*WINNER OF A 2018 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT NOVEL*
*WINNER OF AN ALEX AWARD FROM THE ALA*
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 BY St. Louis Post-Dispatch -
Booklist
A propulsive, gritty novel about a girl marked for death who must
fight and steal to stay alive, learning from the most frightening man
she knows--her father.
Eleven-year-old Polly McClusky is shy, too old for the teddy bear she
carries with her everywhere, when she is unexpectedly reunited with her
father, Nate, fresh out of jail and driving a stolen car. He takes her
from the front of her school into a world of robbery, violence, and the
constant threat of death. And he does it to save her life.
Nate made dangerous enemies in prison--a gang called Aryan Steel has put
out a bounty on his head, counting on its members on the outside to
finish him off. They've already murdered his ex-wife, Polly's mother.
And Polly is their next target.
Nate and Polly's lives soon become a series of narrow misses, of evading
the bad guys and the police, of sleepless nights in motels. Out on the
lam, Polly is forced to grow up early: with barely any time to mourn her
mother, she must learn how to take a punch and pull off a drug-house
heist. She finds herself transforming from a shy little girl into a true
fighter. Nate, in turn, learns what it's like to love fiercely and
unconditionally--a love he's never quite felt before. But can their
powerful bond transcend the dangerous existence he's carved out for
them? Will they ever be able to live an honest life, free of fear?
She Rides Shotgun is a gripping and emotionally wrenching novel that
upends even our most long-held expectations about heroes, villains, and
victims. Nate takes Polly to save her life, but in the end it may very
well be Polly who saves him.
