A Lesson In Violence

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 smart beyond her years. But she's a loner, always on the outside, until 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 become a series of narrow misses, of evading bad guys and the police, of sleepless nights in motels. Polly quickly transforms from a shy little girl into a true fighter, while Nate 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.