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Daredevils
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
18 posts | 13 read | 34 to read
From the winner of 2014's PEN Robert W. Bingham Prize, an unforgettable debut novel about Loretta, a teenager married off as a "sister wife," who makes a break for freedom At the heart of this exciting debut novel, set in Arizona and Idaho in the mid-1970s, is fifteen-year-old Loretta, who slips out of her bedroom every evening to meet her so-called gentile boyfriend. Her strict Mormon parents catch her returning one night, and promptly marry her off to Dean Harder, a devout yet materialistic fundamentalist who already has a wife and a brood of kids. The Harders relocate to his native Idaho, where Dean's teenage nephew Jason falls hard for Loretta. A Zeppelin and Tolkien fan, Jason worships Evel Knievel and longs to leave his close-minded community. He and Loretta make a break for it. They drive all night, stay in hotels, and relish their dizzying burst of teenage freedom as they seek to recover Dean's cache of "Mormon gold." But someone Loretta left behind is on their trail... A riveting story of desire and escape, Daredevils boasts memorable set pieces and a rich cast of secondary characters. There's Dean's other wife, Ruth, who as a child in the 1950s was separated from her parents during the notorious Short Creek raid, when federal agents descended on a Mormon fundamentalist community. There's Jason's best friend, Boyd, part Native American and caught up in the activist spirit of the time, who comes along for the ride, with disastrous results. And Vestal's ultimate creation is a superbly sleazy chatterbox--a man who might or might not be Evel Knievel himself--who works his charms on Loretta at a casino in Elko, Nevada. A lifelong journalist whose Spokesman column is a fixture in Spokane, WA, Shawn has honed his fiction over many years, publishing in journals like McSweeney's and Tin House. His stunning first collection, Godforsaken Idaho, burrowed into history as it engaged with masculinity and crime, faith and apostasy, and the West that he knows so well. Daredevils shows what he can do on a broader canvas--a fascinating, wide-angle portrait of a time and place that's both a classic coming of age tale and a plunge into the myths of America, sacred and profane.
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Brooke_H
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Pickpick

Mormon fundamentalists, Idaho, Evel Knievel (but is he or isn't he?), coming-of-age, and jackrabbits (oh dear).

(quarantine book #102, read a book with a one-word title)

SamAnne Shawn is a local writer and newspaper columnist. Great guy. I highly recommend his short story collection Godforsaken Idaho. 4y
Brooke_H @samanne Oh wow! I really loved this book. He‘s an exceptional writer. 4y
17 likes2 comments
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hollylynnbee
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Pickpick

This book did not end the way I thought it would, but surprisingly I really enjoyed it! It is a little all over the place, so if you want like that this book may not be for you.

5 likes1 stack add
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hollylynnbee
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Starting a new book tonight. I have seen some mixed reviews on this book, so let's hope it is good! Anyone else read this? (Featuring Patti in the background) #newbook #dogsoflitsy

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hollylynnbee
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Two down.. one to go and it's the favorite!!

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Megabooks
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Pickpick

I wanted a dark book with an unhappy ending. I almost got it on both counts. It's a disjointed book, so if that's not your thing, then pass.

82 likes2 stack adds
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PlannerGirlBookClub
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Pretty excited for the long weekend since I hit the new release jackpot at the library today! All these titles are on the Tournament of Books Long List - anyone think one of these will make it to the shortlist? TBH, I know nothing about any of these books, going in blind! #ToBLongList

LisaJo I really enjoyed reading Before the Fall. But, I think Little Red Chairs will make the shortlist. 8y
vivastory Little Red Chairs is fantastic. 8y
TNbooklover66 I loved Marrow Island. 8y
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B.Reader I got Break in Case of Emergency today. Hope it will make it, it sounds fun! 8y
nickimags It's so exciting being the first person to get brand new books at the library! 😊 8y
outis The long list was so enormous this year that I'm just going read whatever I want until the shortlist comes out. No idea which books will make the cut! 8y
PlannerGirlBookClub @LisaJo @vivastory I'm looking forward to Little Red Chairs! Thanks for the rec! 8y
PlannerGirlBookClub @TNbooklover66 oh good! I haven't heard much about Marrow Island. 8y
PlannerGirlBookClub @B.Reader That one does sound fun - let me know what you think of it! 8y
PlannerGirlBookClub @nickimags definitely! First one to enjoy them always feels like a privilege! 8y
PlannerGirlBookClub @outis the only one I'm pretty sure on is Underground Railroad but other than that, completely in the dark! 8y
90 likes11 comments
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ChariK
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
Bailedbailed

I was so disgusted with the last 100 pages of this book that I was angry I had spent time reading the book. So disappointed!

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brendanmleonard
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Happy TBR Tuesday! Here's my stack of 2016 releases...with a few ARCs in there...and a few up top I need to get to this month. Read read read! 👍😄

Leelee08 I love book stacks.❤️ 8y
Louise There's a thrill in looking at other people's book stacks! 🤓 8y
BekahB Nice TBR! I'm curious to hear what you think about Vandermeer's Wonderbook. It's been on my TBR for a while. I really enjoyed My Best Friend's Exorcism! 8y
brendanmleonard @BekahB hoping Wonderbook will fuel the creative juices 8y
BookishFeminist Nice stack!' 8y
52 likes5 comments
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Amy_S
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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1 like2 stack adds
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quietjenn
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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I wish I had a little Evel Knievel doll, or even just a Hot Rod motorcycle, to pose with this one. 🏍

3 likes1 stack add
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thelithub
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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"She loves how much he seems to love her. He kisses her again, cupping the back of her head with a hand. She puts her hands on his back, feels the knots of muscle there. Sometimes she thinks she is trying to press his face through hers. To consume her." An excerpt from DAREDEVILS is on the site now

nikirtehsuxlol I really liked Godforsaken Idaho! 9y
46 likes20 stack adds1 comment
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BethFishReads
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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A 15-year-old forced into a plural marriage dreams of escaping her Mormon community. Set in the 1970s in the American west, this is a complex coming-of-age novel. @penguinrandomhouse

17 likes5 stack adds
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Lupita.Reads
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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That moment when the author of the next book on your TBR is listed at the end of your current read!

Lupita.Reads @BookBerries 😁😁😁😁😁👻👽 9y
17 likes2 comments
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Lupita.Reads
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal

"It is a fucked-up world, America. Even the love is all wrong."

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Lupita.Reads
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal

"But soon enough she saw Jason's irritation with Boyd, saw his confusion and jealousy, and realized he was simply another part, as was Boyd, of the wide world that looked at her and wanted to turn her into something of theirs."

10 likes1 stack add
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Lupita.Reads
Daredevils | Shawn Vestal
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Anyone else love looking for the first time a book title actually makes an appearance in book? 🤓🙌🏽📚

acg It's like waiting for a mic to drop! 9y
Carol It's the moment when the sunbeams burst through the clouds and The Griswolds start singing about walking down the Mississippi on their own...or maybe that's just me? 🌤🎶🐾🌊😜 9y
jeff YES! 9y
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susanw Always! 9y
Lupita.Reads @seekingthespheres YAS!!! 🎙❤️📚 9y
Lupita.Reads @Carol such a vivid description, I see it, I feel it, YAS! 9y
Lupita.Reads @jeff 🙌🏽❤️📚 9y
Lupita.Reads @susanw 😉😊😊😊 9y
14 likes8 comments