THE BLOOD GUARD

Roy’s first novel is the humorous and exciting start of a new trilogy.

Ordinary 13-year-old Evelyn Ronan Truelove’s life is turned on its ear when he finds himself a participant in a mad car chase, his mother at the wheel, pursued by unknown assailants his mother identifies as “bad guys.” When Ronan’s mother reveals she’s a member of a group known as the Blood Guard, he realizes his life isn’t as normal as he thought, for he’s unknowingly been a Blood Guard–in-training his entire life. The mission of the Guard: to protect three dozen people known as the Pure, whose goodness balances out the sins of Earth’s 6 billion other inhabitants. If the Pure die, the world ends. The bad guys are Bend Sinister agents, members of a group who’ve created a way to steal the souls of the Pure—and bring about the world’s destruction. The stakes are raised with a startling revelation that will have readers eager for the next book. The pacing is quick, with important details revealed evenly throughout. It can be sentimental in places but never sappy, and Ronan (please don’t call him Evelyn) is a believable protagonist, gradually moving from ordinary boy to hero.

Though it’s a little on the derivative side, this iteration of the hero’s journey will have readers chuckling all the way to the satisfying cliffhanger