Paris Pan Takes the Dare

This was my kind of book. It was mysterious enough and light enough to make it a fun read. Paris Pan has a dysfunction family in many ways. Her father builds a house, moves the family into it then goes off to build their next house. The longest Paris has stayed anywhere is eight months. She talks about her school transcripts being longer than a Harry Potter book. When she moves to her newest town she is told there is a right of passage for all seventh grade girls. She wants to fit in but she is not real crazy about the dare. She is expected to spend the night in the creepy woods. It doesn't help that she has learned that a girl mysteriously died near her house while taking the dare, or that she has been hearing strange things. However, show more through this whole experience she learns what true friendship is. I can't wait for my students to read this book. show less

Paris Pan has been moving from city to city all her life because of her dad. He was flipping properties and once it sold, the family moved. Moving all the time is not that great for friendship, especially if you are in 7th grade. The new town she moves to is small and Paris’ 7th grade class has only 10 students in it. Luckily on her first day, two girls, Mayo and Dana, let her join their group. Being a new student, Paris is excited to have friends so quickly. Mayo and Dana show Paris the school grounds and tell her who is in (of course, Mayo) and who is out (Ugh, Robin… FREAK!). As Paris learns more about her town, she learns of a dare that girls take on their 13th birthday involving a dead girl’s ghost. Paris cannot be so sure show more what is worse: Being invited to Mayo’s 13th birthday party and taking the dare or finding out that her new home is where the dead girl used to live. Can Paris survive the school year?

This is a mysterious read for young readers. As Paris continues her adventure, readers will worry about her, be scared with her, and want to give her some courage. The writer makes it very clear that the Pan family is Chinese by incorporating some Chinese words as well as broken English, used by the parents. Paris goes through a sort-of normal middle school life and readers might be able to relate to her situation in some ways. The pacing of the story is moderate with mild cliffhangers when each of the chapters end. Readers will be sucked into the dare and might want to think about some of the rumors that goes around their neighborhood. show less

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

Twelve-year-old Paris Pan has just moved to a new town. With a crazy home life, friends who make better enemies, and the boy Paris has a crush on being considered a dork, this move isn't going well.

When Paris learns a girl mysteriously died near her new house while taking the Dare (a seventh grade rite of passage), she's completely freaked out. And now strange noises are coming from the shed. Could the missing girl be trying to make contact?

Paris and her friends dig into the past in search of answers. What they find may not help, because Paris becomes a reluctant participant in the Dare. This is the night that will forever change her life, uncover the truth of the missing girl, and reveal show more who her true friends are.

PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE draws you in and won't let you go until the end. I couldn't get enough of this story! Liu does such a great job of creating believable characters and realistic scenes that I had no trouble completely immersing myself in Paris's world. I have to admit, some of it even freaked me out a little bit.

Don't let this one pass you by. I DARE you to read it. show less

Paris Pan, new girl in small town Oklahoma, must take 'the dare' to fit in with her new friends at school. But the more she learns about the dare, the less she wants to do it!

I love a book with Asian American characters that's not an Issue book. Solid middle grade fiction; I'll look for more from Cynthea Liu!

Read my full review on my blog: http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/11/book-review-paris-pan-takes-dare.html

I'm STILL laughing at the parents in this book. Hilarious!

Lots of fun!