About the Book
In the Sentry, Zoey La Mar has, what she thinks, is a typical preteen life in the suburbs: soccer, dancing, a strict yet loving father and mother, a pesky little brother, Owen, and two best friends, Danielle Hernandez and Lucy La Mar. Without warning, during the preparations for Owen's birthday party, Zoey receives her first premonition, based on a secret truth. It starts to undermine her once peaceful, eleven-year-old existence. The forewarning matches a reoccurring dream that has plagued Zoey since Owen's current age. The premonition and dream involve mystery, monsters, and magic. At first, Zoey shucks off the forewarning, not really realizing what's going on, the importance of it. The premonition involves a family secret, a forgotten responsibility, many generations removed.
As Owen's birthday party begins, more premonitions intrude and stagger Zoey. Even her cousin Lucy gets pulled into one, somehow. A strange present, another two-foot-tall gargoyle statue, adds to the continuing mystery of her family and this evolving day. Still wary, Zoey dismisses the warnings and all the coincidences pointing, guiding her. Humor becomes her favorite avenue to deflect the strangeness. Though ignored, the premonitions expand and continue to haunt Zoey.
After the party, Lucy goes home, and that option of communication is closed for Zoey for the time being. Eagerly finding solace in option number two, Zoey escapes by going to Danielle's house. She is chased there by what she thinks are monsters, but she's not sure. In any event, Zoey ducks into Danielle's house not caring. An innocent classmate and teammate, Rhea Khan, taking out the trash, sees what chases Zoey and it becomes a problem. In her bedroom, Danielle helps Zoey investigate the strange happenings of the day, the gargoyle present, and her family story. An odd "accident" occurs when Zoey and Danielle get too close to some of the bizarre truth.
Now, inadvertently, all four girls, Zoey, Lucy, Rhea, and Danielle, are involved with the La Mar family secret, possessing pieces of the puzzle. As night falls, the ignored premonitions start to come true. From a pocket dimension, the high priest of the monsters, the golems, orders some of his clan to cross over and hunt for the disturbers of the truth. Zoey's ripple effect results in an accidental kidnapping, Rhea. Lucy is next to discover the monsters and gets taken away. Then, it is Owen and Zoey's turn to know the horrible truth. The gargoyle statues are guardians for the La Mar family. They animated and try to help but Owen gets taken away. Zoey follows with a gargoyle protector. Lastly, Danielle is dragged into the gruesome reality, by accident, by a friend. Due to clues, signs, and statements, the parents start to piece together the fact that the children are endangered and the mystery to that revolves around Zoey and her family.
Can Zoey find a way to believe in herself and take control of this situation? Can Zoey find a way to fulfill her destiny and end this forgotten responsibility? Can Zoey find a way to do what's right and save herself, her friends, and her brother?
