Search - The Thief Lord

I honestly was disappointed - I found the book hard to read and get into - initially I was drawn to it because it was reviewed to be a more realistic Harry Potter and I found it nothing like. It never really drew me in and while I enjoyed the characters,they never tugged at my coat tails the way the children do in Oliver Twist or similar stories.

Young adult fantasy/fiction novel about a small group of orphans living on their own in an abandoned movie theatre in Venice. Another mysterious young man named Scipio, self-titled The Thief Lord, helps take care of them by stealing valuables and selling them for money. When two of the orphans’ aunt and uncle appear in Venice looking for them and hire a detective to aid their search, the security of the small group of friends is threatened. When the fence they use for getting rid of their stolen goods offers a special job to Thief Lord for mega-moola, he accepts and they are off on another wild adventure. Very well-written and enjoyable book that gives very atmospheric descriptions of Venice. Loved it!

This is such a good book!

I loved this story and think children would enjoy it very much. It has a lot of surprises and enters into the magical realm a little bit. It shows human compassion and friendship in a positive light.

Fantastic book I really wish I found when I was younger. It brilliantly captivates that fantasy all children have about running away and living a life of adventure, with life-like characters you can really believe in from the first page. My only real complaint, is about the quality of the last fifty pages or so. Starting with a completely unrealistic turn into fantasy, it seems the last several chapters are a sloppy and hasty attempt to tie up all loose ends in a cheerfully satisfying matter. The younger audience won't mind, I'm sure, but to me it seemed the element of reality Funke so tactfully kept was suddenly ruined for the sake of a classic "The End".