Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Abstract

Reviewed by: Little Thieves by Margaret Owen Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Owen, Margaret Little Thieves. Holt, 2021 [512p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250191908 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250191915 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 Discarded by her mother, used as a pawn by her godmothers Death and Fortune, and betrayed by her royal mistress, Vanja Schmidt grabs, quite literally, the chance to change her fate by stealing Princess Gisele’s enchanted pearls and taking on her appearance. Unsatisfied by simply living among nobility, she also steals from them, but she gets in over her head after thieving the prized possession of a Low God, and now she’s got only a few weeks to make amends before she transforms into gems. Complicating matters further are the appearance of a nosy prefect investigating Vanja’s burglaries and the return of her boorish and apparently murderous fiancé. This retelling of “The Goose Girl” is unwieldy at times, but it is fortunately firmly anchored in Vanja’s biting, acerbic narration; this is a girl who does not suffer fools and is clever enough to have a back-up plan for her back-up plan, neither of which involve loyalty or love. It’s a bit disappointing then when her villainy is so easily softened by the interest of a handsome guy, but the crumbling of her bravado outside of that relationship is painfully believable as current circumstances trigger memories of past traumas. While more details about Death’s and Fortune’s roles would have certainly been welcome, there’s enough dark magic and folkloric elements here to effectively echo the sinister nature of the source material. Readers of Hale’s The Goose Girl (BCCB 11/03) and Khanani’s Thorn (BCCB 2/20) might appreciate this recasting of the original tale’s traitorous maid. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois