The Guardian
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
After Hunter prays to the angel Gabriel to protect him, he is shocked when a motorcycle rider appears to answer his prayers
Hunter has spent his life going from foster home to foster home—he's never had a real family looking after him. When his foster father dies, he is left at the mercy of his abusive foster mother, Stephanie, who resents Hunter for coming into their home and ruining her perfect life. Between living with Stephanie's cruelty and dealing with the school bully, Hunter feels like he has no one to turn to—except for the angel Gabriel, who visited Hunter when he was a kid and promised he'd always watch over him. Although he hasn't spoken to Gabriel in a long time, Hunter is desperate to avoid getting beaten again, so he prays for help—and Gabriel answers.
Every time Hunter asks Gabriel for something, he receives it. Is he really being protected by a guardian angel? Hunter can't believe he could ever be so lucky, but if an angel isn't protecting him, who is?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hunter LaSalle, 13, might as well be named Hunted: his foster mother, two of his foster sisters and the school bully are all out to get him. His best friend was his foster dad, Mike, and the story opens at Mike's funeral. But when a motorcycle roars through the burial service, Hunter can't shake the feeling that the rider is connected to a vision of the angel Gabriel that he had at age four. On impulse, Hunter prays to Gabriel for help out of a few jams and immediately good, nearly magical things start happening. Hunter wonders if this really is divine intervention or if he is losing it ("We all go crazy in different ways, I guess. Being religious is better than getting a handgun and shooting up the family, right?"). Sweeney (Headlock) solves the mystery partway through, but replaces one source of tension with another to keep the pages turning. The plotting doesn't quite pass the plausibility test, but Hunter is a sympathetic hero, and his honest narration and the plentiful action will pull readers through to the end. Ages 14 up.
