books 2009: The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti

[supercheesegirl]

This book was a surprise--I wasn't expecting it to be so captivating. Ren is a 12-year-old orphan at St. Anthony's, longing to have a real home and family. One day a mysterious man comes to the orphanage and claims Ren is his long-lost brother. But is Benjamin who he says he is, and can Ren trust him?

Although the protagonist is young, I'm not sure I would consider this a YA novel--there's a lot of really dark stuff that goes on here. Theft, murder, grave robbing, dissection, dismemberment, all kind of things. Maybe that's part of why it's such a captivating book--Ren lived such a sheltered life (not an easy life, but a sheltered one), and then he's thrown into the big dark world. How he navigates it and learns who he is makes for a great story.

Comments

[birdmaddgirl.livejournal.com]

i didn't think this book was classified as ya?

hannah runs "one story" and is from salem. she did a reading from this book just before it came out for quick fiction's sister organization, the parlour. she was a really interesting person. of course, i tend to like people who research victorian era grave robbers for fun. ;)

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what it's classified as--my mom lent it to me. :) I guess a 12-year-old protagonist always suggests YA to me, whether it is or not. It's not a book I could have read safely at 12, but at 16 or so I would have eaten it up.

I think we are alike in that tendency!!