Racism can't be cured by black excellence when it's caused by white ignorance. It's age appropriate without being kiddy, she presents diversity without it feeling checklisty and she addresses racism and immigration and economic imbalance in the melting pot of 1920s manhattan in a thoughtful appropriate way that feels natural, while phrasing it perfectly and succinctly:

Vita's plan is to sneak into the castle, recover the emerald for her grandfather, and hopefully get his home back as well. It's a historical heist/adventure story about a group of kids from different backgrounds who are corralled and led by the inimitable vita into pooling their specialized skill sets and abilities into a plot to recover an emerald necklace with sentimental/familial-as well as monetary-value from its hiding spot in vita's grandfather's crumbling family manse-the straight up castle whose ownership he's just been hoodwinked out of by a wicked, heartless man. Like the best of her work, this one is tightly plotted, with wholesome-but-authentic characters and a few surprises. i love her so much that i (almost) want to have a bunch of kids just so i can fill their tiny sticky hands with her books. It might take more than Vita’s ragtag gang of misfits to outsmart the city that never sleeps.Īward-winning author Katherine Rundell has created an utterly gripping tour de-force about loyalty, trust, and the lengths to which we’ll go for the ones we love.įulfilling my 2021 goal to read one book each month by an author i love that i haven’t gotten around to reading yetĪnother PERFECT story by katherine rundell. Expose the real estate tycoon for the crook he truly is.īut 1920s Manhattan is ever-changing and full of secrets. Steal back what’s rightfully her grandfather’s. With the help of a pickpocket and her new circus friends, Vita creates the plan : Break into the mansion. When Vita’s grandfather’s mansion is taken from him by a powerful real estate tycoon, Vita knows it’s up to her to make things right. “A satisfying adventure.” - Kirkus Reviewsįrom award-winning author Katherine Rundell comes a fast-paced and utterly thrilling adventure driven by the loyalty and love between a grandfather and his granddaughter.

“Vita tests her own limits, and readers will thrill at her cleverness, tenacity, and close escapes.” - Booklist “A dazzling tale of wild hope, lingering grief, admirable self-sufficiency, and intergenerational adoration.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The good thieves by katherine rundell