THE ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO BABYSITTING, by Natalie C. Parker, Candlewick, Jan. 7, 2025, Hardcover, $19.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
A teen with a special talent must go into hiding after hunters attack during a babysitting job in The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting, by Natalie C. Parker.
Tru has been hiding all her life. Her parents taught her to conceal her bastion Talent: indestructible skin, muscles, and bones. In a world where Talents are common and varied, no one trusts a bastion—they’re too powerful.
Hiding failed to keep Tru’s parents alive, but moments before their murder, Tru’s mom pointed her to Logan Dire, a famed recluse assassin who adopted and trained orphaned Tru. At seventeen, she’s still hiding. Not even her closest friends know her true name or Talent, or that she’s balancing high school with knife and stealth training (while crushing on her BFF’s older sister).
When assassins interrupt a mundane babysitting job booked through BountyApp—where lethal hunters find work and babysitters for their kids—Tru flees with a one-year-old strapped to her chest and spiraling questions: Who killed her parents? Whom can she trust? What does it mean to be a bastion? And is it ever OK to kiss a girl who’s trying to hunt you down? —Synopsis provided by Candlewick
The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting is a thriller that grabs your attention from the first chapter. It has a real Adventure’s in Babysitting vibe with even higher stakes.
Author Natalie C. Parker has created a world that is both familiar and new. It’s exciting and full of twists at every turn.
Tru is the kind of main character that makes you care from the start. Her personality is bright with a bit of sarcasm mixed in for good measure. And with her telling the story, it becomes a page-turner. In fact, for me, The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting was a one-sitting joy ride. It left me wanting more from this world, and with just a few words at the end, Parker has left room for what could be an exciting series.
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