Daredevils

At the heart of this coming-of-age novel set in Arizona and Idaho in the mid-1970s is fifteen-year-old Loretta - a beautiful girl with sharp intelligence and courage beyond her years and experience. Raised by strict Mormon parents, she secretly slips out of her bedroom to meet a so-called gentile boy. When her parents catch her returning one night, she is punished and forced to marry the much older Dean Harder, a devout fundamentalist who already has a wife and children.

The Harders relocate to his native Idaho, where Dean's teenage nephew, Jason, falls in love with Loretta. Jason worships Evel Knievel and longs to leave his close-minded community. He and Loretta make a daring break for it. They drive all night, stay in a hotel, and relish their dizzying burst of teenage freedom - including a drunken encounter with (possibly) Evel Knievel himself. But someone Loretta left behind is on their trail...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shawn Vestal was born in 1966 in Gooding, Idaho. His story collection Godforsaken Idaho won the 2014 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize and was shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize. A graduate of Eastern Washington University MFA program, his stories have appeared in Tin House, Ecotone, McSweeney's Southern Review and other journals; his short memoir A.K.A. Charles Abbott recounts the story of his father, who took the family to Canada in flight from the law. He writes a column for Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he lives with his wife and son

'Shawn Vestal jumps forty buses in Daredevils, an electrifying debut novel that travels some dark roads of American religion and bravado, propelled by a major new voice in fiction' - Jess Walter, author of 'Beautiful Ruins'

'This debut novel captures the flailings and flight of hapless dreamers with prose that throbs like the strings of an electric bass playing its sad heart out in a near-desolate landscape' - Kirkus (starred review)

'Shawn Vestal's Daredevils bursts open any expectations of a coming-of-age novel and transforms it into something fresh, vital and wild. And with Loretta, he has given us one of the most moving young protagonists in recent memory' - Megan Abbott, author of 'The Fever' and 'Dare Me'

'Relentlessly enjoyable, surprising, inventive, and just plain heartwarming... Daredevils is a bona fide marvel that pairs two American originals: the complex human drama of Mormonism and the bigger-than-life bravura of 1970s icon Evel Knievel... I couldn't put it down as I cheered on Loretta until the very last page. A real wonder' - Scott Cheshire, author of 'High as the Horses' Bridles'

'A speeding stunt bike of a novel, propulsive and daring... A lucid, bright gem' - Sharma Shields, author of 'The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac'

'Daring, moving, and tender... Beautiful and at times heartbreaking, this book will knock you out' - Nina McConigley, author of 'Cowboys and East Indians'

'Daredevils is filled with wonderful 1970s nostalgia and the Even Knievel moments interspersed throughout the novel are sheer brilliance. This is my favourite book of the Spring season!' - Jon Mooney, PRH US sales team