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Guardian

(2008, Fiction - Historical Fiction, Written by Julius Lester)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 14, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 16.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Powerful book about lynching, rape; older teens only.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 16–17

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The American culture in the 40s depicted in the story is deeply, violently racist. A man is lynched for raping and murdering a girl, while another man and boy know that he didn't do it, and who did, but don't say anything, and the whole town conspires with them to ignore the truth and lynch an innocent man.

  • Violence:

    A man is beaten with an ax handle by a crowd, then lynched. A boy rapes and murders a girl; he also cuts the leg off a frog and watches it bleeding to death, then stabs it. An overdose suicide.

  • Sex:

    A teen boy forces a girl to masturbate him to climax fairly graphically. That same boy routinely and violently rapes black girls and women, not described. Teens have sex, vaginal wetness and bleeding mentioned. A boy is drawn to look at the bare breasts of a murdered girl. Some graphic French kissing, and references to child molestation, masturbation, menstruation, and rape.

  • Language:

    The N word is used frequently, "bitch,""s--t."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Adults drink whiskey.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Guardian

Parents need to know that this novel is for older teens only -- it has some very rough content, including lynching, rape, murder, and teen sex. The wickedness of the subject matter -- lynching and its effect on everyone involved -- is powerfully disturbing.

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the culture of lynching. How could ordinary people have behaved this way? How could the government have allowed, and even encouraged, it? Why did no one stand up against it? What would you have done? What would have been the likely consequences? Does this kind of thing still go on today?
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