Pam Withers' Daredevil Club is a thrilling and fast read that really grabs your attention. It tells the story of a boy named, Kip, who is the founder of his towns dangerous "daredevil club". When it is initially created, his intentions are for him and his group to complete a total of seven, of what they call "dares", around various areas of the town. These dares include everything from swinging from tree branches, to downhill shopping cart races. It's all fun and games until in the midst of the forth dare, cliff jumping into a lake, a traumatic event changes the course of the group forever. When Kip, the leader of the group, gets seriously injured, he tries desperately to get back on the metaphoric horse. He works his way through the fifth and sixth dares, but will he be able to survive the seventh dare... the most challenging one yet?
This book was captivating for me because I was really able to relate to the feeling of overwhelming parent involvement and the desire for something in my life that felt dangerous and uncharted. Being around the same age as these characters, I felt emotionally invested in what happened to them, especially Kip. Withers does an amazing job at taking a fast paced, short novel, and turning it into an elaborate emotional journey for the reader. In the short time it takes to read this book, it questions the meaning of true friendship, and challenges common perceptions of hoodlums that take to dangerous activities in the street for reasons that go beyond adrenaline. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, intense read, that will leave you feeling happy to have ever known Kip Fox.