{"product_id":"the-guardians-9780812975710","title":"The Guardians","description":"From American Book Award-winning author Ana Castillo comes a suspenseful, moving novel about a sensuous, smart, and fiercely independent woman. Eking out a living as a teacher's aide in a small New Mexican border town, T a Regina is also raising her teenage nephew, Gabo, a hardworking boy who has entered the country illegally and aspires to the priesthood. When Gabo's father, Rafa, disappears while crossing over from Mexico, Regina fears the worst. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter several days of waiting and with an ominous phone call from a woman who may be connected to a smuggling ring, Regina and Gabo resolve to find Rafa. Help arrives in the form of Miguel, an amorous, recently divorced history teacher; Miguel's gregarious abuelo Milton; a couple of Gabo's gangbanger classmates; and a priest of wayward faith. Though their journey is rife with challenges and danger, it will serve as a remarkable testament to family bonds, cultural pride, and the human experience \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Guardians\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY \u003ci\u003eTHE CHICAGO TRIBUNE\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An always skilled storyteller,  Castillo] grounds her writing in . . . humor, love, suspense and heartache-that draw the reader in.\"\u003cbr\u003e-\u003ci\u003eChicago Sunday Sun-Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A rollicking read, with jokes and suspense and joy rides and hearts breaking . . . This smart, passionate novel deserves a wide audience.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e-Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"What drives the novel is its chorus of characters, all, in their own way, witnesses and guardian angels. In the end, Castillo's unmistakable voice-earthy, impassioned, weaving a 'hybrid vocabulary for a hybrid people'-is the book's greatest revelation.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e-Time Out New York\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A wonderful novel . . . Castillo's most important accomplishment in \u003ci\u003eThe Guardians\u003c\/i\u003e is to give a unique literary voice to questions about what makes up a 'family.' \"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e-El Paso Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A moving book that is both intimate and epic in its narrative.\" \u003cbr\u003e-Oscar Hijuelos, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAna Castillo is the author of \u003ci\u003ePeel My Love Like an Onion, So Far from God\u003c\/i\u003e (a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book), \u003ci\u003eSapogonia\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Mixquiahuala Letters \u003c\/i\u003e(winner of the American Book Award), as well as the short-story collection \u003ci\u003eLoverboys.\u003c\/i\u003e Her books of poetry include \u003ci\u003eMy Father Was a Toltec\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eI Ask the Impossible\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWatercolor Women Opaque Men \u003c\/i\u003e(a novel in verse). She is the recipient of a Carl Sandburg Prize and a Southwestern Booksellers Award. She lives in New Mexico.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Random House Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50328686035218,"sku":"9780812975710","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_91bfdde0-03c1-41c6-9613-0628703bc0c9.jpg?v=1727748647","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-guardians-9780812975710","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}