I Dare You

They are the three most challenging words in the English language: I dare you.

Disregard them at your own risk.

Or, accept them at your own risk.

Either way, there's an element of risk attached to every dare. That's what makes a dare a dare.

From the time we're little, we are dared by our friends and foes alike.

I dare you to knock this off my shoulder. 

I dare you to cross over this line.

I dare you to eat this bug.

And we learn the consequences of accepting or demurring.

By the time we become adults, we've learned which dares offer an acceptable risk, and which ones can be laughed off. They aren't always phrased as dares (Do you want to drive all the way home with that warning light flashing on your dashboard?), but there's always some risk attached.

The time we're most susceptible to dares, however, may just be when we're in high school. We're constantly trying to prove ourselves to our peers, show them how cool and fearless we really are (when, of course, we're as frightened and clueless as the rest of them). High school is the time for risks, challenges and dares, but it's also the time for bonding with the classmates who become our peers. When we share risks, challenges, and dares with our friends, it can help to bond us for the rest of our lives. It's us against the world.

And that's the idea behind The Dare Club. And the first book of the Middle School/YA series, The Dare Club: Nita, explains it all from the perspective of the new kid in school.