THE BODYGUARD

An odd
pair make an unconventional arrangement in this rushed book for reluctant
readers.

Ryan “Replay” Hale is the golden boy
of his school’s football team even though he feels ambivalent about the game. Markus
is the awkward new kid, an exchange student from Estonia who speaks English
with a strong accent. Replay has promise as a budding filmmaker, and a teacher
encourages him to apply to UCLA’s film school, but he doesn’t have the
confidence, can’t afford the application fee, and his parents are insistent that
he try for a football scholarship to college. An opportunity to earn the money
he needs presents itself when Markus asks Replay to be his bodyguard after
Replay rescues him from a bully. The offer seems like easy money, too good to
refuse. For $125 per week, Replay is to accompany Markus to and from school and
even allows him to attend a party with him. Markus needs protection from a mysterious
person called the Plunger who has connections to the Russian mob. Unfortunately,
the relationship between Replay and Marcus feels contrived, and the story ends very
abruptly. Replay’s family dynamics are livelier and more engaging than most of
the rest of the book, however briefly described. There are no physical clues
regarding Replay’s ethnicity.

Despite the issues with the pacing,
the accessible writing and occasional humor will keep readers engaged. (Fiction. 12-18)