The Guardian - Hardcover

Sweeney, Joyce

3.64

105 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805080198 ISBN 13: 9780805080193

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2009

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Hunter has never had anyone to look out for him. His mother gave him away when he was young, he’s never known his father, and his foster mother leaves a lot to be desired in the mothering department. So when a mysterious, benevolent force suddenly starts coming to his aid, Hunter doesn’t know what to believe. Could he really have a guardian angel? Hunter so badly wants someone to care that he’s willing to take a leap of faith, and more. But when he finally learns the truth about his angel, he’ll have to decide whether it’s the best thing that ever happened to him or the worst.

This masterful pairing of suspenseful, fast-paced storytelling with genuine compassion and heart is Joyce Sweeney at her best.

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About the Author:

JOYCE SWEENEY is the author of more than a dozen novels for young adults, including the highly praised Headlock. She lives in Coral Springs, Florida,with her husband, Jay, and her cat, Phantom.

From Booklist:

Hunter feels abandoned after the death of his kindhearted foster father. With no respite from loneliness or his abusive foster mother, Hunter resumes praying to Gabriel, an angel Hunter believes visited him as a child. His prayers are answered all too clearly: the $10 needed to escape hazing appears in his locker, and then his antagonistic foster sister is harassed by a wild-haired biker. Confused, Hunter seeks counsel from a priest. Just as Hunter settles in to contemplating the role of divinity in his life, his “angel” reveals himself as his biological father, Gabriel Salvatore, recently released from prison for murdering Hunter’s birth mother. He abducts Hunter, who wants to escape yet relishes the opportunity to fill in the blanks about his past. Though the switch between the first and second parts of the book is somewhat jarring, the effect keeps the pace moving briskly. Hunter’s story finishes on a realistic but hopeful note. Sweeney’s latest is, like many of her previous, a notable choice for reluctant readers. Grades 7-9. --Heather Booth

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