| When Prosper and Bo's parents died, they were sent to live with their aunt and uncle. There was only one problem - they only wanted Bo, they didn't want Prosper. Well, Prosper wasn't about to be bundled off to boarding school, leaving his beloved younger brother to the tender mercies of his Aunt Esther, so he and Bo ran away to Venice, Italy, the enchanting city his mother had told them so many tales of. Unfortunately, Venice was not quite the wonderland that Prosper and Bo were expecting and with winter coming soon, they were not prepared and had no real plans at to how to survive. Then they were adopted by the Thief Lord...
The Thief Lord was clever and charming, to be sure, but no one knew who he really was and all of the children were a little afraid of him. Prosper worried that Bo idolized the Thief Lord too much and would turn to a life of crime, but where else could they go? Besides, Aunt Esther had now hired a private investigator to track them down in Venice and they relied on their friends to help them escape his notice. But when the Thief Lord accepts a job from a mysterious duke, Prosper finds himself thrust into a magical adventure full of surprises and discovers more about the Thief Lord than he truly wanted to know... The Thief Lord was a solidly written fantasy/adventure tale for children, but it was nothing spectacular. Perhaps I judged it too harshly due to all of the buzz surrounding the book, but I just found it lacking somehow. The characters were not quite three dimensional for me and I did not really identify or connect with any of them, but they are likeable enough. There is also nothing particularly original in the book and the plot moves along a little slower than I like. Still, the book has enough humor and fun for children to enjoy it while they wait for the next Harry Potter book to come out. I look forward to seeing more from this author as I feel that she has a great deal of potential. My recommendation would be to check this book out from your local library or find a cheap used copy. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - upbeat Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day) Kids growing up/acting up? Yes Kids: - struggling to earn a living to survive Family, struggle with Yes Struggle with: - Step Parent(s) Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 7-10 Age group of kid(s) in story: - grade school Parents/lack of parents problem? Wild kid(s)? - committing crimes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - a kid Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric/Smart/Dumb: Yes Eccentric: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 6 () Europe Yes European country: - Italy City? Yes City: - Writing Style Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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