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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding fiction, 20 Jan 2004
In the UK, this book (by a New Zealand author) is published as part of a series about female teenagers' lives and has a similar design and cover to the rest of the set. It just goes to show you should never judge a book by its cover (what a cliche! - but true) as this novel stands heads and shoulders above the other books it accompanies - in fact, it belongs to a whole other league."Dare Truth or Promise" is a touching, moving, funny, searingly honest and genuinely brilliant book, and also quite a brave one. It tells the story of Willa and Louie, who meet and fall in love. Life isn't so straightforward, of course - and the fact that these two youngsters are both girls causes some problems. What amazed me when I was reading this book was the quality of the writing. There are little subtleties in the writing, some really wry humour, that you simply do not expect to find in a "teen" novel. And, you care about these characters - you want to know what happens to them and whether their relationship, the heart of the novel, will work out. That's because these characters seem very real, as do their feelings. So too do the difficulties of balancing their emotions with the world around them and how their world reacts to them being together, and, well, being lesbians. There is one phrase in particular that I took away from this book - I think, if you read it, you'll know the one I mean. It has stayed in my mind, and so too has my impression of this novel as a great read, and a brilliant account of lesbian love that I would recommend to anyone - especially young gay women. "Dare Truth or Promise" is truly outstanding, and it's also, in its combination of subject matter, quality of writing and characterisation, and sheer SPIRIT, truly rare.
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