The Guardian of Eden: Leslie Dubois

This book was gifted to me by Leslie Dubois :)

The book begins with immediate action,Garrett's sister, Eden, is in the hospital.  Garrett and Maddie, his girlfriend, are rushing around trying to help Eden receive the best possible care.  The reader will be immediately intrigued as to what occurred to cause this wild scene. 

The book then returns to the beginning of Garrett's story.  The reader follows his journey through a rough childhood through his teens.  A very bright child, a prodigy, Garrett succeeds even without the help a child in a different situation may have received.  His mother, Holly, is a woman who can't seem to find a decent boyfriend and neglects her children in the process.   Garrett is left in charge of his younger sister; he attempts to shelter her from the realities of their lives throughout the novel.  He helps her with homework, feeds her, and ultimately seeks revenge for her.  He also acts as caregiver to his "mother", even defending her against a man trying to rape her.   His defense of his mother results in visits to a psychologist, who claims Garrett has anger issues.  This "diagnosis" hits Garrett hard, his own father is doing jail time for the murder of Holly's father. 

Life isn't always so hard on poor Garrett, in school he meets Maddie.  Maddie is the daughter of a senator and becomes Garrett's love interest in the novel.  His relationship with Maddie begins its early stages with Garrett's  need to help and protect, Maddie is to do an interview of him, however, she is sick and Garrett immediately wants to take care of her.  The reader learns through Maddie and Eden that Garrett is kind and loving, his past and his parents don't necessarily guarantee he will turn out like them. 

Garrett gets the opportunity to meet his jailed father and meets with him periodically throughout the book, developing a fairly strong relationship with him even though Garrett was wary at first.  Garrett is well-developed both as a character in the book and his natural character and personality.  He learns quickly that not everything is as it seems, that his father may have been in the right.  Violence is prevalent is his life, from defending his mother against her boyfriends and Eden's father to understanding why violence may be necessary in some situations. 

The book continues with ups and downs and some curve balls.  I have to say I really enjoyed reading Garrett's story, I felt like I knew him personally even after the book had ended.  I liked to read about his strength and determination to make his sister's life as good and happy as he could.  His idea of learning a new word a day, suggested to him by his grandmother, made me want to do learn a new word a day also.  The story flowed perfectly, with no awkward pauses or scenes that appeared out-of-place.  I think it is important for readers to see the reality of some children's lives, as hard as it may be to read about them.  The other side of the story is important and informative.  I was very happy I had the opportunity to read this book.