Tuesday, January 8, 2013

'The Dare Club: Nita' Book Review Tour


The Dare Club: Nita
by Laurie Bradach & Kim “Howard” Johnson

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BLURB:

Nita Congroy has relocated to the most boring town on the planet. That is, until would-be boyfriend Brad Keeley spills the beans about a secret group of girls known as The Dare Club. During her subterranean initiation below the high school, Nita overhears a plan by contractors and school officials to embezzle millions of dollars in grant money. When she is betrayed, The Dare Club's pranks become deadly serious.

With the clock ticking, Nita will need the help of her new friends to expose the chilling plot--and hopefully survive long enough to snag a date to the Homecoming Dance.

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Read an excerpt:
At least a dozen of the most popular, meanest students on campus were now spinning manically, twisting and turning, swiping at stains that just kept getting bigger. More students had rushed to their aid, and now those do-gooders were frantically trying to rid themselves of the mysterious goo that seemed to be everywhere. One brave soul put hand to mouth, and a cry went up that the substance was chocolate.

Runny, melted chocolate was extruding everywhere.

The students began to examine their chairs. The dark wood seats had perfectly camouflaged the squishy chocolate bars that had been placed on them. The chairs could be wiped off, the clothing would come clean again, but Lauren Wells might never recover from the humiliation.

Lauren needs her diaper changed!” someone shouted. “It’s already on YouTube!”

Epic,” Nita whispered under her breath.

It took several minutes for order to be restored. Mr. Withers excused all of the candy-coated students, while the rest of the class—Nita included—were instructed to remain in their seats.

Mr. Withers began walking up and down each aisle, dabbing at the stains on his shirt, making them larger and more noticeable. “There will be an investigation into this matter,” he said. “And when I find out who is responsible…”

He had just started up Nita’s aisle when the bell rang. The raven-haired girl literally sprang from her seat. As she did, a candy bar bounced from her purse and landed right in Mr. Withers path. Nita heard the sharp intake of breath, and saw the girl’s panicked look. Mr. Withers saw it too, and began weaving up the aisle through a cluster of departing students. For a moment he was buried in the crowd. In that instant, Nita scooped up the candy bar and stuck it in her own backpack.

Then Mr. Withers was there.

His eyes narrowed. “Did I just see what I think I saw?”
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**My thoughts**

First, I would like to mention that this book is definitely for the middle grade end of the spectrum that I cover on this blog. It also falls into the young adult category, but mature elementary and middle school-aged kids will love this.

I adored this book!

So, what would you do to fit in at your new school? Nita has a strong and fearless personality that quickly allows her access to the secret Dare Club. Both her personality and her involvement with the club quickly get her into trouble with other kids at the school. Things quickly go south when a seemingly harmless dare quickly uncovers a dangerous plot at the school. She becomes implicated in the crime and can't figure out whom she can trust.

I felt that the writing was strong. Characters were well developed. Enough action and suspense kept the plot rolling along, complete with twists and turns. I have always loved stories about kids getting involved in mysteries. I loved getting to know Nita and the other girls and can't wait to read more in the series!  

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Buy link: Paperback | Kindle 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:


Kim “Howard” Johnson has written comic books for Marvel, DC, and Event Comics. He is a director of improvisational comedy, an actor, and is rumored to hang around with the Monty Python gang. Howard’s other books include Monty Python’s Tunisian Holiday and The Funniest One in the Room.

Laurie Bradach has nearly escaped the world of comics. Currently, she devotes her time to writing action-adventure stories without the use of word balloons. She is active in her local Romance Writers of America chapter, Heart and Scroll, and is a founding member of Random Moon Books. Laurie is also the author of A Good Draw, a romantic suspense novel.

Howard and Laurie are delighted to have written their first book together without killing each other. Be sure to look for the second book in the series, The Dare Club: Lindy.


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Laurie and Kim will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour for more chances to win! 

12 comments:

  1. A really great review. It tells you what to expect, and its all good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. And thanks to Andi and Goddess Fish for setting this up! So glad you liked the book Andi. We're trying to write a present-day Nancy Drew, focusing on a different girl in each volume of the series.
    Our motto:
    No sex
    No violence
    No vampires!
    Just action, adventure, mystery, and lots of dares!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great review, looking forward to reading this book, I loved Nancy Drew stories when I was a kid. It's so nice to read something that doesn't involve violence or vampires or both.

    PS.: the no vampires motto is a BIG plus

    galaschick78 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congrats on the very good review. Don't some of us wish that the meanest kids in HS got some payback.

    strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very nice review.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for your review. I think my daughter will love this series.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for all of your comments, and thanks again Andi and Goddess Fish. We hope you'll all enjoy The Dare Club, and we plan to keep the entire series vampire-free!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sorry for the late post. I’m playing catch-up here so I’m just popping in to say HI and sorry I missed visiting with you on party day! Hope you all had a good time!

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. "No sex
    No violence
    No vampires!
    Just action, adventure, mystery, and lots of dares!"

    THAT is a GREAT motto!

    chrysrawr@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
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