Guardian

Nikki felt ensnared in a bad reality show. So this was to be her life for the next, oh, she had no idea how long. Maybe they could sell the show idea to MTV. Reality with a supernatural twist. It’d be a hit. She could see it now: Will acting fatherly; Sky, Dash, and Ocean sending her to clean fish muck, Winter and Vegan and their girly “Let’s be best friends” squealing; Glimmer and her ice-dagger stares; Zero and his sneers; Vine and an unending supply of candy. Had she left anything out? Oh yeah, Mace and Raven. The real twist in the program. It was going to be a long trip.

Book: Guardian (A Halflings Novel) by Heather Burch, Zondervan Publishers, 2012

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 16-18

Subjects: Angels, Dating relationships, Salvation, Trust in God, Temptation

Summary: After the loss of her parents and the discovery that she is a seer Nikki has been taken in by Will and the others. The next thing she knows, she’s on an ocean voyage with not just Will, but all the Halflings, including some who can’t stand one another right now. Emotions run high and the temptation to be in a relationship with Mace or Raven continues to pressure her, even as others pressure her to avoid it. She is supposed to be training and strengthening her abilities but disasters keep getting in the way. When she overhears private conversations, she has to make a difficult choice about whether to follow her heart, her head or the evil one.

Notes: This is the second in a series about Halflings – creatures who are the product of Nephilim – demons having intercourse with humans. The idea is that they are victims of the choices made by the Nephilim and have to work to gain salvation. They are destined for hell but if they manage to live a high enough standard, they can make it to Heaven. They have strict rules to follow one of which is not having relationships with humans. Nikki is something unique. She has some kind of special gift or ability that makes her more important than most humans.

As I read through the first book I had objections to its theology. It portrayed God as not all-powerful, as if the choices made were out of His control and then as if He wasn’t loving enough to care about these Halflings. The character who is the most angry and bitter against God seems to be justified in it. He seems to have the only perspective one could have from the situation.

However, I contacted the author and she said that though the first book gives this impression, the other books in the series provide a bigger picture and explain more and answer some of my concerns. She said that the character who is bitter against God is providing the wrong perspective. So I would conclude that by itself this book is not Scripturally sound and portrays things that contradict Scripture but that the author says later books will change that impression. This second book focuses primarily on the adventure and the romance and mostly leaves out the theology so I am assuming that the third one will reveal more of the explanations that make it more Biblically accurate.

Recommendation Scale: 1/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”