Shelly's Book Blog

The Thief, a Newbery Honor book by Megan Whalen Turner, begins the Queen's Thief series which also includes The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and the just published A Conspiracy of Kings. The series has garnered high praise, and I agree that The Thief is well written and engaging. This fantasy story provides readers with plenty of adventure, as it chronicles Eugenides' (or Gen for short) quest to steal a valuable, mystical stone called Hamiathes's Gift. Legend dictates that if the stone is freely given, the recipient not only gains immortality, but also becomes the rightful ruler of the book's imaginary country. Gen, who has been imprisoned for bragging about his skills as a thief, has been released so that he can accompany the King of Sounis's magus on a quest to find and steal the stone. However Gen, as readers discover at the end, has other plans that he only reveals once his mission is complete.

I was a little confused by the revelations at the end of this story, perhaps because I wasn't paying enough attention as I read. The writing is sublte, though, and I think younger readers would share my confusion. I might recommend this series to middle schoolers who enjoyed the Percy Jackson books, because Turner based her imaginary world on ancient Greek civilization. However, this first book, at least, seems to demand a bit more work from the reader.