The Thief Lord

Reading Machine here at your service.

Today a Juvenile novel is my subject. The Thief Lord is a book I've wanted to read for quite awhile. It's about a gang of street children who live in an abandoned movie theatre and live off of the thievery of the Thief Lord, as he calls himself.

Prosper and Bo are two brothers who have run away from their Aunt and Uncle who threatened to split them up after their mother's death. Bo is a young boy of 5 or 6 years who has angelic features and Prosper loves him dearly and will not have the two of them seperated, so he runs away to Venice where they meet the others. In Venice, the boys discover the city that their mother told them so much about. Soon, however, a detective is on the boys' trail because their Aunt wants to find them. They must juggle the snooping detective, a man who cheats them out of money, a mysterious Conte who wants them to steal a precious item, a wonderful woman, and a magical object.

This is a tale about wanting to grow up and not being taken seriously as a child, among other things. Here is a story about kids who have no where else to go, but to each other. The world is both delightful and frightening to these children. How could a child whose father ignores him and believes everything he does is silly and childish not want to prove him wrong? Prosper most certainly would love to be older to be able to take legal possession of Bo and help them along in the world.

I was not drawn into this novel until at least half way through its pages. Although Venice provides a beautiful backdrop, I did not find the story as engaging or adventurous as I originally thought it would be. It wasn't until a mystical element was thrown into the pot that I felt the story took on a more lively and intriguing feel. Overall I did think it was good and relatively fast-paced. I would recommend it to those of middle school age. I certainly see many children enjoying this one.