Middle Grade Pick: Rules for Thieves

Rules for Thieves
by Alexandra Ott
Aladdin
2017
320 pages
ISBN: 9781481472746

Alli Rosco escapes the orphanage by climbing the wall and escapes into the town square. She is excited to be free and alive, but quickly realizes she has no plan. What will she do now? Where will she go? How will she eat? Alli is smart and resourceful and knows she will have to steal to survive.

Alli runs into trouble in the market and is "wounded"  but lucky for her, she meets Beck. Alli has been infected with a poison curse and needs money for the cure before it kills her. Beck tells her that the only way she is sure to survive is to travel with him to the Thieve's Guild, an underground network that protects its own and whose members work to steal the kingdom's greatest treasures.

Beck is unsure whether Alli will be accepted but she goes along with him. They venture deep into the mountains and the cold where the Guild has their secret hideaway.

Alli and Beck are tasked with a dangerous mission--one that is nearly impossible. Alli is getting worse. They are racing the clock and the authorities.

Rules for Thieves is a delightful romp. Alexandra Ott sets up a believable world from the first pages. Alli is everything readers want from a heroine.

Highly recommended grade 5 and up. This book is likely on the Scholastic Book Fair.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Magical Pick: The Blackthorn Key

The Blackthorn Key
by Kevin Sands
Aladdin
2015
371 pages
ISBN: 9781481446518

Mysterious, cryptic and magical, The Blackthorn Key amazes. Apprentice to one of London's leading apothecaries, Christopher Rowe feels lucky to have left the orphanage and to learn a trade. Christopher is smart, attentive and good at solving puzzles. So much so, that for his birthday, Christopher's "master" gives him a cipher to solve.

A string of grisly murders has London on edge. Someone is murdering apothecaries. Christopher is worried about his employer. Oftentimes, the master is out all night only returning in the early morning hours. When his master comes home hurt and burned, Christopher makes it his business to solve the mystery. Then  his master is brutally murdered, Christopher and his best friend Tom follow clues left by his master. The cipher proves difficult but with time, Christopher figures out the puzzle.

It is a rocky time in British history where groups of powerful men are eyeing the monarchy. Having a King in your corner is the quickest path to riches, and evil, corrupt men will stop at nothing to obtain what they want. Having a powerful weapon, a secret chemical weapon that only an apothecary can manufacture, would put you in power. For that kind of weapon, a corrupt person will stop at nothing, even murder.

Who will believe a mere apprentice? Christopher will have to have rock solid proof against the murderer, and he'll have to move fast. The murderer is not likely to stop. His crimes are becoming more and more gruesome with the discovery of each new body. If he suspects Christopher is onto him, the boy is in grave danger.

An exciting read that is a real page turner. The Blackthorn Key is a gem of a debut.


Highly, highly recommended grade 5-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I bought this book for our middle school library. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)