Sophie Mckenzie, is a true genius! I adore everyone of her novels and this one is another favourite of mine!

Gripping teen thriller which made me want to NEVER put it down! I was hooked from the very first pace! Full of drama, cant wait to read more!

Wow what a fantastic book with twists and turns all over the place such a good book I would definitely recommend it

Sophie McKenzie has written some of the best ya books and this one brings modern themes such as environmental cosmetics etc into a mystery it is well done

I love Sophie McKenzie books and I will always read them and love them! I think this one was slightly different to her usual style of storyline but it didn’t disappoint. It was engaging, exciting, and kept me engrossed throughout. A nice quick read and definitely one aimed more at teens.

I will always recommend Sophie McKenzie books!

It was an easy to read thriller and I enjoyed the focus on climate change. I was gripped easily and would recommend it to teenagers.

This is a great YA title from Sophie McKenzie, which challenges the reader to consider the environment versus profit, prejudice, and family relationships.

Maya is sent to live her her Gran and Grandpa unexpectedly for the summer. Her relationship with her mother is not great and Maya views this as a punishment. She comes across as spoilt and entitled with very little thought for anyone but herself. Then she meets, Bear, a young man from a local 'hippy' commune who live in a peaceful manner, though are activitists trying to improve the environment and man's relationship with it. Maya learns about her family business (which is the antithesis of everything that Bear and his family believe in) and she resorts to lies about her own life in order to spend time with him.

The book addresses many issues which would make great discussion topics: the environment, activism, industry's responsibility to operate ethically, sweat shops, what constitutes a genuine relationship (both with friends and family at different points). The summer holidays deliver an experience that Maya does not expect when she finds herself and her brother, Leo, in a life-threatening situation.

A thrilling adventure with lots of unexpected twists and turns.

A young adult fiction novel about Maya and her brother Leo's summer in Cornwall. Maya is soon drafted to work in the family's soap business, arriving on the day of a bomb hoax. The local eco group are blamed and it isn't long before Maya becomes intertwined with them, Bear in particular. This was a contemporary read addressing very real issues. I loved Grandad's quotes and wish more was made of his character.

Truth or Dare is an exciting tale of right versus wrong, told through a young girl's eyes.

Main character Maya isn't the most likeable person from the start, although she does become more nuanced as the story progresses. Initially, though, she is self-centred and cares about little beyond her immediate bubble of friends, image, and the latest fast fashion styles.

Once she begins working at the family factory during the summer holidays, Maya is forced to take on more responsibility and actually soon begins to enjoy her work. But on the flip side, she is drawn toward her new friend Bear and the self-sufficient lifestyle his community leads.

These contrasting scenarios quickly begin to tear Maya in two; she doesn't want to let anyone down, yet she is conflicted and feels as though she's forced to choose one over the other. It's a difficult situation, not helped by pressure from the supporting characters and Maya's own conscience.

The story itself is dramatic and full of plenty of twists and turns. It's fast-paced and leads up to an intense conclusion that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. The nail-biting action is underpinned by Maya's moral dilemma, which also adds a unique element to the plot.

Gripping and enjoyable, Truth or Dare is another strong story from bestselling Young Adult author Sophie McKenzie.

Truth or Dare
By Sophie McKenzie
Published by Simon & Schuster Ltd

Another gripping page turner from the fabulous Sophie McKenzie.
This young adult novel twists storylines of friendship, family, environmental and personal commitments.
Fourteen year old Maya has her summer plans ruined when she is whisked to Cornwall to stay with her Gran & Grandpa. But it the lies she tells that feeds into each storyline to create emotional family and business havoc.
Working at the family business gives Maya more than just pocket money. She sees both the workings of the factory, how the employees feel and the impact of cosmetic production on the environment.
Alongside Maya’s newfound interest in Bear, a teenager just like herself but who lives in an environmentally friendly camp, leads her to tell lie after lie to “fit in” with each aspect; family, work life, new found friendships.
But only after a devastating accident happens does Maya know it’s time to tell the truth.
Honest, gripping writing with twists to unveil what really matters within our lives.

Joanne Bardgett - Year 3 teacher of littlies, lover of books.
#Netgallery
#sophiemckenziebooks

I really like the work of this author. The books are right up my street. This is possibly one of the best I’ve read by her.

Because of her mum’s work, Maya and her little brother are sent to Cornwall to spend the summer with their grandparents. She would much rather be in London going to parties with her friends than staying in the middle of nowhere and things get even worse when her grandmother announces that Maya is expected to spend the entire summer holiday working at the family owned soap factory.

Maya meets and makes friends with Bear, who lives in an eco camp outside the village. Bear and his friends are convinced that the factory is dumping pollution into the river.

Maya sets out to solve the mystery of who is dumping the rubbish. This is an interesting story about environmental issues and the ethics behind big business. Maya gets herself tied up in knots as one small lie leads to another, until she has no idea how to rescue her relationship with her friends nor her family. Although the story centres around some big issues, they are tackled in a fairly light way.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting YA novel if you want something that engages discussion about climate change. Very much in the style I have come to expect from Sophie. Very readable and easy to get through

It's a little tricky to know how to review this one. It was much younger YA than I expected from the cover -- that's on me, for not reading the blurb more carefully and seeing that the protagonist is fourteen. The tone is young, too, to match. I think younger YA is super important and there are a lot of readers who need it, but I wouldn't normally read it, and I was aware throughout the book that I wasn't the target audience and that my feelings towards it were skewed by that. So I'm trying to evaluate it based on its own merits rather than based on how much I personally clicked with it, but that's always a challenge.

The topics of climate action, peaceful vs violent protest, and individual vs corporate responsibility for environmental protection are important ones, and I think stories about this are important for this age group. Having said that, I wondered if the tone of this one might be a bit too didactic for teens, who tend to resent being talked down to. Maya's transition from fast-fashion obsessed city girl to environmental activist felt too quick, and not entirely convincing; there didn't seem to be a lot of depth to any of her feelings. We hardly saw any glimpses of her old life; supposedly she had friends back in London, but barring a few passing mentions of them, we never see her actually communicate with them. Lack of communication is a theme -- a lot of the interpersonal conflict comes from inability/unwillingness to actually communicate and tell the truth about anything, and while I know I wasn't exactly the best at truth-telling when I was fourteen, I still found it frustrating on a narrative level, because it felt like a lot of the problems weren't... actually problems.

I also didn't find it entirely believable that a fourteen-year-old could have had a summer job with the level of responsibility that she's given -- she's left on reception alone on more than one occasion, which I'm not entirely sure is legal for a fourteen-year-old? Though I may be wrong on that front. I did like seeing her brother, who I think was probably supposed to be autistic although the word wasn't used on-page, having his interests nurtured and his talents recognised, and his support needs being treated as something to be accommodated rather than a problem; that was a nice detail.

Mostly I think this was probably just a bit young for me, and I was looking for something with more emotional depth and character development, as I never really *believed* in any of the characters here. But: I'm old. And I do think since a lot of teenagers are interested in climate action and are grappling with issues of personal responsibility vs corporate accountability that it's valuable to have stories which reflect that -- I'm just not entirely sure this one did it with quite the nuance or depth I was looking for.

Truth or Dare was a fast-paced story that was an easy read. It raised some interesting ideas, and was surprisingly thought-provoking. That said, I did find the plot a little predictable, so overall that affected my enjoyment. Despite being full of ideas, I didn't find that it engaged my brain at all. It was a popcorn read and I was just along for the ride. Overall, it was a good book, but I just didn't really connect with it in the way that I wanted to.

I love a Sophie McKenzie book and this is another great one. Completely spell binding, utterly binge worth and completely gripping I loved it.

When you don't really know much about the family business but you are sent to Grandma's and you have to help out, this is a great time to learn.
What if there are other things that draw you in and a boy is a contributing factor.
its ok when no one really knows you but when protesters target her Grandma's business, Maya is stuck knowing what to do for the best.

Truth or Dare follows teenager Maya, who is working at her family's factory for a summer job when she meets local activist Bear who lives at the eco-camp nearby she begins to learn about the lies surrounding her family's ethics within their business and eventually it all goes too far...

The book is an environmental-themed mystery that is thought-provoking and informational whilst still being enjoyable to read. It informs the reader of the problems that are happening in the current world whilst also focusing on activism from both the peaceful and extremist ways and how this all links in. The book was well-paced and although the mystery was predictable it wasn't the main and only focus of the story. The only problem I had is that some of the informational elements seemed a bit repetitive but it is there to really drive the message home.

Overall, I really enjoyed Truth or Dare and it was an enjoyable and quick read!

Maya didn't think she'd spend her summer helping her Grandmother running the family business. It's not the dream summer a fourteen-year old girl really wants, and she's already written it off as a loss. But then she finds them - a group of activists fighting the waste dumping happening by local businesses, although she doesn't know her own Grandmother is one of the targets of their anger. Now, she's facing hidden dangers she couldn't have imagined, and she's only getting out if she dares to seek the truth.

A riveting mystery full of secrets and betrayal, with break-neck pacing and brimming with surprises. Maya is stuck between loyalty and her sense of right, bringing plenty of thought-provoking chaos for the reader to decipher and blurring the lines between truth and lies into a murky greyness.

Another whip-smart, edge-of-your-seat thriller from McKenzie.

Sophie McKenzie has never let me down with her writing, and Truth or Dare is a triumph. I think McKenzie gets better with each passing book.
Not 100% sure about the title but that's literally my only complaint.

Honesty and loyalty are two massively important things to a teenager, still learning to navigate the world and forge their place in it. Maya is no different.
When someone you trust lets you down it's like your world is coming to an end, it's an even harder blow when that someone is family. What happens when you have to choose between family and doing the right thing?

I don't want to leave any spoilers but I think Truth or Dare is expertly written and with interesting dilemmas.

Another great story from this author! The plot had a great pace and raised some thought provoking points