The Good Thief, Hannah Tinti

This was a wonderful book.  Ren is a little boy who has spent his life so far at Saint Anthony’s with other orphaned or abandoned boys.  Sometimes they’re adopted, sometimes they’re not, and when they aren’t, they are recruited into the army.  Ren is different, though, because he is missing one of his hands, and that makes it a challenge for him to be adopted.  After a rejection, Ren is “lucky” enough to be adopted by a man who declares himself Ren’s brother.  The monks don’t ask many questions and off they go, only for Ren’s happy bubble to evaporate when Benjamin Nab turns out to not be his brother, but a thief who intends to use Ren as bait in his schemes.  It’s up to Ren to make the best of his new situation as he searches for his past and a family that will love him the way he deserves.

I really loved this book.  Compelling narrative, great characters, interesting and varied settings.  This is a little boy’s search to belong, and Ren is a truly wonderful and adaptable boy, with just enough naughty boy in him to make him interesting!  I enjoyed watching him interact with everyone else, like the entertaining landlady and Benjamin’s drunken partner Tom.  Benjamin Nab is another fascinating character, and only at the end do you realize what a marvelous web the author has been spinning around you the entire time.  The plot is well-paced and it’s hard to imagine the outcome, and although parts of it seem like they should have been obvious from the start, they aren’t at all.  It’s easy to keep on reading and forget that time has passed because the author’s narrative is so engaging.

In my opinion, this is a book to fall in love with, and I can easily imagine myself reading it over and over again.  For once, all the reviews plastered on the cover are entirely correct – this book is enchanting, sweet, clever, absorbing, and haunting.  I highly recommend it!

The Good Thief will be released on August 26th. Pre-order this book from Amazon today!