From American Book Award-winning author Ana Castillo comes a suspenseful, moving novel about a sensuous, smart, and fiercely independent woman. Eking out a living as a teachers aide in a small New Mexican border town, Ta Regina is also raising her teenage nephew, Gabo, a hardworking boy who has entered the country illegally and aspires to the priesthood. When Gabos father, Rafa, disappears while crossing over from Mexico, Regina fears the worst. After several days of waiting and with an ominous phone call from a woman who may be connected to a smuggling ring, Regina and Gabo resolve to find Rafa. Help arrives in the form of Miguel, an amorous, recently divorced history teacher; Miguels gregarious abuelo Milton; a couple of Gabos gangbanger classmates; and a priest of wayward faith. Though their journey is rife with challenges and danger, it will serve as a remarkable testament to family bonds, cultural pride, and the human experiencePraise for The GuardiansNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNEAn always skilled storyteller, [Castillo] grounds her writing in . . . humor, love, suspense and heartachethat draw the reader in.Chicago Sunday Sun-TimesA rollicking read, with jokes and suspense and joy rides and hearts breaking . . . This smart, passionate novel deserves a wide audience. Los Angeles TimesWhat drives the novel is its chorus of characters, all, in their own way, witnesses and guardian angels. In the end, Castillos unmistakable voiceearthy, impassioned, weaving a hybrid vocabulary for a hybrid peopleis the books greatest revelation.Time Out New YorkA wonderful novel . . . Castillos most important accomplishment in The Guardians is to give a unique literary voice to questions about what makes up a family. El Paso TimesA moving book that is both intimate and epic in its narrative. Oscar Hijuelos, author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love From the Trade Paperback edition.