Dare Me by Megan Abbott

305 pp, Reagan Arthur/Little Brown, 2012
ISBN 978-0-316-20323-4 (Kindle edition)

This is a novel about high school cheerleaders. But don't be put off by that: this is no teenage novel, coming-of-age story or run-of-the-mill thriller. It's dark, intense stuff with whip-smart writing. It's also my favorite book of 2016 to date. 

Dare Me is about a clash of wills between the captain of the cheerleading squad and their new bitch-queen coach, who refuses to be intimidated by mean girls. There's a death to be solved, and for that reason some will call this mystery or crime fiction. But it's much more: friendship, loyalty, jealousy, and how all those feelings can become entangled. These females are devious and conniving, caught up in their own rivalries. They have little time for the bewildered boys and men who wander around in the background. To these women, males are to be acted upon, not actors. Easily manipulated and ineffectual, you almost feel sorry for the guys. And as for parents, they're all but invisible. 

What makes this book special for me is the way Abbott gives her narrator, 16 year old cheerleader Addy Hanlon, the keen insights of an adult looking back on what it was like to be an adolescent. Here Addy explains her attitude towards cheerleading:

"None of us really cheer for glory, prize, tourneys. None of us, maybe, know why we do it at all, except that it is like a rampart against the routine and groaning afflictions of the school day. You wear that jacket, like so much armor, game days, the flipping skirts. Who could touch you? Nobody." 

Later, she reflects on the newcomer, Coach French, and her impact on the cheerleading squad: 

"I was never one of those masked-faced teenagers, gum lodged in mouth corner, eyes rolling and long sighs. I was never that girl at all. But I knew those girls. And when she came, I watched all their masks peel away. We're all the same under our skins, aren't we? We're all wanting things we don't understand. Things we can't even name. The yearning so deep, like pinions over our hearts."

Abbott effortlessly tosses off these little narrative gems. I can't wait to read more of her work. 

Author's web site: www.meganabbott.com