The Blood Guard (Blood Guard Series #1)

by Carter Roy

Overview

When thirteen-year-old Ronan Truelove’s seemingly ordinary mom snatches him from school, then sets off on a high speed car chase, Ronan is shocked. His quiet, nerdy dad has been kidnapped? And the kidnappers are after him, too?

His mom, he quickly learns, is anything but ordinary. In fact, she’s a member of an ancient order of knights, the Blood Guard, a sword-wielding secret society sworn to protect the Pure—thirty-six noble souls whose safety is crucial if the world as we know it is to survive.

Now all those after-school activities—gymnastics, judo, survival training—she made him take, make sense. For suddenly Ronan is swept up in a sometimes funny, sometimes scary, but always thrilling adventure—dashing from one danger to the next, using his wits to escape the Bend Sinister, a posse of evil doers with strange powers. Falling in with two unlikely companions, Greta, a scrappy, strong-willed girl he’s never much liked and Jack, a devil-may-care teenage pickpocket, Ronan is left with only his wits and his mom’s last words of advice: Trust no one.

That’s a lot for an ordinary kid to deal with. But then again, maybe Ronan’s not ordinary at all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477847251
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Series:	Blood Guard Series , #1
Pages:	279
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Carter Roy has painted houses and worked on construction sites; waited tables and driven delivery trucks; been a stage hand for rock bands and a videographer on a cruise ship; worked as a line cook in a kitchen, a projectionist in a movie theater, and a rhetoric teacher at a university. He has been a reference librarian and a bookseller, edited hundreds of books for major publishers, and written award-winning short stories for adult readers that have appeared in a half-dozen journals and anthologies. But this is the first time he’s written a novel. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

03/03/2014
Debut novelist Roy (a pseudonym for agent Michael Stearns) launches a sharp and energetic trilogy with a breakneck opening and an everyboy narrator who becomes enmeshed in extraordinary circumstances. The improbably named (outside of fantasy novels) Evelyn Ronan Truelove's mother picks him up from school and takes him on a madcap car chase. Once they escape their pursuers, she explains that Ronan's many extracurricular activities—gymnastics, judo, etc.—were to help train him to join the Blood Guard, the secret organization she belongs to whose job it is to protect The Pure, the handful of humans so impossibly good, they balance out the sins of the rest of the world. Along the way, Ronan fights an evil organization called the Bend Sinister and teams up with a girl named Greta and a boy named Jack. The use of familiar fantasy devices is balanced by Roy's narrative verve and multilayered characters, who display genuine emotion and self-awareness. Breathless action, witty dialogue, and unabashed fun should keep most readers from noticing that the plot sometimes stretches itself thin. Ages 10–up. Agent: the Inkhouse. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2014
Gr 4–8—When Ronan ("Don't call me Evelyn") Truelove's mother arrives unexpectedly to pick him up from school, Ronan assumes she's just there to give him a ride to gymnastics class. Instead, Ronan and his mom are suddenly involved in a terrifying high-speed car chase by suited robot assassins. Between driving down stairways in a VW Bug, stealing a police cruiser, and wielding swords to deflect bullets, Ronan's mom explains that not only is Ronan's father missing but that she is a member of a secret society, the Blood Guard, dedicated to protecting the 36 Pure Souls, whose goodness must be preserved to stop the world plunging into darkness and evil. When his mother drops him off at the train station with only the cryptic advice "Trust no one," Ronan starts to understand why up to now his life has been a progression from one martial arts class to another—he was unknowingly in training for the Blood Guard all along. Conveniently meeting up with Greta, a sarcastic friend from a past school who happens also to be an expert in the use of firearms, and his assigned Blood Guard protector Jack Dawkins, Ronan sets off on a whirlwind adventure, to prevent the agents of evil from stealing the souls of the pure. Although Ronan's exploits are reminiscent of Alex Rider and Percy Jackson, the background mythology comes from the Christian Old Testament with a touch of Men in Black. Comparisons could also be made to Anthony Horowitz's "Gatekeepers" series (Scholastic), but Roy writes so well that the story is completely fresh and manages to be funny while dealing with superhuman enemies and apocalyptic terror. Ronan is an appealing hero, and readers will want to see what happens next. A great new series for middle school students who love fantasy and adventure.—Jane Barrer, United Nations International School, New York City

School Library Journal

2013-12-18
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. (Adventure. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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

“Roy’s first book hits the ground running and doesn’t let up until the end, and his writing is up to the job.” —Booklist

“Breathless action, witty dialogue, and unabashed fun…” —Publishers Weekly

“This is an adventurous tale with a bit of magic and mystery that will thrill middle grade readers.” —The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

“THE BLOOD GUARD sure gets off to a great start.” —Common Sense Media

“This is an action-packed book you never want to put down.” —Denver Post

“This action packed thrill ride will hold the interest of readers young and old to the very last page.” —Monsters and Critics

“Hits the ground running and doesn’t let up until it’s dragged you, gasping and astonished and delighted, over the finish line. Bound to get any kid who owns a flashlight in big trouble for reading under the covers well past bedtime.” —Bruce Coville, author of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and My Teacher Is an Alien

“Wildly intense and deviously funny, The Blood Guard has real heart as well as characters you’ll fall in love with. This is cool stuff, very cool stuff.” —Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of BZRK and the Gone series

“Packed with breathless adventure, sword fighting, heartless betrayal, and car chases—but what I loved best about this book is that amidst all the fun it’s also pure of heart. I enjoyed The Blood Guard tremendously and cannot wait to read the sequel!” —Sarah Prineas, author of the Magic Thief series

“The kind of witty, fleet-footed, swashbuckling adventure my twelve-year-old self would have gobbled up. Sure to be a hit with middle-grade adventure fans!” —Bruce Hale, author of the Chet Gecko Mysteries and A School for S.P.I.E.S.: Playing with Fire

“I love everything about this thrilling novel—its humor, its action, and especially Greta Sustermann. She is smart, sassy, vulnerable, and completely kicks butt. I can’t wait to read the next book.” —Kathryn Littlewood, author of Bliss and A Dash of Magic

From the Publisher