Paula Boock

There are very few books I will read in a day; this book is one of them.

Dare Truth or Promise is a wonderful little book, barely even 300 pages, by Paula Boock, from New Zealand. The version of the book that I have helpfully comes with a little glossary of terms in Kiwi that I might find difficulty understanding if I weren’t from there. The story revolves around Willa and Louie, two girls who attend the same school who notice that they’re very slowly falling in love with each other.

The show more book follows the simple rhythm of most every other LGBT-themed novel out there: two people meet, fall in love, deny it for a few pages and then decide to risk it all and be together. They start coming out – to friends and to family – and then, inevitably, comes the homophobia from somewhere. It’s a pretty predictable and set way of a story being told, and it doesn’t really differ much from anything else I’ve ever read. The main exception with this book I think – and probably one of the most important things about it – is how real the characters and their experience feels.

The problem with novels that follow a predictable pattern, like most other novels in their genre, is that sometimes characters seem to fall short of being more than just two-dimensional, 8-bit characters who could be anybody if you just imagined yourself in their shoes. Willa wants to be a chef; she’s a well-rounded character with her own insecurities and personality flaws that she acknowledges. She’s a fencer and a damn good stagehand. Louie is a brilliant actress who’s popular and has a great sense of humor (you can tell she does whenever she narrates a portion of the story herself). Louie is also very much entrenched in her family life, to the point where it can become rather toxic for her, and it is something that she learns to combat and deal with, and even grow from.

Another element I liked to this story is the way that the narration isn’t told simply through one point of view, or through an omniscient narrator. There are two narrators in this story – Will and Louie – and each one gets an almost equal amount of time telling her side of the story through her own point of view (third person, rather than first, but still). It’s a refreshing look at the often used first person narrative that we find a lot in LGBT fiction, and can get rather boring.

So why do I like this book so much? Because it somehow feels different from all the other LGBT narratives out there. Sure, there’s the formula that it follows, but it isn’t afraid to actually try and do something new with it. From a critical standpoint, I love how it attempts to tell the story through more than one point of view, and actually manages to do it. From a personal standpoint, I love how simple yet satisfying it is to read it, with great characters and brilliant one-liners.

Final rating: 4/5. It’s not a literary masterpiece but it’s worth a shot, especially if you need something to read while on a plane ride or something! show less

It's more of a 3.4 stars.
I was originally not interested to read this book until I noticed it was set in New Zealand and the writer was from New Zealand and I honestly have never really come across New Zealand YA. So I read it and it's pretty short and quick. The characters are okay, nothing special. They spark up a few times here and there. I do feel bad for the character of Willa as I think everyone except maybe her mom takes advantage of her and emotionally manipulate her. The book is show more from 1997 so it has more of an outdated plot, sort of like, where parents are angry about having gay kids or it's very tragic. I know things like that still happen, but in the current YA LGTB market, the stories have moved on from that to other things. I didn't really like how the ending was resolved, not really buy it, but I was content enough with it. show less

Brandon Warburton
Book Review- Dare, Truth or Promise
EDCI 4120/5120
Dr. Leslie Rush

Boock, P (1999). Dare, truth or promise. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Grade Levels: 9-12
Category: Realistic Fiction

Read-Alouds: pp. 34-36 (Willa and Louie discuss religion) pp. 56-59 (Willa and Louie’s first date) pp. 67-68 (Will and Louie’s first intimate encounter).

Summary: Willa is a new student at a New Zealand high school. When she meets Louie, a hardworking female drama student, there is an instant show more attraction between both of them. Willa, who has been in a lesbian relationship before, is scared to take another chance, while Louie struggles to come to terms with feelings that bring into question everything she has even known. The novel focuses on the secret relationship between the two, and the struggles that come when they are finally discovered by Louie’s straight-laced, Christian parents.

Themes: Boock’s novel focuses on a relationship that goes against conventional ideals and beliefs, and the struggles and pressures that come along with maintaining such a relationship. And couple that with maintaining said relationship in a high school setting where everyone is watching and judging. But, aside from the lesbian aspect of the novel, Boock also tries to key on the idea of true love and the power of the human connection. I believe that Boock’s purpose in writing Dare, Truth or Promise was to erase conventional wisdom of love and relationships and draw Louie’s and Willa’s love as something beyond the physical, stretching into the spiritual realm of human connection. This novel will push students to see love as not just something to be shared between a man and a woman, but something that can be shared between any two humans.

Discussion Questions:

Think about your definition of love. Do you believe that Willa and Louie are in love? Or does their relationship exist only in the physical realm of lust?
The setting of this novel takes place in New Zealand. Imagine that Louie and Willa go to our school here in the states. How would our reaction here be different?
Religion is a key theme in this novel. How does religion play a role in your life and on your decisions?

Reader Response: The first think I noticed about Boock’s novel was that she chose to write in a third person point of view, rather than adopting the point of view of one of her central characters. I thought his style served well in providing a balanced perspective from both girls, one of whom had already felt the ramifications of a lesbian relationship and one of whom who was brand new to these feelings. I love reading books that push the boundaries of human connection and force us to take a look at how other, less represented groups live. I also loved how Boock did her best to eliminate the lesbian aspect of the relationship and focused solely on their connection as human beings. show less

Louie and Willa fall for each immediately after meeting at Willa's new school and their evening jobs at the Burger Giant. But Willa is wary, having been hurt in a previous relationship, and Louie's mother is suspicious of her and hostile from the start. The end got a bit overdramatic, but mostly this was a book that engaged you from the start.