It's Ellie's first year at her New Zealand boarding school. She spends most of her time hanging out with best friend Kevin, crushing on gorgeous, mysterious green-eyed Mark Nolan, and being incredibly jealous of Kevin's friend, the graceful, chic Iris. When Kevin ropes her into coordinating the fight sequences for Iris's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - she has a black belt in tae kwon do - Ellie isn't very enthusiastic about spending her free time trying to manage flighty theater geeks and feeling like a frumpy elephant next to tiny Iris. Still, it gets her off campus.But a series of strange events turns Ellie's normal world upside down. A serial killer is stalking New Zealanders and removing their eyes. Beautiful, seriously creepy Reka joins the cast of Iris's play - she appears suddenly out of the mist, is allergic to the smell of cooked food and her eyes seem to have no pupils. Reka's also obsessed with Kevin, which freaks Ellie way out, especially because Kevin turns into an obedient zombie around her. Ellie's memory has also been playing tricks on her. She feels like she needs to talk to Mark Nolan about something, but she can't remember what - and when she tries, she gets a headache.
When Ellie and Iris take a trip downtown to shop for play props, Ellie finds a mask that she has to have - she knows it somehow belongs to and with her. On the way home, she is accosted by a strange old man who claims to have a message for her and then gives her an old Bible. She doesn't want it, but when Mark Nolan mysteriously appears and boards the bus home with her, he asks to see the Bible and then takes it with him. Ellie's headache returns more fiercely than ever, but this time she is determined to remember what happened and to figure out what is going on with Mark, Reka, and all the weird stuff going on.
Soon Ellie finds herself thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, and native New Zealand Maori myths, legends and stories are not only real but the supernatural creatures that populate them are prepping for a war. It seems that Ellie possesses a great deal of latent supernatural power, and Mark, who is definately more than he seems, unknowingly woke it up. Together, Ellie, Mark, Iris and Kevin must stop Reka from destroying the world.
Nominated for the 2011 Morris Award for debut authors, Guardian of the Dead is a modern day horror story populated by legends. Unless you've read a ton of stuff on Maori myth and stories, read this one with Wikipedia open - trust me, a taniwha is way scarier when you know what it is! There's also a glossary in the back to help out with Maori words used by the characters. If you're a fan of creepy supernatural thrillers and adventure, check this out @ the library!
Megan
(now devouring Across the Universe by Beth Revis - after chapter 1, do NOT put me down to be cryogenically frozen!)