The Assassin's Guide to Babysitting by Natalie C. Parker

The Assassin's Guide to Babysitting

Natalie C. Parker

Candlewick Press · Print & ebook · January 7, 2025

A Young Adult pick for readers exploring The Assassin's Guide to Babysitting.

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Who it’s for
Assassin-world danger gets an offbeat counterpoint in babysitting, high school, and the work of being known.
Themes
Power and identity, Found family, Trust
Pacing
Fast

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For older readers: Thrill of the Chase, Red Star Hustle / Apprehension, Heir of Illusion

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About this book

"Parker breathes new life into the assassin genre, seamlessly combining the action and world-building of John Wick with themes of power, found family, and what it means to step into the light and truly be yourself."—Rebecca Coffindaffer, author of Crownchasers Tru has been hiding all her life. Her parents taught her to conceal her bastion Talent: indestructible skin, muscles, and bones.

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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? From an award-winning author comes a masterfully plotted thriller that holds character and relationship on a par with action and nail-biting suspense.

Knives and Caregiving

Assassin-world danger gets an offbeat counterpoint in babysitting, high school, and the work of being known.

Come here for

  • A lethal world with an unexpectedly domestic side
  • A hidden Talent and a crush tangled up with danger

Expect

  • Action and relationship questions sharing the spotlight
  • Suspense shaped by trust, identity, and found family

Where it sits

YA Romance - LGBTQ+59%
Thrillers & Suspense46%
Coming of Age25%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Alternative Family Stories
  • YA LGBTQ+
  • YA Supernatural Thrillers
Authors
Natalie C. Parker
Publisher
Candlewick Press
Published
January 7, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Power and identity · Found family · Trust
Reading lane
YA Alternative Family Stories