A new take on the classic Goose Girl, Little Thieves makes a hero out of a thief and plays with the gods of Fortune and Death.

The Goose Girl is one of those fairy tales that doesn’t get enough attention, and it’s nice to see another fairytale told other than the typical ones.

That said, while the story was interesting, it wasn’t wholly memorable.

Characterization

Overall, I liked Little Thieves, but there were times when the story suffered from slow pacing.

Little Thieves follows Vanya, our anti-hero who was left as a child with Death and Fortune as caretakers. When the time came to choose, they wanted a servant, not a daughter. Angry and even a little bitter, Vanya ran away and then “stole” the identity of a princess. During the day, she is a princess; at night, she uses her luck to be a thief and steal enough treasure to buy her freedom away from the two gods who raised her.

I found the plot interesting because this was a different approach to retelling a classic fairytale.

However, the plot seemed to drag. There were times when the atmosphere and setting were reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm. While I usually loved that, in this case, I feel that that made the pacing inconsistent.

I did appreciate the feel of the story. Still, it was the repetition, this constant need to reestablish the atmosphere that I found boring. It distracted me from the storytelling and the characterization. It made the story more drawn out than it needed to be.

Sometimes, I was reading it, and I wanted the story to just move on. As the reader, we know about her complicated relationship with her godparents. This world here is supposed to be old world Germany, fairytale like, dark, mysterious, and otherworldly. I didn’t need it to be coming back every few pages. I needed the plot to develop faster.

I do think Vanya was an interesting character. This anti-hero developed a slow-burn romance with those looking for her alter ego. However, I wish more time had been given to making the characters shine because while Vanya does grow as a character, I just didn’t find her memorable.

Final Thoughts
Little Thieves is great if you’re looking for a different retelling, especially on a fairytale that doesn’t get told enough. It has a strong atmosphere, but sometimes the author’s focus shifts into the unimportant, making the story drag and, ultimately, unmemorable.

<i><b>This is when I realize: I want that. I want him to chase me.
But it’s not just the chase. I want it to be him.
There’s a shimmering, intoxicating kind of thrill to it, this game between us. I am his puzzle and he is my lock, and it’s an arms race to solve the other first. But somewhere in all the knots and twists and trapdoors, he turned to an arsonist, leaving his embers in my veins, smoke on my tongue, a fire burning softly in my heart.
And it will not die easy.
I want him to chase me. I want to know what it feels like to be caught. I wan to burn with him.</i></b>

Once again Margaret Owen has weaved a tale of true human nature. One that captivates the audience with fluid characters you can’t help but love, a story line with as much depth and dimension as the heart, and an overarching theme that will resonate with everyone.

To say I loved this book is an understatement. It will be one that stays with me long after reading it. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves YA Fantasy, retellings and quirky characters.

I'll be shelving this book for now and hoping to come back to it in the future.

Thank you for the opportunity to read. Hoping to be at a better place to read this one.

This was good story. Not great, but good. I struggled a bit and I know this is a classic case of, “it’s not you, it’s me,” since everyone I know that read it, loved it.

Little Thieves tells the story of Vanja, a girl who is trying desperately to steal enough to run away and make a real life for herself. She is living a double life as we meet her-princess by day and thief by night-when she crosses the wrong god. Now she is in a rush to find out how to break the curse that has been placed on her or die a slow death. The world building in this book was excellent and the writing was great. Although there were things about Vanja that gave her a measure of sympathy, it was very hard to enjoy her as a main character.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but this is absolutely one of my favorite books of all time! The demisexual rep? The trauma? The way I cried? Good lord.

A young thief of unlimited talents decides she deserves a better life than the one she has, so she steals the one she wants. Vanjis lives her stolen life with no fear of consequences until she steps on the wrong toes and earns a curse that could only be a threat to a thief such as she. A modernized telling of a fairy tale that will capture the hearts and interests of any girl who has always wanted to be a princess.

"Little Thieves" by Margaret Owen is a captivating tale of magic, mystery, and rebellion set in a world where magic comes at a deadly price. The story follows Vanja, a young girl born into a society where magic is forbidden, and those who possess it are hunted down and killed. When Vanja discovers that she has magical abilities, she is forced to flee for her life and join a band of outcasts known as the Little Thieves. Together, they embark on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth about their world and overthrow the tyrannical regime that seeks to control them. It had a great potential but the book was not captivating to me but I am positive others find it fantastic!

thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

full review to come.

I really enjoy Margaret Owen’s writing. At the time I’m writing this, I’ve read all of her currently published works. I’ve come to expect poetic storytelling every time I open one of their books. I was extremely pleased to see that there were trigger warnings in the author’s note.

As I said with The Merciful Crow series, Owen’s writing isn’t for everyone. Antiheroes tend to be very hit or miss, and Vanja is no exception (if you’re not into morally gray characters, this probably won’t work for you). Ragne is my favorite part of the whole story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I am always a fan of retellings. While I hadn’t heard of The Goose Girl, I can tell you that Little Thieves is a really great read with some incredible world building!

Also, I just love the cover. It would be a total cover buy for me. I really enjoyed the MC, Vanja and her introduction of the world to us. It was fun seeing the world the way she did and I found her to be a breath of fresh air!

The romance was sweet, and the book overall was just a nice, enjoyable read!

I LOVED this. I was sucked in from the first page! The second book couldn’t come fast enough! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

Wow, this was such an intricate and richly written book. I'll be honest, I attempted reading Little Thieves several times over the past year or so- and it was a hurdle to get past the first 100 pages. Even when I finally got past my mental wall, I still wasn't fully invested until close to 40%. I don't usually stick with a book for that long if I'm not feeling it, but so many people have given Little Thieves rave reviews that I was convinced it had to be a "me problem" and not a "book problem."

I'm not sure where I have officially landed on that spectrum (it's just such a slow start, I totally understand it was necessary to set the stage, I just struggled!), but I will say that sticking with the book was very very worth it. Who am I if not an ardent supporter of books featuring casts of lovable misfits adorably sparring until they realize they need one another and settle into some version of a happy found family? Little Thieves has this on top of cute (but not saccharine) romantic subplots, lots of sausage talk, fun folklore with low gods and shapeshifters, delightfully obtuse and overbearing parental figures, and a really inventive curse. Battles are won based on technicalities, and I LIVE for snarky heroines outsmarting systems and claiming victories base on technicalities. There's also a lot of nerdy magical legalese and I truly love that kind of stuff. Owen is not giving her readers a simple and straightforward fairytale retelling here.

The most successful part of this book (for me, very personally) was Vanja's struggles with her inner demons. Yes, it's enormously satisfying seeing her fight with actual monsters- but Vanja's arc from seeing herself as someone who has "always looked for how she brings things on herself" to someone who is worthy of love and consideration just for who she is was lovely.

Anyway, looking forward to digging into book two soon! Many belated thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time! Incredible characters, interesting plot, cool magic, queer people, it’s awesome.

Am I mad at myself for taking this long to read and review this book? Yes. Why? Because I LOVED it.

I was unfortunately not a fan of The Merciful Crow by Margaret, but I'm always up for giving authors a second chance and boy am I so glad I did.

Every page, every second of this book was so incredibly enjoyable I hated having to put it down for work or other responsibilities. Vanya is the most enjoyable narrator I have read in a very long time. She's smart, she's cunning, she's absolutely hilarious and wholeheartedly herself. I will be working desperately to get my hands on the second book soon so I can hear more about this characters adventures.

This book is both rich in characters AND plot, which I have noticed is a very rare thing to find in books these days, but this author pulled it off. The world building was not hard to understand, the characters were easy to fall in love with (main and side) and the romance!! was to DIE for! I ate it UP. I cannot wait to see what happens with them in the future of the series. But I love them. They are adorable.

Ragna & Giselle were also complete surprises for me - they were the most fun side characters and I hope to see them in future novels.

I don't know what else to say other than I wish I could erase my memory and read this book for the first time again.

Always looking for YA fantasy to add to my classroom library and this one fits the bill. Especially because it’s told from the villains perspective. If you don’t love a morally grey character, are you even alive?! (Kidding of course!)

I really enjoyed the lush writing style, the twists and turns, and the faithfulness to the inspiration (The Goose Girl) with a fresh spin. I know my students will love this book.

This book took a little bit to get going but once you hit about page 200, you are IN IT.

The third act was sooo good I could not put the book down. The characters, the found family, the banter? I loved it all and Vanja has most definitely stolen my heart. I may relate to her a little too much...

I'm not sure where book 2 will go but I'm excited for it nonetheless.

Little Thieves was a fairly decent YA fantasy book. It had beautiful writing, for sure, but I'm just not into YA as much as I used to be. This was still an enjoyable read so I am happy I read it!