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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This is a gripping, striking novel of lynching told from the point of view of a white teen boy who witnesses the hate crime.  It is the summer of 1946 and Ansel is fourteen years old.  He is the son of the store owner in a small town in the Deep South.  One of his best friends is Willie.  Though the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25810227">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[<br/>On the back it says &quot;Not since To Kill a Mockingbird has there been a more haunting and poignant novel about what happens when a group of people deny human rights to others.&quot;  And it's not a quote...that's the publisher's blurb.  And I was like...you can't just go around claiming thi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32993067">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Reviewed by JodiG. for TeensReadToo.com<br/><br/>There was a dark time in the history of the United States when even the best-intentioned people bore silent witness to the atrocities that were being committed by others. A time in which a person had to chose between honesty and personal safety. <br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44786329">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[&quot;Guardian&quot; by Julius Lester is a powerful book. Julius Lester is a Newberry Honoree and Coretta Scott King Award winner. After reading this book I am not surprised he is an award winning author. &quot;Guardian&quot; is an emotional, unforgettable and painful story about life in a Southern ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74618060">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[No one loves Neil Gaiman’s dark little fairy tale Coraline more than I do. The ageless Miss Jones, with her classic kiddy curiosity and British sass, gives Lewis Carroll’s Alice a run for her money. Plus there is something romantic and enduring about Gaiman’s 10-year saga to write her story; h...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68816508">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 01 15:18:52 -0800 2009</date_added>
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    <body><![CDATA[Fourteen year old Ansel Anderson is growing up in the Deep South in the 1940's.  He works at his father's store, and is expected to take over his father's business.  The story began slowly for me, but once I got started reading, the book became more compelling.  At the end of the book, the author ex...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79566268">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79566268]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 01 06:40:50 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon May 04 08:25:50 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is not an easy book to read.  In a small southern town in 1946, racism runs rampant and lynchings are not uncommon.  Ansel's Dad hires a young black boy to help out at the store and to his father's horror, Ansel and Willie become friends.  Esther Davis, an older white woman, despises the backwa...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54575243">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54575243]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54575243]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>46635186</id>
    <user>
    <id>236606</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tessa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Pittsburgh, PA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3443608.Guardian</link>
  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 17 09:15:59 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Feb 17 09:21:48 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Perhaps it is the nature of describing &amp;/or fictionalizing really horrible things that really happened that they are in danger of veering into morality tales.  I can see that Lester is delving into the grey areas of ethics and morality, but somehow it didn't work for me.  It could have been the omni...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46635186">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46635186]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>60285006</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Brenda]]></name>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 19 07:19:57 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jun 28 19:41:26 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a historical fiction book based in a small Southern town in 1946.  A young black teenager is accused, wrongly, of attempting to rape and the murder a white girl and is lynched for his crimes.  It is also the story of Ansel, a fourteen-year-old white boy who knows the truth but is too scared ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60285006">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60285006]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60285006]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>47608504</id>
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    <id>1914201</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Josiah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Elburn, IL]]></location>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 26 11:57:40 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Mar 11 10:35:58 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[ &quot;Being a failure at living your own life as best as you can is better than being a success living the life somebody else says you should live&quot;.    --Maureen, &quot;Guardian&quot;, P. 68<br/><br/>  This book is just about as haunting and masterfully beautiful as a book can be, especially...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47608504">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47608504]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47608504]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42934577</id>
    <user>
    <id>1319785</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Reita]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Pataskala, OH]]></location>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3443608.Guardian</link>
  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jan 13 13:07:37 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 13 13:14:44 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A story of black and white relations in the south in 1946. This book has touched me. I've been a northerner all my life. This book has shown me a side of the southern white that I'm ashamed to know. I'm not saying the white northerner is an angel, but I don't know how people can do these things to p...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42934577">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42934577]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42934577]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39765160</id>
    <user>
    <id>269591</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nomi]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/269591-nomi]]></link>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3443608.Guardian</link>
  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Dec 10 05:08:01 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 10 05:16:19 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Julius Lester is a great writer. This is a slim but powerful volume that speaks to the horrors of lynching and its inherent entertainment-like nature (entire families would come out, picnics and all to witness these events). Ansel, a white boy who witnesses his father send an innocent African-Americ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39765160">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39765160]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39765160]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>72354158</id>
    <user>
    <id>1410757</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Art]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Vine Grove, KY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1410757-art]]></link>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[only someone older and mature ]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Ms. Bush, School Media Specialist]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Sep 24 11:13:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Sep 24 11:20:06 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lynching, blindness to others sins, and Deep South.<br/>I was asked to read this book and see if it was alright for middle school students to read.  Very Adult situations, language and other items not for the squimish.<br/>I believe that Mr. Lester was very forthcoming about the events that surrou...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72354158">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72354158]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72354158]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42040768</id>
    <user>
    <id>415014</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Laurie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 05 19:07:34 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 05 19:13:27 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A small town in 1946 Georgia, and all the horrors of racism that lie therein. A sense of dread and impending horror hangs over the book, knowing that it is about lynching and that a lynching will involve the characters you are getting to know. Lester describes the horrors in a way that makes the cha...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42040768">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42040768]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>59390818</id>
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    <id>1118065</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nicole]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brookline, MA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 12 07:23:18 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 06 07:34:03 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This one reads almost like a folktale, though perhaps more lyrical.  Not dreamlike, exactly, but softened somehow.  Lester paints this town with wide brush strokes, telling the reader explicitly what they need to know.  There is no subtlety, nothing left for the reader to interpret.  Which (not surp...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59390818">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59390818]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59390818]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41673648</id>
    <user>
    <id>1856763</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kelly]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">44</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
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    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 02 19:54:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 02 19:54:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lester isn't known for lighthearted prose.  In less than 150 pages he crams in so many of those dreaded &quot;issues&quot; I so fear to read about, but he does so in a way that they've passed before you know it.  Such topics include racism, economic disparity, white supremacy, animal cruelty, anger ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41673648">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41673648]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41673648]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>25416879</id>
    <user>
    <id>1269438</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jonathan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061558900</isbn13>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 25 08:56:53 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 25 09:14:00 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[In DAY OF TEARS Lester laid bare the painful legacy of slavery and now in GUARDIAN he turns his attention to lynching with equally devastating effect.  A small book with a big punch.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25416879]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25416879]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>25433924</id>
    <user>
    <id>221952</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Monica]]></name>
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  <isbn>0061558907</isbn>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-m-1255721515.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3443608.Guardian</link>
  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 25 10:57:59 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 25 10:58:58 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was powerful, but oh so painful to read.  I found it much, much, much harder to do than Day of Tears.  Understandably, because it is about a lynching. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25433924]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25433924]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>55778169</id>
    <user>
    <id>651520</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rosie]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/34/608/3443608-s-1255721515.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>88</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue May 12 05:33:47 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue May 12 05:34:21 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An excellent, thought provoking read. The story is centered around Ansel, a young white boy who witnesses the lynching of an innocent man. Lester masterfully lets you into each characters' thoughts giving the reader a better idea of the complex emotions people experienced during the 1940's when raci...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55778169">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
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    <user>
    <id>1171131</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Marcia]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Guardian]]>
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  <average_rating>3.93</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<blockquote> <p>There are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. </p> <p>I pray for the day when God will end mine. </p></blockquote> <p>In a time and place without moral conscience, fourteen-year-old Ansel knows what is right and what is true. </p> <p>But it is dangerous to choose honesty, and so he chooses silence. </p> <p>Now an innocent man is dead, and Ansel feels the burden of his decision. He must also bear the pain of losing a friend, his family, and the love of a lifetime. </p> <p>Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honoree Julius Lester delivers a haunting and poignant novel about what happens when one group of people takes away the humanity of another. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Oct 31 12:56:13 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Oct 31 13:02:05 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[We are studying YA in my lit class, so I grabbed this new one from our local author to peruse. I had a visceral reaction to this book (ok, I also had the flu) but it is heavy, heavy stuff- Lester looks at lynching in the South in the 40s through the eyes of a white teen.<br/>I deducted one star beca...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76311540">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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