Anyone who follows my reviews knows I love a good fairytale retelling, and this one is GREAT! The Goose Girl is not one of the better-known fairytales, but fans of the genre will recognize the bare bones of the story here.

I alternately loved and hated Vanja and her shenanigans. I appreciated the author's exquisite storytelling, which softened Vanja and made her interactions with the other characters more appealing. As I read, I noticed some hints of Katherine Arden's Winterknight characters, but just hints. The story here is imaginative and beautifully told.

This feels like a series, so I hope Margaret Owen has more stories to share. I will definitely be reading them!

Margaret Owen has done it again. Only this time she’s brought us morally grey characters and a heist for young readers! Don’t question it, just do yourself a favor and snag this book. And if you haven’t read her duology - go get that one too

I am absolutely obsessed with this book - I loved Margaret Owen's duology The Merciful Crow and The Faithless Hawk. This was such an incredible follow-up. I highly recommend.

Part fairytale retelling and part original fantasy, Owen manages to tell a story about the consequences of greed and the rewards of love and friendship that feels at once mythical and fresh. Vanja, imposter princess, thief, and all around con woman, has learned to count on no one but herself. But when an angry god curses her to transform into solid gemstone if she doesn’t make up for her crimes, she must start to rely on others — including the girl whose identity she stole, and the boy who has been tasked with bringing her to justice. Reading this felt like encountering a favorite childhood tale in an exciting and eerie new landscape, and I'm excited to see what Owen does next.

This was so much fun! The main character kinda gave me Celaena vibes (the bravado, the sass, the gray morality...), and the atmosphere was so excellent! The worldbuilding was really interesting, and the plot was SO convoluted, but I did actually manage to follow most of it. Considering how layered and complicated this plot is, there was not a lot of exposition and the pace moved quickly. The romance was also so cute!

This was close to perfect, really. If the ending was just a little tighter, if we got just a little more angst in the romance, if we had some more time with a few of the side characters. And there was one plot point, kind of important, that I found a little confusing, but I don’t want to say more because of spoilers.

This is a Goose Girl retelling and I loved what it had to say about privilege and class. There was just so much to unpack here. So much. This had everything: gray morality, humor, romance, atmosphere, high stakes, interesting themes, heists, gods and magic… It's kind of amazing how well this book balanced everything.

This did read like a standalone, but on Goodreads it says there’s a sequel. So I wonder where this will go next? In my opinion, this felt like it wrapped up well. Highly recommended.

This book is an absolute delight, full of heart, and amazing growth for the main character and narrator Vanja. This book was the one to get me out of my reading slump but I will admit that I think my enjoyment was hampered a bit as a result of it.

"That makes her the thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter. Her luck's rotten to the core."

I don't know what it is, but I resonate with sarcastic and vibrant characters/narrators... and I adore Vanja's snark so much. Little Thieves reads as if a friend of mine is just telling me a story over a pint (or twelve) or ale. Vanja's story is one of constantly being alone and fighting against insurmountable odds. Despite her technically being in the wrong, the reader can't help but feel sorry for her and want to root for her success.

"There's a saying in the Blessed Empire: Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows."

I am not familiar with The Goose Girl so I can't speak to this in terms of the ~loose retelling~ aspect, but as a fantasy world with compelling characters this book shines. It's been an honest pleasure to watch Margaret Owen's craft evolve and Little Thieves is her best so far (which is saying a lot)! I'm excited to see that this standalone is now going to get more because I would love many more adventures with these characters.

Pre-release thoughts
6.6.2021: I was granted an eARC and excuse me while I cry all over the place.
9.19.2020: hi hello, please let 2020 end without an apocalypse so I can read this book.

eARC provided by the publisher, Henry Holt & Co BFYR, via Netgalley for my honest review. This has not affected my opinions nor the contents of my review. I have since purchased a finished copy.

Margaret Owen is back with a saucy protagonist, an irreverent retelling of The Goose Girl, and enough wickedness to last two lifetimes in LITTLE THIEVES.
First, I must advise that if you have not read of or heard of The Goose Girl, at least check out a summary first. It will be wildly helpful. But even if you do not, the premise, plot, and themes of the novel will still be clear and riotous.
Abandoned to the gods at age three, unlucky child number 13, Vanja, is determined to outwit fate and steal her way to freedom. She knows that nothing is free, least of all a woman's freedom.
Little Thieves is packed with magic, mischief, and humor. I found myself chuckling more often than not at the banter and wit that flows between Vanja and the Junior Prefect who would love nothing more than clap her in irons and lock her away for eternity.

Description
Kids' Indie Next pick for November/December!
Amazon Best Book of October 2021!

A scrappy maid must outsmart both palace nobles and Low Gods in a new YA fantasy by Margaret Owen, author of the Merciful Crow series.

Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl...

Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love—and she’s on the hook for one hell of a debt. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja’s otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back… by stealing Gisele’s life for herself.

The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.

Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele’s sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja’s tail, she’ll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.

Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series, crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of “The Goose Girl” about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.

I love reading retellings of fairytales, and this is by far my favorite interpretation of the Goose Girl! It was deliciously written and I couldn't put it down. It was fairly long to read, but I think the author did a great job of making it unique and compelling enough to keep readers interested.

There was so, so, so much to love about Little Thieves. Like other reviewers, I am unfamiliar with Goose Girl, the tale this book retells. But I think it might be for the better because I was surprised and enraptured with every twist and turn. I loved this book.

Vanja, the maid to a princess, is the adopted daughter of low gods Fate and Death, after her own mother gives her away. Vanja is the thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter, and so she is destined to be unlucky. As she grows up and becomes the target to a vicious highborn bully, Vanja decides to take over the life of the princess that she serves. Vanja steals things. She has stolen money and jewels, and now the life of the princess, but this is one debt that will not go unforgiven. Vanja is in trouble...she is becoming the thing she loves the most. Her body is literally turning to jewels. And unless she can break this curse, she will die.

Like I said above, there was so much to love about this book. My favorite parts were the beginning of each story, where the author switches from Vanja's voice to the voice of a fairy story teller. Those passages were some of the most beautiful I have read in a long time. The world building was so well done, all of the characters were so well developed, and I really loved getting to be a part of this story. The romances felt genuine. All of it was beautifully done. I hope this one wins some awards!

Utterly obsessed and enchanted, this was so unexpected. This made me emotional and had me cycling through my feelings faster than you can call up the Low Gods!

Vanuatu was an excellent protagonist that had so many complex layers to her. You may think outright that she’s meant to be one of those unlikeable characters but she isn’t. She’s charming, witty, and deeply flawed, just trying to claw out her own existence in the only way available to her given the actions of others and her own disenfranchisement. Owens does a masterful job at showing us the effects of classism, abuse, assault, indentured servitude, greed and corruption, ethics, and loyalty through Vanja’s story and circumstances.

There are darling supporting characters (Ragne, Poldi) that bring comedic relief and start to chip away and Vanja’s defenses to make her more human, a compelling love interest (Emeric) that happens organically, and plenty of internal strife and conflict (imposter’s syndrome, isolation, self-loathing and sabotage). There were moments where I truly saw myself and past versions of myself in Vanja, in her lashing out, in her self sabotage, in her feelings of unworthiness, and those scenes were SO WELL EXECUTED.

Despite the central plot, which is compelling and exciting on its own, Owens gives us a lush backdrop and magic system, and a great character growth arc that make this a standout for the year. I will be dying to get my hands on the sequel next!

Margaret Owen is becoming an auto buy author for me!!! I loved Little Thieves SO MUCH, and I really didn’t want it to end!!! Vanja was DEFINITELY a favorite, and I LOVED THE QUEER REP!!!! Please excuse all the exclamation marks, I tend to overuse them when I’m excited!!!! Highly recommend this book, and I hope to be sure and get my library a copy to hand out personally!

I have to say Margaret Owen is one one of my favorite authors. I would literally read and purchase anything she publishes in the near future. Little Thieves was the perfect retelling and was a unique story. I loved the atmosphere and the dark fairytales vibes. Can’t wait for book two. I purchased two physical copies for my private library and for my classroom. Thank you NetGalley for giving the opportunity to receive an early copy.

Huge thank you to Netgalley + Henry Holt & Company for sharing this e-arc with me. The following review reflects my experience reading.

I am a huge fan of Margaret Owen’s The Merciful Crow Duology so I knew I had to read Little Thieves. I’m super happy to say that I loved Little Thieves. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was the first half of the book was very slow to start. It took me a while to really get into it. But once the story picked up I was totally hooked!

I really did not like the lead, Vanja, at first. But as she went on her journey and experienced huge character growth, I really began to like her!

I’m so excited for the sequel!!

“Little Thieves” by Margaret Owen was an absolute joy to read and kept me hooked from beginning to end. I love fairy tale retellings and was so excited to find out that “Little Thieves” was a retelling of a lesser known story, “The Goose Girl.” We see a lot of retellings from tales made popular by Disney, and not very often ones from the rest of Brothers Grimm’s collection.

I personally had never been told or read “The Goose Girl,” so I went into “Little Thieves” first and then went back once I finished and read the original tale. And oh my, I’m so extraordinarily impressed with how Margaret Owen went about this retelling and how she incorporated callbacks to the source material while still creating something so unique. Instead of focusing on the princess, we focus on the maid who steal’s the princess’s identity. We have the physical trait that brings out the worst of people’s greed, horses play a significant role, the “choosing her own punishment” aspect comes into play, and Owen even borrows the name Conrad from the original story.

One of the main reasons I loved “Little Thieves” so much was because of the main character, Vanja. Though she is a thief and on the surface is very selfish, we come to learn why she is the way she is throughout the story and she becomes someone to root for. Gisele is another character who started off as someone I couldn’t stand and was quite content with Vanja stealing her identity, but she became someone I wanted to succeed the more we got to really know her.

As I read, it was interesting going back and forth between the two, who have a lengthy history together, and trying to figure out who was wrong, and who was right, and is there validity in their arguments as to why they are so awful to each other. While it may sound as if Owen is pitting two women against each other, it’s not so simple. Both can be considered villainous in their own ways, neither is fully innocent, and both are strong young women who have trauma and are just trying to come out the other side. I loved them both so much by the end and I really think Owen did them justice.

The absolute only thing that fell flat for me with “Little Thieves” was the ending. I’m talkin’ last page. Without spoiling, let’s just say I wanted a different outcome for how a certain character relationship comes to a close in this book. I just wanted a bit more. We will be getting a second book however, so I have hopes that I’ll be satisfied in Book 2 next fall.

Other than that, there is so much I loved about this book. The diverse characters, the magic system, the Gods, Emeric, Ragne. I could go on about the fun in watching Vanja lead a double life, and how much I loved watching her become a better person. There were so many aspects to this book that were standouts, but talking about them all would make this review go on forever, so I’ll leave it at this: Go read “Little Thieves.” It is wonderful and striking and brilliant.

LITTLE THIEVES is an imaginative, enthralling, and captivating YA fantasy that made me fall in love and broke my heart a million times over. At only four, Vanja was delivered to the Low Gods, Fortune and Death, by her mother who feared she was bad luck. Being raised by Low Gods is not quite what you might expect, and the choices they have given her have felt like anything but.

Vanja is now a notorious thief, the Pfennigiest, who steals from the wealthy and leaves behind red pennies. She steals their jewelry from under their noses to fund her own freedom - while also living a lie. She has stolen the appearance and life of the princess, Gisele, for whom she was a maid since childhood. Things, however, are changing when she finds herself cursed by a Low God offended by her thievery and greed, Gisele's betrothed Adalbrecht has returned to wed her, and the magical investigators- and one Junior Prefect, Emeric, in particular- are on the hunt for the Pfennigiest.

As Vanja tries to untangle the requirements of her curse - without the help from her godmothers - she also must fight for her life, contend with her past mistakes, and circumvent all the forces working against her.

What I loved: The characters in this story are fully realized and absolutely easy to fall in love with. Beginning with Vanja, but also including Emeric, Gisele, and Ragne, these are all wonderfully flawed and beautifully growing people that captivate the reader. Vanja has made mistakes, and she knows this, but what are choices if they are all bad? How can she make her own luck? Her humor, wit, heartfelt, and clever nature make her a character to behold. Her story will live close to the reader's heart. Through her eyes, the reader can see this world as it is, as well as the power struggles and political imbalances that separate the classes. Emeric is a character that feels like an acquired taste. His transformation in the reader's eyes feels miraculous, but by the end of the story, he is one of the greatest. He is loyal, genuine, and true - though not without a propensity towards mistakes. Gisele is another character who seems victim and villain, and only the story can help the reader weigh on which side she will fall. My absolute favorite may have been Ragne, the daughter of a Low God, whose honesty, confidence, and fervor make her a character that truly stands out in all the best ways. Notably, all these characters were so wonderfully crafted that they came to feel like close friends.

The plot itself is also beautifully written and the world fantastically constructed. The book is divided by the beginnings of fairytales that provide us glimpses into Vanja's life, along with gorgeous illustrations. These fairytales add an extra element of the mysterious and imaginative to the story, twisting her life from something mystical to something that felt so real. The pace was absolutely spot-on with nary a dull moment and the right amount of action and reflection/inner turmoil to bring the story to life. It is masterfully woven with twists that seem unexpected until you arrive at them and then feel there could have been no other way. The surprises and reveals were absolutely thrilling, and the whole story was completely riveting. I also really loved the romances that grow during the story, and I felt my heart break and mend with each scene leading to them in all those lovely ways Owen seems to be uniquely suited to writing.

The themes were really thought-provoking and powerful around impossible choices, servitude, power imbalances, trust, the definition of thieves, socioeconomic inequality and its manifestations, abuse of power, trauma, and morality with all its gray areas. In particular, the title comes from the notion of levels of thieves and the way that this is defined by power. This idea can be seen in the modern world as well, as those with power seem to escape punishment and differing dynamics with power around stealing (eg, punishment of wage theft by a company vs stealing from a company). This would definitely be a topic worth discussing and delving into further with a book group. Power and its imbalances are another strong topic in this book around the way servants are treated as well as the way in which the lower socioeconomic classes are suppressed and their world view differs as a result. This story raises a lot of important and inticing themes that warrant further discussion.

Final verdict: With masterful story-telling, captivating characters, and poignant themes, LITTLE THIEVES is a stunning and heartfelt YA fantasy that readers are sure to devour. Highly recommend for fans of VESPERTINE, THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US, THE PRISON HEALER, and THRONE OF GLASS.

Please note that I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

One of the good ones that I couldn’t put down. I loved everything about the story and the characters. Vanja did some stupid things but nothing egregious for being 16, and I feel her in my heart.

Margaret Owen has officially made it onto my short and coveted “I’ll read anything they write” list.

I wasn't prepared for how much this book was going to hurt me.. nor the ways it would choose to do so. My emotions didn't start out particularly raw, in fact.. people have often felt I don't seem sensitive enough.

Like anyone, I can get invested in a specific character or relationship.. sure. I can become moved by their losses and their struggles. But this story hurt me in a very personal way. Vanja's pain is old and carefully tucked away, so when it gets dragged out.. it's not healed up quite like one might think.. having left it behind as she did. It's still a poison eating at the way she views everything.

In part, I blame unfamiliarity. I had never actually read The Goose Girl prior to picking up this book, which is the original fairy tale penned by The Brothers Grimm and I haven't read anything from Margaret Owen before, author of the acclaimed Merciful Crow series. If I had, perhaps I'd have been ready, but I have my doubts.

Though the story of The Goose Girl is troubling, Owen's touch takes it from a mere warning to a visceral experience. While Vanja's behavior may be unsavory, I certainly couldn't fault her for her reasoning. Watching her process, not just the things that had been done to her.. but also the lack of aid and the feelings of betrayal she developed was heartwrenching. The very way she subconsciously approached situations where she had been hurt, so telling of exactly why she would arm herself emotionally in the ways she had.

Death and Fortune enamored me. I loved the fact that though they were moved to attempt kindness, as gods.. their actions were disassociative. The lack of true understanding for human feelings was the perfect frame for Vanja's already battered childhood.

The world-building is rich and if not always beautiful.. at least beautifully textured. With a villain the likes of which I rarely come across, an intriguing magic system, and just the right evolutions between characters.. at just the right times.. Little Thieves manages to be both achingly dark and surprisingly hopeful.

If you like stories that dig in their claws and don't let go, characters that are more grey than black or white, and moral choices that leave you questioning your own principles.. this is the book for you.

Trigger warning: deals with physical and emotional abuse, though nothing overly explicit. An exciting coming of age/finding yourself adventure that has intrigue and romance that is a retelling of the Goose Girl Fairy Tale.

I adored this clever, multi-layered retelling of The Goose Girl. The story was witty and bold, and the characters were compelling and heartfelt. I really enjoyed this one!

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
So, the premise of this book sounded so promising and right up my alley.
I was hooked immediately starting this story and how beautiful the writing was.
However, it started lagging towards the middle and I kept putting it down and idk, I think it's way too long of a book but also it didn't build the world enough in the amount of pages it had?? I'm all over with this one and my thoughts. I liked it but there was something missing.