I DARE YOU

The unexpected consequences of an internet prank give a teenager a chance to own up…or not.

With a plain goal of prompting readers to make gut checks of their own, Ross crafts a scenario in which 16-year-old Rainey helps schoolmates Jordan and Rowan make and post anonymous viral videos—which is all fun and games until a glimpse of a shadowy costumed “monster” they’re shooting on a remote stretch of road causes a passing driver to lose control and crash. Rainey has a series of hard choices to make: Should he join the other two in fleeing the scene or stay behind to help? If he stays, should he cover for them and claim he was alone and lie about what he was doing there? In the event, he does stay behind, and after seeing that the story he contrives to protect his confederates is both too weak to fool anyone and unworthy besides, he does come clean. Delivering a few admonitory minilectures about taking responsibility for one’s actions, the author leaves his protagonist with a clear(ish) conscience and no legal ramifications to face but compromises any effort to keep things simple by veering off in a wild plot twist. The cast presents uniformly White; Rainey wrestles not only with guilt, but anxiety that heightens symptoms of his Tourette syndrome.

Offers reluctant readers plenty of material to mull over when it comes to responsible behavior both on- and offline.