What do you think?
Rate this book
Gap-Toothed Girl: The story of a little Lakota runaway with indestructible integrity
“Tournament night in a sweltering Las Vegas stadium, and the girl with the gap-toothed smile stood bleeding in her ballet slippers.”
So begins Gap-Toothed Girl, the story of Dusty May, a Lakota orphan with an iron will, who runs away from the horrific circumstances of her foster home and her foster father — a man of beast-like brilliance and power — to pursue her dream of lightness and ballet, even as her foster father unleashes an army to bring her down.
Part literary fiction, part thriller, part dance story, Gap-Toothed Girl is at its core a tale of human joy and freedom of will — a “fast-paced novel combining the surreal imagery of Nabokov with the psychological complexity of Dostoevsky” to more thoroughly investigate the depths of the human psyche and the indomitable will to succeed, ultimately drilling down into the very nature of happiness, art, and the human soul.
So begins Gap-Toothed Girl, the story of Dusty May, a Lakota orphan with an iron will, who runs away from the horrific circumstances of her foster home and her foster father — a man of beast-like brilliance and power — to pursue her dream of lightness and ballet, even as her foster father unleashes an army to bring her down.
Part literary fiction, part thriller, part dance story, Gap-Toothed Girl is at its core a tale of human joy and freedom of will — a “fast-paced novel combining the surreal imagery of Nabokov with the psychological complexity of Dostoevsky” to more thoroughly investigate the depths of the human psyche and the indomitable will to succeed, ultimately drilling down into the very nature of happiness, art, and the human soul.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2018
9 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Ray Harvey
2,170 books15 followersRay Harvey was born and raised in the spectacular San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. He's worked as a short-order cook, construction laborer, crab fisherman, janitor, bartender, copyeditor, pedi-cab driver, and more. He's the author of numerous published books and articles, but no matter where he's gone or what he's done to earn a living, there's always been literature and learning as the driving force in his life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 16, 2018
Dusty May falls in love with gymnastics when she is eight. At sixteen, she runs away from a bad situation in her foster home to achieve her dream, but she must overcome even more harrowing obstacles along the way.
The book begins with a great opening line: “Tournament night in a sweltering Las Vegas stadium, and the girl with the gap-toothed smile stood bleeding in her ballet slippers.” From there, things just get better. The story is populated with intriguing characters and riddled with interesting philosophical discussions. The author has a wonderfully rich and poetic vocabulary, and I was glad for the dictionary function of the Kindle app.
Dusty’s gap-toothed smile doesn’t appear very often but, when it does, it’s glorious. Utterly charming.
Warnings: rape, violence.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (16 November): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.co...
The book begins with a great opening line: “Tournament night in a sweltering Las Vegas stadium, and the girl with the gap-toothed smile stood bleeding in her ballet slippers.” From there, things just get better. The story is populated with intriguing characters and riddled with interesting philosophical discussions. The author has a wonderfully rich and poetic vocabulary, and I was glad for the dictionary function of the Kindle app.
Dusty’s gap-toothed smile doesn’t appear very often but, when it does, it’s glorious. Utterly charming.
Warnings: rape, violence.
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (16 November): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.co...
December 26, 2018
Summed up for me... Beautifully written. I felt each and every part of this story. I think that there was a great connection of the dance and I felt like I could see it through the pages.
I loved the addition of the suspense/thriller aspect. I really felt like it took this story one notch further.
Smooth and Effortless, this is the kind of story that will stick with you.
I loved the addition of the suspense/thriller aspect. I really felt like it took this story one notch further.
Smooth and Effortless, this is the kind of story that will stick with you.
October 5, 2018
Magic
I picked this up and didn't set it down until I finished. Art and physics and relationship and the essence of life. Damned if I won't be thinking about Dusty May for a long time.
I picked this up and didn't set it down until I finished. Art and physics and relationship and the essence of life. Damned if I won't be thinking about Dusty May for a long time.
November 7, 2018
She has run away from her roster father who is cruel as all she wants is to dance. Will he bring her down again? Will she succeed? Can she show what she is capable of? Follow her and her dream
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 21, 2019
Shake on the reviewers
I'm an avid reader though perhaps not a deep one. Try as I might i could not finish this book. For page after page it went no where. My eyes read the words while my brain screamed Jabberwocky! I spent an inordinate amount of time re-reading passages for clarity. When I found myself counting how many times the word bleed or bleeding was used I knew it was time to quit. This, from one who compulsively finishes every book. A note of interest to me was the reviews for the book. There were 13 or 14 before mine. Some were written by folks were given the book in exchange for an honest review. And every one of them were glowing. Either i can't grasp the essence of this book or some of those reviews are fibbing.if so, shame on them because I bought this book based on their advice. Lesson learned!
I'm an avid reader though perhaps not a deep one. Try as I might i could not finish this book. For page after page it went no where. My eyes read the words while my brain screamed Jabberwocky! I spent an inordinate amount of time re-reading passages for clarity. When I found myself counting how many times the word bleed or bleeding was used I knew it was time to quit. This, from one who compulsively finishes every book. A note of interest to me was the reviews for the book. There were 13 or 14 before mine. Some were written by folks were given the book in exchange for an honest review. And every one of them were glowing. Either i can't grasp the essence of this book or some of those reviews are fibbing.if so, shame on them because I bought this book based on their advice. Lesson learned!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews