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Dare Truth or Promise
by
Paula Boock
"[A] steamy, brilliant girl-on-girl romance," says Kirkus, now available in paperback in our Graphia imprint with an eye-catching new cover!
Willa and Louie could not be more different. Louie wants to be a lawyer and is an outstanding student. Willa lives in a pub and just wants to get through the year so she can graduate and become a chef. But they are completely attracte...more
Willa and Louie could not be more different. Louie wants to be a lawyer and is an outstanding student. Willa lives in a pub and just wants to get through the year so she can graduate and become a chef. But they are completely attracte...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
March 2nd 2009
by Graphia
(first published January 1st 1997)
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So it seems that I’m alone in not liking this book since all of the reviews I’ve come across are overwhelmingly positive. Since I’m trying to read 100 LGBT books by the end of next year this one was high up on my to-read list because it came so highly recommended. Unfortunately, I found it incredibly dry.
My biggest problems consist of:
-The characters. Louie and Willa are caricatures cut out to walk across stage and play their little game. There are only a few distinguishing characteristics and...more
My biggest problems consist of:
-The characters. Louie and Willa are caricatures cut out to walk across stage and play their little game. There are only a few distinguishing characteristics and...more
This is another somewhat sad story with a happy ending. Louie (Louisa) and Willa meet each other at work, and later in school, and there is instant chemistry. Unfortunately Willa just ended a relationship with Cathy, a girl who despite her feelings for Willa could not find enough courage to come out. Not that Willa is 'out' herself, she just knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to say it if someone asks. These two girls begin to fall in love but Louie's mother isn't accepting and tries to...more
I appreciated that this was a simple, sweet romance story. I really did enjoy it, and I liked most of the characters.
I would argue that this was a bit too short though. It felt like scenes were cut, or we were just expected to take a lot of things for granted. While I really loved characters like Tony and Father Champion, other characters felt like they were more caricatures (Mrs. Angelo, Mo, Kevin). Cathy's presence in the novel at all, rather than just in the past, felt really weird, and I nev...more
I would argue that this was a bit too short though. It felt like scenes were cut, or we were just expected to take a lot of things for granted. While I really loved characters like Tony and Father Champion, other characters felt like they were more caricatures (Mrs. Angelo, Mo, Kevin). Cathy's presence in the novel at all, rather than just in the past, felt really weird, and I nev...more
Apr 07, 2009
Sarah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of YA and queer fiction
"'I'm in love with that girl,' she said out loud in amazement, because she knew that this was a life-changing thing and life-changing things should be said aloud, should have a moment in time, and a place in the air, some molecular structure to make them real. I'm in love with that girl, she heard as it reverberated inside her head. And it was a truth, she realized, as things are which you don't think, but discover have always existed."
Jun 04, 2012
Haylee C
is currently reading it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
american-humanities
The book Dare, Truth or Promise by Paula Boock is about two girls that love each other and everyone else trying to keep them apart. Willa is a new girl that just moved to town and she has a past with another girl that didn't end so good. The there is Louie who is just a girl who loves acting and her friends and family. When they meet they know that they want to be together. They love being together and they love each other so much. Louie's mom is not okay with they whole thing so they try to hid...more
1 like · like · see review
Apr 30, 2013
Kageashi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bildugs-romans,
lgbt-fiction
(Really, about a 3.5, or waffling between 4 and 3).
Louie and Willa couldn't be much more different at a glance. But circumstances in Willa's life and a shared part time job at a burger joint bring them together. And with the flick of a knife and the threat of making a eunuch of their lecherous manager, Willa has unintentionally captured Louie's heart. But love is never so simple between two girls when one of them is raised in a doggedly Catholic home.
The story is good, and somewhat touching, alb...more
Louie and Willa couldn't be much more different at a glance. But circumstances in Willa's life and a shared part time job at a burger joint bring them together. And with the flick of a knife and the threat of making a eunuch of their lecherous manager, Willa has unintentionally captured Louie's heart. But love is never so simple between two girls when one of them is raised in a doggedly Catholic home.
The story is good, and somewhat touching, alb...more
I read New Zealand author Paula Boock’s young adult lesbian novel Dare Truth or Promise (1997) in one day, practically in one sitting. I have a soft spot for queer YA anyway, but I really loved this book for its sweet, simple style. Boock writes in a very straight-forward, deceptively plain way that is reminiscent of New Zealanders themselves, at least what I learned about them when I was there for four months a few years ago. In fact, I’d say this book is a lot like Kiwis and Kiwi culture: humb...more
Nov 30, 2009
Ginny Swanson
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
want-to-own
It was an excellent read, because it could really teach some people not to be so hasty to judge homosexuals. Love is the same even for them. the way it is for a man and women, it's the same with a man and man, or a women and a women. They fall in love the same way we do. So why do we judge? I don't , never did and this book just helped make that belief stronger that even two girls can love each other. No, I'm not a lesbian. i have a boyfriend and i love him very much, almost as much as Louie lov...more
Dare Truth or Promise was a bit of a different GLBT YA book in that the protagonists hook up fairly early and most of the book takes place while they're together. That said, maybe because they didn't have a long sort of courting period, I couldn't really get into their story. I liked both the characters fine but I didn't really feel the chemistry between them. The book felt slow in parts and when things picked up, it was almost over the top with melodrama. This might appeal to some teen readers...more
Dare Truth or Promise is really good.
That being said, it's very predictable.
I really liked it, the writing is good, the idea not so original but fairly well executed.
I don't usually give away 4 stars that easily, but when a book makes me cry, is when I know it makes me feel.
Feel moved, feel for the characters, feel the love, feel the desperation, feel the emotions, feel what I'm reading.
Based on my reading lately, I've decided to say I'm very picky with my books and many didn't make me feel wha...more
That being said, it's very predictable.
I really liked it, the writing is good, the idea not so original but fairly well executed.
I don't usually give away 4 stars that easily, but when a book makes me cry, is when I know it makes me feel.
Feel moved, feel for the characters, feel the love, feel the desperation, feel the emotions, feel what I'm reading.
Based on my reading lately, I've decided to say I'm very picky with my books and many didn't make me feel wha...more
Jul 24, 2011
Darlene
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Parents and Young Adults from 6th grade and up.
Recommended to Darlene by:
I can't remember
I wish every parent and every teen could read this and talk about it with love. God is Love. Bigotry and hatred is not of God. Love is Love. If you are going to thump Leviticus remember all the rules must be followed and not just those that support your own biases.
This is the story of two high school girls in Australia who happen to find themselves in love. They are both responsible girls wanting to do what is right and still unsure, especially when parents and society seem to condemn them at ev...more
This is the story of two high school girls in Australia who happen to find themselves in love. They are both responsible girls wanting to do what is right and still unsure, especially when parents and society seem to condemn them at ev...more
I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it at the time it was published. I'm not saying I wished I had read it when I was seven, but I think you know what I mean. Reading it almost 15 years later, I don't think it holds up as well as some other similarly themed books. The characters are interesting and likable. The plot is alright. At first, I was overjoyed, like Willa, that neither girl seemed to struggle with her identity. I was glad they didn't try to stay away from each oth...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Louie (for Louisa) is a high schooler working at Burger Giant. New girl Willa starts working there, too, and romantic sparks fly pretty much immediately, although both girls are a bit shy about expressing their feelings. However, familial and societal pressures pull them apart.
The reactions of both friends and families to the girls relationship seem quite accurate; it does have quite a bit of teen angst in it but guess that is pretty accurate, too.
The reactions of both friends and families to the girls relationship seem quite accurate; it does have quite a bit of teen angst in it but guess that is pretty accurate, too.
I really liked the book in general. Never having read a book about such a theme before, I was intrigued and had high expectations that it didn't fail to meet.
The book was a little too fast-paced, though. Like a movie, it didn't spend nearly enough time on the characters or the events, and I'd have liked it to be longer.
And even with a rating of 4 stars(well, it's actually 4.5), this book is undoubtedly on my top five.
The book was a little too fast-paced, though. Like a movie, it didn't spend nearly enough time on the characters or the events, and I'd have liked it to be longer.
And even with a rating of 4 stars(well, it's actually 4.5), this book is undoubtedly on my top five.
May 27, 2008
Evan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like reading YA queer lit
Recommended to Evan by:
Amazon
While I was reading this, I thought why do I keep doing this to myself? First love is so exciting. Your heart is so full. Sometimes other's interference brings you down. This can happen even if you're not a gay teenager. This story centers around two girls, Willa and Louie, who fall in love. Louie's mom forbids her daughter from seeing Willa. Louie has to deal with not being honest with her family and friends about the relationship and her relationship with the church. The latter is barely touch...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A good teenage read. Boock manages to capture the simplicity and yet the confusing complexity of the way that teens view the world creating a both enjoyable and occasionally uncomfortable read as you follow and empathise with the characters. This book also gives a great look at family interactions and cultural expectations.
Another cute young adult Lesbian book. I liked it enough, but I feel that the problem with a lot of YA lesbian books is that it always addresses prejudice and suffering, which is a valid drama to place in any book on sexuality, but I wish some were happier, or got a new theme. Any ways, rant aside, I liked this book.
This was a nice story. When I started reading it, I was very confused it was hard to follow which character was which and talking when. At the end it was a little easier but there were still some parts that were pretty unclear.
The story is about a girl named Willa and a girl named Louie. Willa has already had a girlfriend (a crazy one at that) before moving and working at the Burger Giant. Louie knows what is between them as soon as she sees Willa with and her red hair that first day. Louie's m...more
The story is about a girl named Willa and a girl named Louie. Willa has already had a girlfriend (a crazy one at that) before moving and working at the Burger Giant. Louie knows what is between them as soon as she sees Willa with and her red hair that first day. Louie's m...more
This had a lot of teenage drama, a little too much for my taste but it was still enjoyable. I kept thinking, as I always do when I read LGBT YA, that I wish more of these books would have been areound when I was in high school and that I had a librarian that I could easily speak to about reading them.
This was a coming of age story that took place in New Zealand. I was not sure if they were in their last year of college or High School. The only thing that kept this from becoming a trite boring story was the way the two girls were written with great depth. The family dynamic was very interesting.
I LOVE it!!! Thats all what I can say. But at some points, I feel really angry against the girl's mother who tried to drag those girls apart. And I loved the title and that those girls played "truth dare or promise" since I've always wanting to read a lbgt book that have some "truth or promise" in them.
A good story but it didn't give a label (though you could guess) that Willa was lesbian and Lousie was finding herself out. The ending was a happy ending and called for, for Willa. They vocabulary was a bit tricking, but the sweetness of the story makes up for the gaps.
I really liked this book. You follow a young girl going through puberty and discovering her sexuality. As she enters into a lesbian relationship for the very first time families become torn apart...drama unfolds very fast in this book...very quick easy read.
I loved it. Personally I am not gay, but it showed me a love story between two girls when one is bisexual and on is gay. It just shows you a different way of dating. I also support gay and bisexual people, so this book makes me feel like i am supporting them.
Started out well but got a bit melodramatic and didactic (these two things related) past the halfway point; shows its age. Which, jeez, makes me feel old since it would've been targetting me as audience at its initial time of publication. Oy...
The characterization was a little weak at the beginning; I had trouble keeping Willa and Louie sorted out. But the further I got into the book, the more it became a page-turner. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a love story.
A very sweet, sometimes steamy romance between two teen girls in New Zealand! Lots of delicious Kiwi vocabulary. I thought it got pretty melodramatic near the end, but the overall the writing is so beautiful I will forgive it.
This is well written, funny in spots, moving and thoughtful novel of two teenage girls' lesbian romance. The New Zealand setting is a plus. I've read it many times and have my own copy. Highly recommended.
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Paula Boock began writing when she was seven. 'There was this story of four brothers who were surprisingly like my four brothers... I illustrated the book as well — the characters looked sort of like the Beatles.'
'I've always been affected by books. As the youngest in a large, boisterous family, I developed early the ability to work — write even — amidst a racket. The library — school and public —...more
More about Paula Boock...
'I've always been affected by books. As the youngest in a large, boisterous family, I developed early the ability to work — write even — amidst a racket. The library — school and public —...more
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