Truth or Dare

The main setting for Truth and Dare is a luxurious beach house on the outskirts of a small coastal fishing village. In 1980 four teenage girls spend a week away at this beach house that belongs to the family of one of the foursome. The girls have been friends for many years, but the friendships are beginning to unravel. Jenny, a sophisticated blonde, has begun dating older men and doesn't always tell her friends about these dates. Annie is in love with Joel, a fellow student, and is spending more time with him than their group. Sheila, the plainest member of their gang is feeling left out of things and Georgie has a secret she has kept from her friends. On their final night at the beach house they play truth or dare. During the game secrets are revealed that stir up mixed emotions. Although there are some regrets about their revelations they feel the holiday has helped to re-establish their closeness. Twenty-three years later the four friends get together at the wake of Jenny's husband. Jenny tells her friends she plans to spend some time at the beach house she has inherited from her father. Thinking she will be lonely the three friends decide to join her there. It is the first time the four of them have all been together for many years. On the surface they are happy, but there are underlying tensions because there are things happening in their lives that they don't necessarily wish to discuss. Tensions within the group escalate as past hurts are revealed and Jenny remains secretive about something that is obviously causing her concern. Their final day and evening together is almost a repeat of the one so many years before, for they reveal their problems to each other and one takes a dare, but this time with possibly life-changing results. Although their revelations don't necessarily provide solutions, talking about their problems helps them all recognise how important the support and love of these very special friends is in their lives. The importance of friendships is the major theme of this novel but the secondary theme is the way in which unaddressed issues and aggravations escalate and can ultimately destroy a relationship whether it be a marriage or friendship. A minor theme is the issue of compromise and of how far one should one go to retain a relationship.