2 out of 4 stars
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Guardian of Deceit by William H. Coles tells the story of Darwin, an orphaned teenager being brought up by his rich but socially inept footballer cousin. This coming of age book would appeal to a young adult audience.
Darwin is orphaned when his parents are killed in a car crash and must leave the home of his aunt whom he knows to live with his rich and famous football player cousin. Through him we get to know the characters of Luther and his girlfriend Sweeney and get an insight into the lives of the rich and famous which are not always what we think they are. Darwin is finding and learning about himself, learning from the people around him and trying to make the best of the situation he’s in.
It would be nice to see some more development of his character and live inside his head a bit more to discover what he’s thinking and feeling. As the book goes on we see less of Darwin and more of the other characters in the story such as his friend Helen, her sister Coral and the housekeeper’s daughter Betsy. Their storylines and characters are not as developed though and I struggled to get interested in what was happening in their lives. Dominique is briefly introduced but we know very little about her even though she plays a seemingly significant role in Darwin’s life later. It doesn’t help that the storyline jumps through time which left me a bit confused about what the timescale of this book is. The end was a bit disappointing as we are left with no idea about what happened to Betsy or Helen and her unrequired love for her former boyfriend Leonard.
Rating: 2 out of 4 stars
While this book was interesting at first it has dragged a little. I feel as though the author doesn’t have much of a story to tell about Darwin and his life. The book is about just that, Darwin’s life, and while he has his hardships and problems he’s just like a lot of teenagers out there. It may appeal more to someone who is of a similar age to Darwin and can relate. Maybe I just struggled to relate to the characters or to a story that had little excitement and has been told before. The writing is a bit amateur and doesn’t flow very well in places. There are a few errors such as confusion of the use of your vs you’re and missing words.
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Guardian of Deceit
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