Little Thieves: Volume 1

Thank you to Henry Holt and Bookishfirst for this book in exchange for an honest review! Little Thieves by Margaret Owen is a magical YA retelling that transports the story of the Goose Girl to an old Grimm, German-inspired fantasy world. The story revolves around Vanja, a maid who steals a pearl necklace from Princess Gisele, her former best friend. With this pearl necklace, Vanja can transform into Gisele, and she uses it to take her place. In her new guise, Vanja charms the nobles around her and steals jewelry from them when they aren't looking. One day, she is cursed to turn into the same jewels that she covets. Will she be able to break the curse? Or will her dangerous secret be discovered? Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 that sets up the fantastic setting: "And for most of the last year, that’s the face I’ve worn: the princess. Or to be precise: Gisele-Berthilde Ludwila von Falbirg of the Sovabin Principality, Kör-prinzessin of the Blessed Empire of Almandy. Soon to be Markgräfin Gisele you-get-the-idea von Reigenbach of the empire’s largest territory, the border march of Bóern, once the margrave gets around to a wedding. Though not if I can help it. (We’ll come back to that.) I squint out the gilt-trimmed carriage window, studying the timber-and-plaster blocks of Eisendorf Manor as the horses draw us closer. Shadows pass behind the first-floor windows, turning them to rosy eyes winking into the frosty twilight gloom. It looks crowded already, even for a Sunday night party. Good—a princess ought to be the last of the von Eisendorfs’ guests to arrive. There was a reason I dawdled in my bedroom at Castle Reigenbach: to make sure we hit peak Minkja traffic when we left an hour ago." Overall, Little Thieves starts off like a dark breath of fresh air but ends up becoming a light-hearted comedy with very little action or romance. If you enjoy morally-grey heroines like the protagonist in Shadow in the Glass, then you'll enjoy Vanja, who masquerades as a princess and becomes a jewel thief at night. The first half of this book was great. I loved the magical, old German-ish setting, and this book had the potential to be dark. Halfway through, the plot starts to lose steam, and then the last 20% turns into a Disney Channel Original Movie-like comedy of errors. This book would have benefited from a bit more action or tension, or even a more interesting love interest. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy, you can check out this book when it comes out in October!

Little Thieves was perhaps one of the most interesting retellings that I have read in a long while. Loosely adapted from The Goose Girl, the story tells the tale of Vanja, a young girl abandoned by her mother at the age of four and left in the care of the Low Gods, Death and Fortune, as her new godmothers. In order to live her own life, she needs money and in order to do that she takes on the persona of several different characters, all with the help of an enchanted string of pearls which aid in her becoming the Pfennigeist(or Penny Thief), a name earned because of the red pennies she leaves in the bare coffers of her victims. On one particular evening of thievery, she is caught byh another low god, whom she offends and who curses her as a result of her greed. This story was absolutely fascinating. At the very beginning, the prologue hooked me in in such a way that I hadn't been hooked into a book in a long while and the writing got even better from there. I was anxious at times, filled with mixed emotions and dread when ominous things were happening, and really loved how the story developed Vanja's character. She was very a very unlikeable anti-heroine from the start but the callousness of her wore of and I really enjoyed her character by the end. Little Thieves is one of my favorite YA books I've read yet this year and I will definitely be getting a copy.

I wasn't prepared for how much this book was going to hurt me.. nor the ways it would choose to do so. My emotions didn't start out particularly raw, in fact.. people have often felt I don't seem sensitive enough. Like anyone, I can get invested in a specific character or relationship.. sure. I can become moved by their losses and their struggles. But this story hurt me in a very personal way. Vanja's pain is old and carefully tucked away, so when it gets dragged out.. it's not healed up quite like one might think.. having left it behind as she did. It's still a poison eating at the way she views everything. In part, I blame unfamiliarity. I had never actually read The Goose Girl prior to picking up this book, which is the original fairy tale penned by The Brothers Grimm and I haven't read anything from Margaret Owen before, author of the acclaimed Merciful Crow series. If I had, perhaps I'd have been ready, but I have my doubts. Though the story of The Goose Girl is troubling, Owen's touch takes it from a mere warning to a visceral experience. While Vanja's behavior may be unsavory, I certainly couldn't fault her for her reasoning. Watching her process, not just the things that had been done to her.. but also the lack of aid and the feelings of betrayal she developed was heartwrenching. The very way she subconsciously approached situations where she had been hurt, so telling of exactly why she would arm herself emotionally in the ways she had. Death and Fortune enamored me. I loved the fact that though they were moved to attempt kindness, as gods.. their actions were disassociative. The lack of true understanding for human feelings was the perfect frame for Vanja's already battered childhood. The world-building is rich and if not always beautiful.. at least beautifully textured. With a villain the likes of which I rarely come across, an intriguing magic system, and just the right evolutions between characters.. at just the right times.. Little Thieves manages to be both achingly dark and surprisingly hopeful. If you like stories that dig in their claws and don't let go, characters that are more grey than black or white, and moral choices that leave you questioning your own principles.. this is the book for you. (I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)