Thirteen-year-old Ronan Truelove leaves school one day and discovers
he's a member of The Blood Guard - an ancient order of protectors.
He will acquire invaluable skills (in swordfighting, subterfuge and
more); learn that he has magical talents he never dreamed of;
rescue his parents from certain death and finally fall for the wrong
girl and overlook the right one.
Only then will he find out his true purpose: guarding a geeky girl
computer genius, and by saving her, save the world.
You're picked up from school one day by your mother, who looks a bit frantic. She tells you (during a fancy bit of driving) that your father has disappeared and that she is part of a special group of people who protect others. Then, using a cutlass, she demonstrates by taking down a couple of people with guns. She drops you at a train station with orders to get to a specific place - and then she leaves. This is the fast-paced beginning to The Blood Guard, and rarely does it let up from there. Carter Roy has managed to create a unique beginning to a series that, if it continues on this vein, will be well-loved by kids such as my 12-year-old son. Initially, he was hesitant to read it - he didn't think it sounded very good. After I finished it and recommended it, he decided to try it. Getting him to put it down before he had finished it proved a challenge. The story is quite interesting, and the characters are fantastic. It's always a bummer when you have what could be a great story, but with characters that detract rather than add. That is not the case here. My son and I are both looking forward to following this series.
