Customer Reviews

The Guardian

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hunter is a 13 year old living with his abusive foster mother and three sisters. Things were going pretty well for him until his foster father dies. His foster mother becomes INCREASINGLY more abusive towards him, the bully at school raises the weekly fee, and because he can't stand it anymore he prays to that guardian angel he saw when he was four. But did he really see him? Is he imagining things or is his guardian angel really solving his problems? But do guardian angels seriously email people and scare a girl half to death? Hmm...curiouser and curiouser don't you think?
I really liked this book! I would say it's a quick, light read, but even thought it's 177 pgs long, there is nothing light about it. It can get intense, unpredictable, crazy, and even pull at your heart strings at times.
Many of the things that happened I just could never have predicted! It was just so surprising and sad!!! I really, really REALLY wanted things to end differently for him, but oh well. You will feel so sad for Hunter and by the time you've read the first ten pages, you'll be cheering for him and wanting him to just be happy. Trust me, it may start out slow but it gets intense then you just don't want to stop reading until you're finished and you find out what will happen with Hunter.
I highly recommend this book so go out and get it now!

Enjoy. :)


From inside the book:

The distant growl of a motorcycle engine wakes me up and I wonder if I'm going crazy. That's something I actually worry about a lot. Dr. Phil did this whole show on what kind of kids are prone to turn out bad and it was my biography.


..but when she says this, it's as if she reached into my chest and grabbed my heart.


YOU WILL ENJOY READING THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE:
-reading about foster kids
-guardian angels
-awesome covers (If you notice on the back there are tire tracks!)
-unforgettable stories
-motorcycles
-California
-Florida
-unpredictable stories
-humor
-psychos
-evil people
-page turners

-tvandbookaddict.blogspot.com

If anyone needs a guardian angel it's Hunter. His foster father Mike, one of the only people to ever care about Hunter, passes away and this escalates the abuse dished out by his foster mother. When an angel named Gabriel appears in his life, it seems too good to be true.

It is.

This guardian wears a black, leather-fringed jacket, drives a Gold Wing motorcycle and is not what Hunter had envisioned. In THE GUARDIAN, Joyce Sweeney artfully weaves together a 13-year-old's tender hopes with his gritty reality in a fast-paced read many teens are sure to enjoy!
-- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

THE GUARDIAN is my favorite Joyce Sweeney novel yet. Hunter is a sweet, sensitive kid in a terrible situation. His courage and loyalty come through on every page, even in a book that is packed with suspense. At the end, he emerges as a stronger, wiser person and although he doesn't get a happily-ever-after, he does get a happier-for-now that is very satisfying and real-feeling. Sweeney has crafted a tightly written page turner that I devoured in one sitting. I highly recommend this book!

I was hooked from the first page. Hunter's home life is a realistic one and I loved how each of his sister's had a distinct personality and relationship with him. His foster mother, no matter how horrible she acts, is also a realistic character, though I hope I never meet anyone like her.

Then things began getting iffy, for me. I believe in angels but I couldn't wrap my head around Hunter truly believing a spirit was sending him emails and helping him out in the ways mentioned in the book. But even at that point, I was still hooked. I wanted to know what/who was doing all of this stuff and how he was going to fix all the problems with his foster mom.

The last few chapters, though...they really got me. I just can't picture some of the things happening (I won't say what so it's not spoiled for anyone) and to me, it just seemed really far-fetched.

So this one gets a B. I loved the first half and still adore the characterization but the ending didn't hit me strong enough to give this one an A.

(P.S. - Am I the only one who adores this cover?!?)

Hunter has been tossed around the foster care system for as long as he can remember. He was four years old when he was sent to live in a Catholic orphanage. Since then, he has lived with a series of foster families. Most recently, he's been living with Mike and Stephanie. One of four foster children, life there is pretty good. That is until Mike has a stroke and dies.

Now, Hunter is living a nightmare. When her husband died, Stephanie became a totally different person. She was always a bit controlling and sometimes got carried away with discipline, but now that Mike isn't around to keep her in check, things are getting crazy. She expects all the kids to get jobs and help with family finances. Even little five-year-old Drew is being forced to enter kiddie beauty pageants and model to bring in money. When Hunter objects to Stephanie's plan to let some strange guy photograph Drew in exchange for portfolio headshots, Stephanie severely beats Hunter.

Thinking back to Mike's funeral and the mysterious motorcycle rider who rudely interrupted the service, Hunter begins to fantasize that he has a guardian angel. The dim memory of a tall, dark stranger who appeared to him on the day he was taken from his mother and sent to the orphanage provides fuel for Hunter's growing fantasy. Is there someone looking out for him? Continued sightings of the motorcycle rider and several mysterious email messages have Hunter revisiting childhood memories of the power of prayer and religion.

In THE GUARDIAN, Sweeney creates a powerful story about the importance of love and the feeling of family. Hunter's attachment to his foster siblings has him protecting them despite risks to his own physical well-being. Sweeney forces Hunter to examine the power of family love as he confronts the mysteries of his past. The stirring emotions and edge-of-your-seat action combine to make THE GUARDIAN one of Sweeney's best.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

What a ride! This is great journey for any reader. Loved that this book traveled from drama to supernatural and back. One gets lost in the tension, emotion, and yearning that the main character experiences. Intense drama, action, and a very memorable climax make this book worth reading again.

What a wild ride! I thought I'd try to read a little bit of Joyce Sweeney's The Guardian before I went to bed, but within three or four pages I knew there was no way I'd be able to do anything but keep that throttle wide open to the very last page. The Guardian is a quick read, and it is accessible to a wide age range of readers. It's an excellent choice for reluctant readers who need a fast-paced, high-energy story. The conflict revs up right away in the first couple of pages, screams into the fast-lane, and then leans into a wild, unexpected curve near the end. I was particularly taken by Sweeney's ability to drop us right into young Hunter's mind as he faces his challenges, makes tough decisions, and even keeps us laughing a little bit when the road gets bumpy. A beautiful story!

Author Joyce Sweeney has come up with another winner in the Guardian. The teen-aged Hunter is an indelible character: shuffled from foster home to foster home, he's smart, resourceful, and longing to be loved. I was hooked from Chapter 1.

I loved the interplay between Hunter and his Guardian Angel. Reality? Supernatural? Heavenly? Sweeney's guessing game had me going until the big revelation. I loved every minute of the uncertainty.

Kudos!

Thirteen-year-old Hunter has been shuffled around different foster homes for most of his life. For the past few years, he has lived with his foster parents Stephanie and Mike and three siblings. Stephanie has always disliked Hunter, but she does not dare touch him with Mike around. Then, Mike dies, and Hunter must protect himself from Stephanie's wrath. Luckily, there seems to be a mysterious force helping Hunter. The question is, do guardian angels truly exist?

Overall, I was satisfied. The writing is straight forward, and the novel is told in first person which created a raw feeling throughout the novel. I liked Hunter as a character. While his choice not to call social services sometimes frustrated me, I understood it. Under Stephanie's roof, Hunter had a family. If he called social services, not only would he put himself back into the system, but also his sisters. Also, he was delusional. All of a sudden his life was getting better. Who's to say his life with Stephanie could not get better?

My least favorite part of the novel was right after the climax. I do not want to spoil anything, but Sweeney chose to skip details about one important detail in the book. It felt like the novel skipped a chapter. Another thing I disliked were all the foster families Hunter lived with. Hunter was shuffled around because his foster parents. It gives foster families a bad reputation. Mike was the only good foster parent, and I'm amazing at the control he had over Stephanie! It's almost unbelievable, now that I look back at it.

From what I've written above, it seems like I disliked The Guardian more than I liked it, but that's not true. I actually did enjoy it. The plot was exciting, and I liked the guardian angel stuff. I just wished Sweeney spent more time tweaking it.