What We’re Reading

The Gatekeepers, Book 1: Raven’s Gate | Anthony Horowitz

Matt hasn’t had the best life. His parents died when he was eight, on their way to a wedding. His mother’s half-sister showed up afterwards to claim him (for the money), and had little use for him (once she blew through the cash). He had no friends at school, and so sought out the company of a boy down the way, who was himself a troublemaker, and led Matt nowhere but down the wrong path. When their latest scheme goes awry, Matt is given two options. Imprisonment, or LEAF. Though he doesn’t like the look of the woman who’s agreed to look after him under the LEAF project, he figures it has to be better than prison, because hey, he can just run away, right?

Wrong.

It doesn’t take long for Matt to figure out there’s something very wrong with Lesser Malling. And when he’s had enough and tries to run away, every road out of the tiny town leads him back to where he began. He meets a man who says he can help, only to find him dead the next morning upon his arrival for their visit. When he returns with the police, the scene has been cleaned up, making it look like just one more troublemaker’s stunt.

Everywhere Matt turns, he finds help, followed swiftly by trouble. One by one, anyone who seeks to aid him ends up dead.

After finding a picture of himself at his parents’ funeral in his guardian’s closet, he knows something sinister is going on, and none of it accidental. Somehow, he manages to escape with a local reporter, only to end up once again back where he began. Wherever he goes, the darkness of Lesser Malling finds him. Because they need him.

The town of Lesser Malling and all its inhabitants live a life of old ways, worshipping dark powers long since run aground. With Matt’s “help,” they hope to set them free. Long ago, 5 children saved the world. The time has come for them to do so again. With Matt’s story, it begins.

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