The Thief of Farrowfell

Thieving is what Jude does best until she takes a valuable cursed magic and things go horribly wrong. An incredible, inventive, fantasy that like raw magic, I just wanted to keep on eating. I can't wait to read about Jude's next adventures as she and her sister Moorley go it alone. Highly recommended.

I was provided an ebook advanced reader copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher Faber and Faber in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this book but overall enjoyed it. The idea of edible magic and the main character and her family being thieves really intrigued me. I found the dynamic of her family hard to read though. I wonder how a middle grade reader would digest the heavy amounts of emotional abuse and neglect. It felt like a much heavier book than the cover and synopsis suggested to me.

The pros: the main character Jude is strong and resilient and sees what her family has been doing is wrong and stands up to them. There were some good twists and turns and the author built up the tension well for the final scenes. The magic system is unlike others I have read before. I really loved the Hall of Knowledge concept and how it had learned and became something the people who built it couldn’t have predicted.

I am curious to see where the next book leads Jude as the end definitely leaves you ready for the next.

This is a fast-paced exciting fantasy story with lots of twists and turns (many unexpected), hugely imaginative, great world-building, super characters and character arcs, and I thought it was great.
Highlights for me include:
1. Edible Magic – I haven’t come across edible magic before, and I love that tamed magic tastes disgusting and raw smell smells delicious. I love the contrast between the powerful raw magic and its terrible consequences versus the tamed blend, which gives this story a superb plot line.
2. Jude – Jude is a super protagonist. Determined to prove her worth in a family of thieves lands her in a lot of trouble. Of course Jude has been brought up to value the family business and to live up to the Ripon name, which makes a lot of her commentary hilarious when she meets good kids Fin and Eri. Jude hates her sister Moorley who everyone seems to think is perfect, and I love how their relationship changes through the story.
3. The Ripon family – Jude’s family is pretty terrible, but they have been badly affected by their activities. To give you an idea of how awful her relatives are, her grandfather is known as Grandleader – there is nothing paternal about him at all.
4. World-building – this high-concept plot is brilliantly portrayed, with the use of tamed magic (legally and illegally acquired) and the threat from the monsters preying upon the people.
5. Pace – excellently paced story with the right balance of action, humour, tension, character development and twists and turns right to the end.
If you like fantasy, I highly recommend this superb story, and I really hope for more adventures in this world. There are some darker themes (Jude is neglected by her parents, there are also addiction problems, one of the side effects of raw magic), but I think they are handled very well and suitably for the age group.

I knew I had to read it when I spotted the edible magic and thought this was very original. I was right as it's a very entertaining, well plotted, and fast paced story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This was a big success with the children. They enjoyed the story because it was just a bit different from anything we have read before. The idea of edible magic was original and inspired. A recommended read.