Dare Me was not what I had been expecting, though this is not a bad thing. It was described as Mean Girls meets Bring it On somewhere (another review maybe?) -and in many ways it was- but swap the silly teen drama with a darker and more sinister story. This book is far from being classified under humor. There are characters with the mean streak you'd expect from a jealous cheerleader, but it's not so much from gossipy cattiness as it comes from a deeper bitterness... manipulation. I also assumed the story would revolve around the team and their experiences, but the focus is primarily on their coach's personal life and how it end up affecting the girls. 
 So this all threw me off guard because I'd picked it up for girl drama, but Abbott made it work. Her talent shined strongest in the characters themselves because I never did end up connecting with any of them (and this is probably a good thing), but she firmly held my attention and got me reading to the end regardless. They all had their flaws, made mistakes, lied, and you end up doubting almost everyone. But instead of relating to them, there is this underlining melancholy to everything and you start to almost... I don't know. Pity them maybe? They were interesting in the same way a train wreck is. 
 And then they'd throw out beautiful lines like this, "I know what that's like... The way you can be saved without ever knowing you were in trouble." 
 ...On a lighter note; I love that the lesbian undertones wasn't just in my imagination!