

Reviews

[Nour (FREE PALESTINE) Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

what was the point? I just dont understand why I read this...

[sarahthebibliomania · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
This was a super quick, short story about three friends who want to make a viral video. They get the idea to make a video about a "monster" in the woods. It goes viral and when they get the idea to make a part two something goes wrong...

I really love the message that this story puts out and it would definitely be a good lesson for younger kids like middle schoolers. It reminds people to think about the consequences that their actions can cause. I do wish that we got to see more of the actual consequences that happened rather than all of the inner monologue we were getting from the main character but overall this was a pretty decent read and I would recommend it to younger audiences.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of I Dare You in exchange for an honest review.

While I get what I Dare You is trying to do to give off a "your actions have consequences", I don't see that message hitting in the context of the story and don't think the story has much to stand on without it. I get it's hi-lo which means it has less time to give certain plot points and themes, but I think if less time was spent describing the specifics of the prank to save more time for the character's inner conflict it would have worked better.

[Kimberly Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this advanced copy!
This book is to be released 08/16/21

This book was a fast paced, dark YA novel about the price of being viral. I felt at times I couldn’t put this down, reading the entirety in two sittings. I love how we get to see into what Rainey is thinking during the things he does and how he later does his skills for good. It was a character development that I didn’t expect, but fully supported it. I will be picking up a copy upon release!

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

46/50
I Dare You
By: Jeff Ross
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

Sixteen-year-old Rainey is surprised when a video he made of a schoolyard fight goes viral. Two schoolmates, Jordan and Rowan, convince him to make another one, this time about a mysterious figure in the woods. Soon rumors are circulating, so many different things it could be. The teens are thrilled with the attention their prank is getting and are setting up a follow-up video when things go horribly wrong. A local woman, convinced that the ghost is related to the nightmares she's been having for years, drives out to the area to investigate, and crashes due to the teens. No one else knows what really happened but will a guilty conscience force Rainey to admit to his part in the accident or will he keep quiet?

This is a great book for middle graders-high schoolers. Easy to read, sat down and finished it in 40 mins. I love that it has a great message, I think it’s important for not only children but adults to understand consequences. I also loved that Rainey has Tourette’s and shows us the hardships and the thoughts of a teen with this disability. Well written for 12+ ages and has great character development. I did love the ending, how Rainey was about to take his skills and use them for something good.

I was given an eARC by NetGalley and Orca Book Publisher for my honest review. Thank you for allowing the opportunity to read this.
Release Date: 8/17/21

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been given this advanced copy by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. Thank you publisher!

This was a super quick, short story about 3 friends who thought to make a video viral. It starts out with them making a prank video in front of a private school which ends up on the news. They get the idea to make a monster in the woods by their house and make a fake video discovering it to see if it goes viral, but there ends up being a twist they didn't see coming.

This was more of a short story, I read it really quickly. I loved the message it was putting out there, especially for kids in middle and high school age. I think it's important to think about what consequences your actions have that are unforseen, and even the most innocent of actions can cause harm to others. I think this went along the lines of how Slenderman ended up causing two girls to attempt to murder their friend, and whoever had made up Slenderman had had no idea that that would have been a consequence of their story. Definitely think it is worth reading for those age groups. As for me, I am passed that age and while I found the message could be helpful for kids these days, it was lost on me. I did like it for what it was. 3/5 stars.

[Agd]

11.21.25. late 7+. lang. no sx drgs. 100 pages

present -day small town on edge of woods.

Rainey (16) is super into film production but feels ostracized because of his tourette syndrome & resulting tics. So when peers Jordan & Rowan propose he film them in a staged fight, he agrees. The video goes viral resulting in Jordan and Rowan approaching Rainey to make another video this time they want to create a monster video of a creature emerging from the woods on the edge of their town. the grainy video also goes viral and Rowan wants to do one more but when they go back to make another monster video things go horribly wrong leading to a terrible accident and Rainey having to make a hard choice.

lotta lang. fine hilo

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now there is a book written by a teacher that cares for his students. You can see how he is trying to help his students not believe everything, see the danger in pranks, take responsibility, and admit to mistakes while using their skills to help others. A quick read too, well written. Not always the most realistic, like with the parents not being really mad and all the adults being so understanding, but still it's better to come clean. Worth the read and younger audiences would probably enjoy it, like 13?

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rainey's fight video went viral. Two of his classmates want to film a dark figure in the woods. Rumors are flying and a terrible secret is threatening to change someone's life forever. This book is amazing and full of suspense. The twists you won't see coming. This book is a bit dark but very interesting. My eyes were glued to the pages. I loved this book.

[Maggie Ignasiak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally earned two stars, though I'll recommend it to the appropriate audiences at the library. It's a good hi-lo reader, though it is very preachy-high road. It's not a horror book, but there are unnerving portions.

[Ashlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, but it was a quick read while I was reading it. The image on the front isn’t exactly what they described the being to look like which threw me off a bit. I did like how this ended though!

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a lot of books in this series and they always have some type of message to YA , their target audience.

This one had none. Not sure I even understand why it was published.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

[Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of anti climatic

[Ashaz Koya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick and easy read, took me about an hour to finish this book in one sitting.

I really loved the character growth Rainey had.

[✨Carlotta ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read but solid. Kind of hated the ending tho.

[Juliët · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had a lot of potential. But I'm disappointed

[Lauren Loy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a short book it was well written. There is almost no character development or plot but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I prefer books with more depth but I think it is perfect for a younger reader.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great.

[Hudson Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought it taught a very valuable lesson for 8th grade students and older. The book started off a little slow but it progressed about half way through the book. It started off when three friends, Rowan, Rainey, and Jordan, wanted to create a fake fighting video in front of a school, all because of a girl. The video went viral so, they wanted to go a step further and create a video of a "creature" coming out of the woods. They made the video and it went viral and so they thought the best thing to do was to create another video of seeing this "creature" again. They were in the woods when all of the sudden they saw headlights so they hid in the ditch but, the car that was approaching flipped in the road. Jordan and Rowan left in their car but, Rainey wanted to check to see if the woman driving the car was okay. The cops and ambulance arrive to the scene and questioned how Rainey was out in the middle of nowhere alone at dark. He lied to protect himself and his two classmates but, the cops did not believe anything he was telling them.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit I was misled by the spooky-looking cover, expecting a more Halloweeny read, when this was more of a morality-tale about responsibility and truthfulness running up against a group of teens' plan to make a viral video. It was nice to see a protagonist struggling with Tourette's, but though his condition is prominently featured, I kept waiting for another shoe to drop around it that never did (does it have something to do with why his 'friends' treat him as they do? And why does the story never come out and confront the way they clearly use/exploit him?). I get that this novella was meant to stay short & sweet for reluctant readers, but in the way it left important questions like that hanging in favor of a bare-bones "this happened, then that happened" simplicity, it felt more geared towards young middle-schoolers than teens.

[Jonathan (Jon) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very quick read but super uneventful. I liked the premise behind this short book, but at the same time it was quite bizarre. I just think this story could’ve went on a different route and would’ve been better. I also really didn’t enjoy the characters. This one just didn’t work for me.

✨Thank you @orcabook for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.✨