I love receiving ARC (advanced reader copies) of books, especially when they are by an author that I admire. Guard Me, by MC Frank is no exception. This book was just released and I highly encourage you to read it. Now, to be fair, I have an affinity for any story that takes place in Vermont and this one starts off right at the University of Vermont campus. But I had no idea of that when I first opened this book. I really enjoyed the tour of Vermont, of the “movie moments” the princess experiences. The character development is what makes this story shine and drives the story arc.
First person point of view, and dual point of view can be a little confusing in some books, but it’s very clear as we switch from one reader to the next. Of course, first person POV lets us right in their head so we get little bits of background and better understanding all the way through the story. We get to know all the things that they are thinking, hence we learn that this little princess is far more thoughtful than it might seem. We also question the motives of the basketball coach, Marco, much earlier. But then, if we’re suspecting some upperclassman of, well something, then we have to wonder about the roommate, too, and she did have access to the shower tiles so she could have left the graffiti…As always, MC Frank layers our understanding of characters with little pieces and snippets that add up quickly to full, well-rounded characters.
This coming of age novel is appropriate for a mature YA audience and I would consider having it in my classroom.
I enjoyed this book so much that I read most of it in a single day and I am impatiently awaiting the sequel. I’m so impatient I might have mentioned wanting to be a beta reader for the sequel in my Goodreads review…
