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sandyrabanana's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment
ljrinaldi's review
4.0
Malcom is a guardian. He just became one, and will help defend the city of Porthaven from alien robots called kleks, that appears about 60 years ago when the intersteller gate came. His family gained the powers then, and defeated the rest of the invastion, when they destroyed the gate. But the robots keep coming back, and the family keeps defeating them. The same power that creates the kleks also gives his family powers. And the powers and the tech that goes along with them is only in the city of Porthaven.
At least, that is what Malcom has been told all his life, until, when he decides one day to go out on patrol, and he meets someone who is not his family, who has super powers as well. That chance meeting gets him questioning everything he knows about his family and the legacy they have of fighting the kleks.
Very fast paced story, which I devoured in about two days. I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen, and then I didn't, s full of suprrises.
Great story.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
At least, that is what Malcom has been told all his life, until, when he decides one day to go out on patrol, and he meets someone who is not his family, who has super powers as well. That chance meeting gets him questioning everything he knows about his family and the legacy they have of fighting the kleks.
Very fast paced story, which I devoured in about two days. I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen, and then I didn't, s full of suprrises.
Great story.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
catrinaamarie's review
4.0
Guardians of Porthaven was my first ever eARC received through Netgalley thanks to Orca Publishing. While it was gifted to me, my review is fully my own thoughts.
If I had to give a sort of this meets this type of line for this book it would be Legend meets Pacific Rim: The Black meets the naivety of Percy Jackson wrapped into a sci-fi package. Guardians of Porthaven follows 15 year old Malcom Gravenhurst as he becomes a Guardian, taking up the mantle like the Gravenhursts before him. Guardians are people with powers which protect the city from invading aliens known as Kelk, but like in any good dystopian/sci-fi, the Guardians aren't all that they're cracked up to be.
This novel brought back a nostalgia for my favourite 2010s dystopians but it just felt better. This novel being Middle Grade, which I didn't even realize until after finishing this book and going to write this review, contained far less violence than the YA dystopian/sci-fi novels which it reminded me of, but despite this it still focused on a lot of hard hitting topics and conversations. This novel for me really focused more on the realization of our own biases and privileges (including being white and rich) and really showed a full character arc and growth of Malcom's character leaving it with a very satisfying ending. Along with the growth arc of Malcom this book allows you to see growing friendships and trust building between unlikely companions, heartwarming until the end with a bit of banter and tough love.
I suggest this book to anyone looking to jump into a bit sci-fi, and while it is a middle grade novel, I think it's actually fantastic for anyone to pick up. While younger people in the 9-12 age group can appreciate the conversations and maybe be inspired to start some of their own, even in my 20s I found this a refreshing way to see sci-fi, especially the lack of violence which I feel is so common place in older novels. This book really let me appreciate the world and what was happening it without bogging me down with unnecessary fight scenes, all of the scenes within the book felt like they were helping to move the plot and not just fill time and pages.
If I had to give a sort of this meets this type of line for this book it would be Legend meets Pacific Rim: The Black meets the naivety of Percy Jackson wrapped into a sci-fi package. Guardians of Porthaven follows 15 year old Malcom Gravenhurst as he becomes a Guardian, taking up the mantle like the Gravenhursts before him. Guardians are people with powers which protect the city from invading aliens known as Kelk, but like in any good dystopian/sci-fi, the Guardians aren't all that they're cracked up to be.
This novel brought back a nostalgia for my favourite 2010s dystopians but it just felt better. This novel being Middle Grade, which I didn't even realize until after finishing this book and going to write this review, contained far less violence than the YA dystopian/sci-fi novels which it reminded me of, but despite this it still focused on a lot of hard hitting topics and conversations. This novel for me really focused more on the realization of our own biases and privileges (including being white and rich) and really showed a full character arc and growth of Malcom's character leaving it with a very satisfying ending. Along with the growth arc of Malcom this book allows you to see growing friendships and trust building between unlikely companions, heartwarming until the end with a bit of banter and tough love.
I suggest this book to anyone looking to jump into a bit sci-fi, and while it is a middle grade novel, I think it's actually fantastic for anyone to pick up. While younger people in the 9-12 age group can appreciate the conversations and maybe be inspired to start some of their own, even in my 20s I found this a refreshing way to see sci-fi, especially the lack of violence which I feel is so common place in older novels. This book really let me appreciate the world and what was happening it without bogging me down with unnecessary fight scenes, all of the scenes within the book felt like they were helping to move the plot and not just fill time and pages.
vanislandcircus's review
5.0
Thank you to @orcabook and @netgalley for this ARC of Guardians of Porthaven written by Shane Arbuthnott for an honest review.
I was intrigued from the moment I saw the cover art, and by the time I read the opening paragraph of the synopsis, I knew that I wanted to read this book!
“Malcolm Gravenhurst is about to become a Guardian, working with his family to defend the city of Porthaven from alien invasions. All Guardians come from the Gravenhurst family, the only one in the world with superpowers. But before he can take on his new role, he learns some shocking truths…”
Aliens! Superpowers! A dark secret! Ahh, you have my attention, hook, line and sinker. This story did not disappoint. From the very beginning, our introduction to Malcolm, his family and the city of Porthaven was alive with detail, fantastical imagery and a fast-paced story that kept you turning the pages to see what would happen next!
The more I read, the more I was drawn not only into the city of Porthaven, but I was also drawn into the lives of those that lived there. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters and their backstories. I enjoyed watching them evolve, not only in their own personal growth but also as friends and a newfound family.
I anxiously await the next installment from Arbuthnott and hope that more of Kazue’s backstory is shared.
All in all, there is a little bit of everything for everyone in this book, and I was continually guessing till the very end, which is a rare occurrence and a most pleasant surprise!
Guardians of Porthaven releases September 14th, 2021, from Orca Book Publishers, and it is a must-read for the Fall!
I was intrigued from the moment I saw the cover art, and by the time I read the opening paragraph of the synopsis, I knew that I wanted to read this book!
“Malcolm Gravenhurst is about to become a Guardian, working with his family to defend the city of Porthaven from alien invasions. All Guardians come from the Gravenhurst family, the only one in the world with superpowers. But before he can take on his new role, he learns some shocking truths…”
Aliens! Superpowers! A dark secret! Ahh, you have my attention, hook, line and sinker. This story did not disappoint. From the very beginning, our introduction to Malcolm, his family and the city of Porthaven was alive with detail, fantastical imagery and a fast-paced story that kept you turning the pages to see what would happen next!
The more I read, the more I was drawn not only into the city of Porthaven, but I was also drawn into the lives of those that lived there. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters and their backstories. I enjoyed watching them evolve, not only in their own personal growth but also as friends and a newfound family.
I anxiously await the next installment from Arbuthnott and hope that more of Kazue’s backstory is shared.
All in all, there is a little bit of everything for everyone in this book, and I was continually guessing till the very end, which is a rare occurrence and a most pleasant surprise!
Guardians of Porthaven releases September 14th, 2021, from Orca Book Publishers, and it is a must-read for the Fall!
joanahosta1805's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
First of all I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for sending me this E-Arc in exchange of an honest rewiev.
This book was a fast-paced easy middle grade book. Honestly I adored this book and all of the characters.
The book follows Malcolm, who is part of one of the most important families in the city of Porthaven. His family has superpowers and they defend the city from the kleck (that is the way that they call the aliens). Malcom dreams of being a superhero, like the ones he sees in the comics. One day he decides to go and patrol the city alone and discovers another person with powers that is not part of his family: Drew. Later on Malcolm discovers that there are other people like him and that his family doesn't know about them. Each of the other people he gets to know has a special hate/fear towards his family. Malcom discovers that his family might not be as good and as great as he always thought.
I started reading this book with not many expectations and it surprised me in a very good way. Malcolm is a very relatable character, most of the choices he made are similar if not the same as the ones I would have done. I really liked how the book includes LGBTQ characters without being their entire personality. The same thing with plus-sized characters. My favorite character of the book is Kazue and I hope that we will get more of her backstory in the next book (because it can't end in the way it ends). I also hope that we get more backstory on Malcolm's grandfather, I think that he is a very interesting character. Having superheroes in a book is a strange thing and it's normally not done very well, but in this book it was amazing. Something I would have liked more of is the way Kazue, Briar and Drew interact with each other since they enter into the found family trope.
The writing was easy to understand, but I had a little bit of trouble understanding Malcolm's powers in the beginning of the book. Also I would make it clear that the book is set on earth, because it was a bit confusing.
In general this was a very enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend this book if English is not your first language and you want to start reading in English. It was a four out five star book for me.
This book was a fast-paced easy middle grade book. Honestly I adored this book and all of the characters.
The book follows Malcolm, who is part of one of the most important families in the city of Porthaven. His family has superpowers and they defend the city from the kleck (that is the way that they call the aliens). Malcom dreams of being a superhero, like the ones he sees in the comics. One day he decides to go and patrol the city alone and discovers another person with powers that is not part of his family: Drew. Later on Malcolm discovers that there are other people like him and that his family doesn't know about them. Each of the other people he gets to know has a special hate/fear towards his family. Malcom discovers that his family might not be as good and as great as he always thought.
I started reading this book with not many expectations and it surprised me in a very good way. Malcolm is a very relatable character, most of the choices he made are similar if not the same as the ones I would have done. I really liked how the book includes LGBTQ characters without being their entire personality. The same thing with plus-sized characters. My favorite character of the book is Kazue and I hope that we will get more of her backstory in the next book (because it can't end in the way it ends). I also hope that we get more backstory on Malcolm's grandfather, I think that he is a very interesting character. Having superheroes in a book is a strange thing and it's normally not done very well, but in this book it was amazing. Something I would have liked more of is the way Kazue, Briar and Drew interact with each other since they enter into the found family trope.
The writing was easy to understand, but I had a little bit of trouble understanding Malcolm's powers in the beginning of the book. Also I would make it clear that the book is set on earth, because it was a bit confusing.
In general this was a very enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend this book if English is not your first language and you want to start reading in English. It was a four out five star book for me.
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