Daredevil Club

by Pam Withers

Kip's only friends are the members of the Daredevil Club, a club whose mission is to complete seven dangerous dares before their rivals, the Wildmen, complete their list of dares. Before the cliff-diving accident in which he lost the use of his leg, Kip had been the leader of the Daredevil Club. Now he has difficulty completing the dares and suspects that his membership is threatened. As the daredevils plan their final stunt, a dangerous climb along a narrow steel shelf beneath a bridge, they try to convince Kip that he may not be up to the task. Kip refuses to back down even though he suspects his friends might be right. Also available in French.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Award-winning YA author Pam Withers -- a former outdoor guide, journalist and editor -- has written 21 sports and outdoor adventure books for teens. She has been nominated for three Red Maple Awards and numerous others. Besides her novels, she has written an athlete's biography and Jump-Starting Boys, a book for parents on getting boys to read. Pam lives in Vancouver, Canada, and tours North America extensively.

Reviews

[Gena Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! I like how reckless and scary these dares were. Even though Kip injured himself on one of the dares, he still tried to manage to keep up with the others. These dares were crazy and I would never do these things EVER! Overall, not my type of book, but the book went in depth and the storyline was really good. Also, I enjoyed the competition between the Daredevils and the Wildmen. This short story was a very good read.

[Nathaniel Hubler]

Daredevil club by: Pam withers is a great book. I like this book because it has adventure and action. This book is about four boys: Caleb, Fraser, vlad, and kip. They have a list of dares they want to complete. On one of there dares kip got hurt and for the rest of the dares he tried to keep up and stay in the club.

[Maddison Thurston · Rating 3 out of 5]

School read (French class)

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Kip and his buddies, Fraser, Vlad, and Caleb, have created the Daredevil Club. Dangerous stunts are their specialty. They have already completed three of the seven stunts Kip has planned for the group. There was a slight delay after stunt number three because Kip was seriously injured in a fall and has been a patient at the local physiotherapy clinic to regain the use of his shattered left leg.

The four club members are embarking on their fourth stunt -- climbing the abandoned old water tower in their small town. Choosing to complete the stunt on a rainy night makes it even more dangerous, yet rewarding, for the group. Despite rain, poisonous pigeon droppings, and swarms of cockroaches, the stunt is successful. Now, on to number five.

Since forming the Daredevil Club, another group of boys called the Wildmen have started doing their own stunts in a effort to beat Kip's group's goal of seven increasingly difficult stunts. Both groups are planning to crawl across the iron girders of the local bridge for the final challenge. But is it more dangerous than they anticipate?

DAREDEVIL CLUB by Pam Withers features not only dangerous stunts, but also Kip and his pals' efforts to hold a fundraiser to save the small town therapy clinic that has helped Kip recover from his injury. Reluctant readers will be motivated by the fast-paced action scenes of this high-interest, lower reading level book presented by Orca Book Publishers.

[Mrs. Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daredevils Club by Melanie Jackson is a good book about 4 boys: Kip, Fraser, Vlad, and Caleb. Together, they form the Daredevil club. Kip came up with 7 dangerous stunts that they were going to do but then after the 4th stunt, they run into several problems. Kip is angry about what happened during the 4th stunt and then he has to learn to live with it. The action in this book makes it almost impossible to stop reading it. Alfred Johannesson

[Bryan S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book alot. It's really about a group of kids name the daredevil. The kid name Kip wants to perform a stunt but hecan't because of his injury. But at the end they perform a carnival to help Kip's injury.

[Joel Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! Except for the ending. At the end the Pam withers just got too exited and rushed the end. It goes from really cool. Then like your on the speed bus and it ended. Other than that the beginning was really cool, but could use some details. That's my thoughts from daredevil club.

[Emily Hong · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was t the best, only becUse I couldn't relate to it much. I feel like it was more of a guys book, which made it boring for me. But the plot and characters were very interesting and made it hard to stop reading once you started reading.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first Orca books I read. It was good enough for me to keep reading them.

[Heather E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth the quick read. It was full of action, had some character-building decisions, and a lot of conflict. Perfect recommendation for a reluctant middle or high school boy.

[Shannon Rickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

i luv all of these orca books.

[Kiersten Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book to just about anyone. It keeps the reader hooked throughout the whole entire book.

[Ethan R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a good read it showed how reckless you can sometimes be and it showed the main character powering through a horrible injury

[Eric Manring · Rating 3 out of 5]

It did not seem that good there was a lot of drama

[Laura Swendig · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.