What do you think?
Rate this book
Only Human on the Block #1
The Four-Year-Old Guardian
Nick Traverson and his mom have been moving from town to town for as long as he can remember, so when they end up in quiet, isolated Averton, OR, he thinks he knows exactly what to expect. Instead, he finds himself in a world of magic, monsters and murder. At the heart of it is the Monsidian Orb, an ancient artifact of great power that could prove deadly in the wrong hands. The last Guardian died protecting it five years ago, leaving it weakened and vulnerable. Now, it’s up to Nick and his new friends to protect the orb from those who would use its power for their own devices, all while searching for the child who will become The Four-Year-Old Guardian…. approx 63,000 words
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2011
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 13, 2011
“The Four-Year-Old Guardian” is book 1 of The Only Human on the Block series. In it, we’re introduced to Averton, OR – Monster Capital of the World – when Nick and his mother Michelle move there from Yakima. Nick is accustomed to being the new kid on the block, because they moved around a lot; however, Michelle has purchased a house in Averton and plans on them staying there for Nick to finish school. Nick quickly learns that the cool kids aren’t going to give him the time of day, but he also quickly becomes friends with his neighbor, Myles, a nerdy home-schooled kid, and Melody and Wendy. He discovers that the people who used to live in the house where he now lives had a daughter named Heather who died around five years prior. And then, one night, he meets Heather – well, Heather’s ghost – and finds out that he is the new Seeker, the one who has to find the new Guardian of the Orb, who is the one to protect the power of the Orb to keep the human world – Earthspace – and the demon world – Valos – separated. Heather tells him that the new Guardian will be activated on his fourth birthday. While fighting demons as best they can, Nick and his friends seek the new Guardian. Will they be able to find the Guardian in time?
This was another excellent book by S L Madden, a young-adult novel that is fast-paced, well-written and filled with unique and well-defined characters. I enjoyed getting to know each of them and look forward to learning more about them in the next book in the series, “Bravado/Dramatique.” Also watch for Madden’s new series, Unseen Things, book 1 “The Shadow Walker.” Judging by the quality of Madden’s books so far, it should be wonderful!
This was another excellent book by S L Madden, a young-adult novel that is fast-paced, well-written and filled with unique and well-defined characters. I enjoyed getting to know each of them and look forward to learning more about them in the next book in the series, “Bravado/Dramatique.” Also watch for Madden’s new series, Unseen Things, book 1 “The Shadow Walker.” Judging by the quality of Madden’s books so far, it should be wonderful!
September 21, 2011
****Spoiler Alert****
Imagine a place where humans are the minority and the creatures of your nightmares are freely roaming the streets. This isn't Forks people, this is Averton, Home of the Monsters!
Michelle and her son Nick are roamers. They bounce from town to town never truly settling down, but not this time. Michelle has decided to spend what little time she has left with her 15 year old son before he grows up and moves on without her. So she moves them to the small town of Averton.
Nick can't believe his eyes, a real home, and not one they rent but actually own. He finally can put down some roots. This was the best present Michelle could ever give him, and right before his sixteenth birthday. It wasn't the car he wanted and had been saving for, and the town did give him the creeps as they were driving through, but home wasn't something Nick could say very often so he would take it! Nick quickly adjusts to his life in a new town. He had been the new kid before and knew all the tricks to settle in. He uses his smooth talking to form a friendship with his backward, reserved neighbor Myles. Soon he is off and running like a normal teen. He is hitting on two particular girls, Melody and Wendy, with Myles, he's trying out for the basketball team, and he is exploring his spooky, and haunted house. Even though the town itself still creeped him out, and sometimes he felt he missed the punch line of some sick joke, Nick was content with his new life. But that changes faster than he can say "what?" On accident in the locker room, Nick stumbles upon a secret. Averton High didn't need a mascot because the students themselves brought new meaning to Home of the Monsters....they were Monsters!!
Nick soon discovers that, along with Wendy and his mom, he is one of the few humans living in Averton. Even Myles, his new best friend, is some kind of mouse creature. You would think this would send Nick running for the hills, but it doesn't. This was the first time he had been offered the chance to grow some roots, so he was angry he wasn't going to fit in. Yes folks, he was upset that he wasn't a monster. He was searching for anything that would give him the opportunity to fit into this freaky town. And like a genie in a bottle in pops Heather to grant his wish. Heather explains to Nick that life as we know it is not real. There are two planes in which creatures live. One with humans and half-breed demons, and one with the real deal, demons and other creatures. To keep the Earthly plane safe a magical force was created to entrap creatures in their own realm. Averton just happened to be home to that magic called the Orb. The energy produced by the Orb was like a beacon for all demons, monsters, and other creatures a like. They wanted the power and to release all the captured demons inside. See, the true believers felt that demons had the right to be on Earth and humans should all perish or be slaves to them. The greatest of these evil doers was Muvari who killed the last Guardian and was out to capture the power for his own means. Heather is the Keeper of the Orb and was the last Guardian. Based on her ghostly status, she wasn't quite successful. Now she was entrusting Nick to help her.
Nick was ecstatic at the idea of being some secret protector. His ability to adapt to the odd was quite amazing. But he gets a little squashed when Heather informs him he is not the next Guardian, but the Seeker of the next one. She sends Nick and his new band Team Monster Force (Myles, Wendy, and Melody) in search of a four-year-old that will become the next Guardian. Diminished just a little, Nick takes on the task and the hunt for a new protector and battle monsters along the way. Will he find this child in time? And will this child be able to protect the Orb? Well, I'm not about to give that away, so you will have to read to find out!
This first of the series by S.L. madden is very intriguing. I loved Nick and all his little quirks!! He was a typical teen, hormones and all, wrapped in the middle of monster madness. This is the first book, so there is a lot of background information setting you up for the next installment. The real action didn't start until 3/4 of the way through and then stops, leaving you hanging.
Happy Reading
~Kiki
Imagine a place where humans are the minority and the creatures of your nightmares are freely roaming the streets. This isn't Forks people, this is Averton, Home of the Monsters!
Michelle and her son Nick are roamers. They bounce from town to town never truly settling down, but not this time. Michelle has decided to spend what little time she has left with her 15 year old son before he grows up and moves on without her. So she moves them to the small town of Averton.
Nick can't believe his eyes, a real home, and not one they rent but actually own. He finally can put down some roots. This was the best present Michelle could ever give him, and right before his sixteenth birthday. It wasn't the car he wanted and had been saving for, and the town did give him the creeps as they were driving through, but home wasn't something Nick could say very often so he would take it! Nick quickly adjusts to his life in a new town. He had been the new kid before and knew all the tricks to settle in. He uses his smooth talking to form a friendship with his backward, reserved neighbor Myles. Soon he is off and running like a normal teen. He is hitting on two particular girls, Melody and Wendy, with Myles, he's trying out for the basketball team, and he is exploring his spooky, and haunted house. Even though the town itself still creeped him out, and sometimes he felt he missed the punch line of some sick joke, Nick was content with his new life. But that changes faster than he can say "what?" On accident in the locker room, Nick stumbles upon a secret. Averton High didn't need a mascot because the students themselves brought new meaning to Home of the Monsters....they were Monsters!!
Nick soon discovers that, along with Wendy and his mom, he is one of the few humans living in Averton. Even Myles, his new best friend, is some kind of mouse creature. You would think this would send Nick running for the hills, but it doesn't. This was the first time he had been offered the chance to grow some roots, so he was angry he wasn't going to fit in. Yes folks, he was upset that he wasn't a monster. He was searching for anything that would give him the opportunity to fit into this freaky town. And like a genie in a bottle in pops Heather to grant his wish. Heather explains to Nick that life as we know it is not real. There are two planes in which creatures live. One with humans and half-breed demons, and one with the real deal, demons and other creatures. To keep the Earthly plane safe a magical force was created to entrap creatures in their own realm. Averton just happened to be home to that magic called the Orb. The energy produced by the Orb was like a beacon for all demons, monsters, and other creatures a like. They wanted the power and to release all the captured demons inside. See, the true believers felt that demons had the right to be on Earth and humans should all perish or be slaves to them. The greatest of these evil doers was Muvari who killed the last Guardian and was out to capture the power for his own means. Heather is the Keeper of the Orb and was the last Guardian. Based on her ghostly status, she wasn't quite successful. Now she was entrusting Nick to help her.
Nick was ecstatic at the idea of being some secret protector. His ability to adapt to the odd was quite amazing. But he gets a little squashed when Heather informs him he is not the next Guardian, but the Seeker of the next one. She sends Nick and his new band Team Monster Force (Myles, Wendy, and Melody) in search of a four-year-old that will become the next Guardian. Diminished just a little, Nick takes on the task and the hunt for a new protector and battle monsters along the way. Will he find this child in time? And will this child be able to protect the Orb? Well, I'm not about to give that away, so you will have to read to find out!
This first of the series by S.L. madden is very intriguing. I loved Nick and all his little quirks!! He was a typical teen, hormones and all, wrapped in the middle of monster madness. This is the first book, so there is a lot of background information setting you up for the next installment. The real action didn't start until 3/4 of the way through and then stops, leaving you hanging.
Happy Reading
~Kiki
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2012
16-year old Nick Traverson and his mother have always moved around a lot. He’s had a lot of practice making new friends and adapting to new situations. When he and his mother move to the small town of Averton, Oregon, he expects a quaint town with somewhat boring residents. What he finds is a lot more, almost everything and everyone in Averton has a secret. His neighbors, are monsters, the previous occupant of his house has a book on demons and other magical things, and a girl keeps appearing seemingly out of nowhere around his house.
Nick finds out a few startling revelations. His new best friend is a monster, what appears to be a marble is actually an enormously powerful magical object that demons are after called the Monsidian Orb, , and Nick is a seeker, the person tasked with keeping the orb safe until its new guardian can be found. Nick finds keeping the orb safe is a lot harder than he anticipated, and demons are making unexpected appearances, ruining his social life. All the while he has to keep a search for the guardian who is prophesized to be found on the fourth birthday.
The Four-Year old Guardian was superb read, the book draws you in and keeps you interested until the last page, readers will be left wanting more. The characters are believable and well crafted; the villains are dark and malicious. And the entire book has a nice undertone of humor that keeps things from being to dark. The twist presented in the book is excellent and page after page as the book weaves back and forth thru startling revelations and excellent action scenes the author never loses the thread of the story. He the reader is skillfully drawn along. The ending was excellent and left the reader with the promise of more superb writing to come.
The Four-Year Guardian was an almost perfect read for me, with only a few problems. At times it was kind of a stretch to believe that a few kids with barely any training were able to defeat some of the demons they were up against. And sometimes it seemed like Nick was a little dense at putting things together. The cover also could have used some work; it didn’t fit the book and didn’t really draw me in when I first saw it.
All together though the four-year old guardian was a brilliant read, the characters, plot and writing made for an extremely entertaining read and the time spent reading the book was time well spent. The four-Year old Guardian delivers all that a good book is meant to do and more.
Age groups: 13+
Content: Violence that can be pretty descriptive (a girl gets blown apart), use of weapons by main character, references to death
Nick finds out a few startling revelations. His new best friend is a monster, what appears to be a marble is actually an enormously powerful magical object that demons are after called the Monsidian Orb, , and Nick is a seeker, the person tasked with keeping the orb safe until its new guardian can be found. Nick finds keeping the orb safe is a lot harder than he anticipated, and demons are making unexpected appearances, ruining his social life. All the while he has to keep a search for the guardian who is prophesized to be found on the fourth birthday.
The Four-Year old Guardian was superb read, the book draws you in and keeps you interested until the last page, readers will be left wanting more. The characters are believable and well crafted; the villains are dark and malicious. And the entire book has a nice undertone of humor that keeps things from being to dark. The twist presented in the book is excellent and page after page as the book weaves back and forth thru startling revelations and excellent action scenes the author never loses the thread of the story. He the reader is skillfully drawn along. The ending was excellent and left the reader with the promise of more superb writing to come.
The Four-Year Guardian was an almost perfect read for me, with only a few problems. At times it was kind of a stretch to believe that a few kids with barely any training were able to defeat some of the demons they were up against. And sometimes it seemed like Nick was a little dense at putting things together. The cover also could have used some work; it didn’t fit the book and didn’t really draw me in when I first saw it.
All together though the four-year old guardian was a brilliant read, the characters, plot and writing made for an extremely entertaining read and the time spent reading the book was time well spent. The four-Year old Guardian delivers all that a good book is meant to do and more.
Age groups: 13+
Content: Violence that can be pretty descriptive (a girl gets blown apart), use of weapons by main character, references to death
September 10, 2016
Good read for a young adult. I'm > than 40 but read many of the young adult books to pre-approve them for the kids. Most are actually to my level of reading, this one was a bit more juvenile but the story was still enjoyable.
January 30, 2014
I think it was awesome. Great twist at the end.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews