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The Art Thieves
Angel Wilson (LawAngel@IBLO.gov)
Stevie Henry (shenry@gmail.com)
Thanks for coming to see me; but by the time you read this, it will be too late. No one will have started to panic, yet; but in less than two months nothing will be the same. What came first, The Chicken or the Egg Flu? I wish it mattered. But let’s just say, maybe go back to wearing a mask, bathing in sanitizer, and avoid birds and eggs for a bit…
I did not kill my brother. I did quite the opposite, really.
It’s the year 2052. Stevie Henry is a Cherokee girl working at a museum in Texas, trying to save up enough money to go to college. The world around her is in a cycle of drought and superstorms, ice and fire … but people get by. But it’s about to get a whole lot worse.
When a mysterious boy shows up at Stevie’s museum saying that he’s from the future -- and telling her what is to come -- she refuses to believe him. But soon she will have no choice.
From the author of the Walter Award-winning Man Made Monsters comes a YA novel that conjures our futures in startling life – the ones that we are headed towards, and the ones we can still work towards.
Stevie Henry (shenry@gmail.com)
Thanks for coming to see me; but by the time you read this, it will be too late. No one will have started to panic, yet; but in less than two months nothing will be the same. What came first, The Chicken or the Egg Flu? I wish it mattered. But let’s just say, maybe go back to wearing a mask, bathing in sanitizer, and avoid birds and eggs for a bit…
I did not kill my brother. I did quite the opposite, really.
It’s the year 2052. Stevie Henry is a Cherokee girl working at a museum in Texas, trying to save up enough money to go to college. The world around her is in a cycle of drought and superstorms, ice and fire … but people get by. But it’s about to get a whole lot worse.
When a mysterious boy shows up at Stevie’s museum saying that he’s from the future -- and telling her what is to come -- she refuses to believe him. But soon she will have no choice.
From the author of the Walter Award-winning Man Made Monsters comes a YA novel that conjures our futures in startling life – the ones that we are headed towards, and the ones we can still work towards.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 8, 2024
52 people are currently reading
3533 people want to read
About the author
Andrea L. Rogers
13 books164 followersAndrea L. Rogers is a writer from Tulsa, Oklahoma and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She graduated from the Institute of American Indian and Alaskan Arts with an MFA in Creative Writing. Currently, she is splitting time between Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she is a Ph.d. student at the University Arkansas and Fort Worth, Texas, where her family lives. Her book Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story was named an NPR Best Book of 202) by both NPR and American Indians in Children’s Literature.
Ms. Rogers is on the Board of the Fort Worth Public Library.
A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she is currently revising a middle grade mystery, writing an adult literary horror novel, and working on a series of picture book manuscripts.
All text and images © Andrea L. Rogers 2018 – 2021, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
Ms. Rogers is on the Board of the Fort Worth Public Library.
A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she is currently revising a middle grade mystery, writing an adult literary horror novel, and working on a series of picture book manuscripts.
All text and images © Andrea L. Rogers 2018 – 2021, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
November 10, 2024
A YA dystopian scifi perfect for fans of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower.
😷
It’s the year 2052 and although climate change has affected everyone with sandstorms, droughts, ice and fire, Stevie is managing to get by. This Cherokee teen lives in Texas with her parents and sickly little brother who’s allergic to most everything. When a guy shows up one day and tells her he’s from the future, she can’t believe him. It’s hard to ignore the truth when he’s able to predict things that happen so when he warns Stevie about a pandemic that’s coming, all she wants to do is protect the ones she loves.
🦠
This was fantastic! I truly enjoyed pacing and characters set amidst the backdrop of a society crumbling due to climate change and now a pandemic. I want this #book to get all the attention because bookstagram is sleeping on it! @andrealrogers
CW: death, grief, terminal illness, cancer, pandemic, climate change, ped*phila, car accident sexual assault, sexual harassment
4.5 ⭐️
😷
It’s the year 2052 and although climate change has affected everyone with sandstorms, droughts, ice and fire, Stevie is managing to get by. This Cherokee teen lives in Texas with her parents and sickly little brother who’s allergic to most everything. When a guy shows up one day and tells her he’s from the future, she can’t believe him. It’s hard to ignore the truth when he’s able to predict things that happen so when he warns Stevie about a pandemic that’s coming, all she wants to do is protect the ones she loves.
🦠
This was fantastic! I truly enjoyed pacing and characters set amidst the backdrop of a society crumbling due to climate change and now a pandemic. I want this #book to get all the attention because bookstagram is sleeping on it! @andrealrogers
CW: death, grief, terminal illness, cancer, pandemic, climate change, ped*phila, car accident sexual assault, sexual harassment
4.5 ⭐️
February 17, 2025
At the time of writing this review, I have read forty-four books this year. This book, The Art Thieves, was my forty-first book of 2025, and I am not kidding when I say it is the worst book I've read all year, and the year is still young. But before I rip into why this book is so bad, I think it's important to mention the positives. The design of this book is absolutely gorgeous: the cover, the layout, and even the smell of it are exquisite. Whoever designed this book put a lot of effort into it, and that's very admirable. The author is very clearly proud of being Cherokee and passionate about Native issues, so the rep is great. But unfortunately, as I've said before, good rep absolutely does not make up for bad execution or bad writing.
The proofreading and editing in this book were absolutely terrible. There were far too many commas that did not need to be there; on pages 175 and 345 there was a paragraph break that implied that another character was speaking when in reality it was the same character talking, which was very confusing. On page 139, Stevie flushes, but in the very next paragraph, it's mentioned that she blushed. On page 210, Stevie hands Adam the binoculars, but on page 211, she hands him the binoculars again. These are small things that a lot of readers won't notice, but as an editor and proofreader, they stick out like sore thumbs.
There are so many moments of bad writing. Characters will "frown" or "pause" or "shrug" their dialogue, which no human being can do. On page 223, a character has "short, shorn" hair. Just pick one adjective because they essentially mean the same thing. On page 344, a man is described as being "old and white-haired". Again, pick one adjective because if you mention that a character has white hair, we can infer that he's old. Speaking of adjectives, I wish I'd been keeping track of how many times the words "large" and "small" were used; it was very distracting, especially when they absolutely weren't needed the vast majority of the time. Adjectives often aren't needed; pick up any book by Cynthia Voigt or Arturo Pérez-Reverte and see how sparingly they use them.
Speaking of other authors, so often I was reminded of other, better authors. Cynthia Voigt, for example, writes about family so much better. Nina LaCour writes about hard-hitting emotions and romance so much better. At about the last third of the book, when the apocalypse starts happening, all I could think about was Louise Erdrich's book, Future Home of the Living God (which is also about an apocalypse), and wish I were reading that book, or really anything by Louise Erdrich. It also didn't help that her book The Sentence got a shout-out in this book and all I could think was, "Wow, I wish I were reading that book instead of this one." It is never a good thing when a book pays homage to an author but you as a reader wish you were reading that other book instead of the one you're currently reading.
The pacing in this book is insanely off. For the first 175 pages, we have slice-of-life bullshit mixed in with messages (and not a little lecturing) about hot-button issues, and then the bomb about Adam being from the future is dropped in the most nonchalant way possible. Eighty or so pages later, we get another nonchalant reveal that Stevie's mom knew about this the whole time, and suddenly bam! We're in the apocalypse. I understand that the slice-of-life stuff and the slower pacing is meant to introduce us to Stevie's family and friends and thus make us feel a sense of community, but it doesn't work because every single one of these characters are incredibly flat. Levi especially takes the cake. He is the most generic adorable little six-year-old cancer patient ever. He is only here to make the readers say, "Awwww! He's so cute! I hope his cancer can be cured! Stevie's such a good sister!" He never cries or has tantrums or is anything other than cherubic, and if you've ever spent any time around six-year-olds or have younger siblings or have memories of your siblings when they were six, you know that even the most well-behaved six-year-old on the planet is not like that all the time. Levi is genuinely up there with Boy and Girl from Bird Box in terms of unrealistic children in fiction. If you want an example of a realistic fictional six-year-old, read Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming and pay attention to the character of Sammy Tillerman.
This book pretends to be a Romeo and Juliet love story, but there is absolutely zero fucking chemistry between Adam and Stevie. This book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a romance, an apocalypse/sci-fi story, a slice-of-life family story, or a book about timely issues. In spite of the title being The Art Thieves, there was not much art thievery in this book, and what little there was was insanely boring and had no stakes whatsoever.
There was a lot of laughter at things that weren't funny. It honestly got to the point where the narration would say "I laughed" and it felt like the author was just killing time, much like how other authors will fill time by having their characters swallow. This author also has a weird aversion to swearing. Characters will say "WTF" instead of "what the fuck" and it just made me snort, because can you imagine anyone saying the letters "WTF" out loud, completely non-ironically? It was so very silly.
I can appreciate what this book was trying to do, but at the end of the day, this is a terribly-written, poorly thought out mess of a book.
The proofreading and editing in this book were absolutely terrible. There were far too many commas that did not need to be there; on pages 175 and 345 there was a paragraph break that implied that another character was speaking when in reality it was the same character talking, which was very confusing. On page 139, Stevie flushes, but in the very next paragraph, it's mentioned that she blushed. On page 210, Stevie hands Adam the binoculars, but on page 211, she hands him the binoculars again. These are small things that a lot of readers won't notice, but as an editor and proofreader, they stick out like sore thumbs.
There are so many moments of bad writing. Characters will "frown" or "pause" or "shrug" their dialogue, which no human being can do. On page 223, a character has "short, shorn" hair. Just pick one adjective because they essentially mean the same thing. On page 344, a man is described as being "old and white-haired". Again, pick one adjective because if you mention that a character has white hair, we can infer that he's old. Speaking of adjectives, I wish I'd been keeping track of how many times the words "large" and "small" were used; it was very distracting, especially when they absolutely weren't needed the vast majority of the time. Adjectives often aren't needed; pick up any book by Cynthia Voigt or Arturo Pérez-Reverte and see how sparingly they use them.
Speaking of other authors, so often I was reminded of other, better authors. Cynthia Voigt, for example, writes about family so much better. Nina LaCour writes about hard-hitting emotions and romance so much better. At about the last third of the book, when the apocalypse starts happening, all I could think about was Louise Erdrich's book, Future Home of the Living God (which is also about an apocalypse), and wish I were reading that book, or really anything by Louise Erdrich. It also didn't help that her book The Sentence got a shout-out in this book and all I could think was, "Wow, I wish I were reading that book instead of this one." It is never a good thing when a book pays homage to an author but you as a reader wish you were reading that other book instead of the one you're currently reading.
The pacing in this book is insanely off. For the first 175 pages, we have slice-of-life bullshit mixed in with messages (and not a little lecturing) about hot-button issues, and then the bomb about Adam being from the future is dropped in the most nonchalant way possible. Eighty or so pages later, we get another nonchalant reveal that Stevie's mom knew about this the whole time, and suddenly bam! We're in the apocalypse. I understand that the slice-of-life stuff and the slower pacing is meant to introduce us to Stevie's family and friends and thus make us feel a sense of community, but it doesn't work because every single one of these characters are incredibly flat. Levi especially takes the cake. He is the most generic adorable little six-year-old cancer patient ever. He is only here to make the readers say, "Awwww! He's so cute! I hope his cancer can be cured! Stevie's such a good sister!" He never cries or has tantrums or is anything other than cherubic, and if you've ever spent any time around six-year-olds or have younger siblings or have memories of your siblings when they were six, you know that even the most well-behaved six-year-old on the planet is not like that all the time. Levi is genuinely up there with Boy and Girl from Bird Box in terms of unrealistic children in fiction. If you want an example of a realistic fictional six-year-old, read Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming and pay attention to the character of Sammy Tillerman.
This book pretends to be a Romeo and Juliet love story, but there is absolutely zero fucking chemistry between Adam and Stevie. This book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a romance, an apocalypse/sci-fi story, a slice-of-life family story, or a book about timely issues. In spite of the title being The Art Thieves, there was not much art thievery in this book, and what little there was was insanely boring and had no stakes whatsoever.
There was a lot of laughter at things that weren't funny. It honestly got to the point where the narration would say "I laughed" and it felt like the author was just killing time, much like how other authors will fill time by having their characters swallow. This author also has a weird aversion to swearing. Characters will say "WTF" instead of "what the fuck" and it just made me snort, because can you imagine anyone saying the letters "WTF" out loud, completely non-ironically? It was so very silly.
I can appreciate what this book was trying to do, but at the end of the day, this is a terribly-written, poorly thought out mess of a book.
March 25, 2025
3.75⭐️
This book was decent. It just talked about some stuff I don't agree with, and it was boring most of the time.
This book gave me major 'shatter me' vibes and 'fourth dimension' vibes.
It is a time travel book, and it kind of freaked me out. Lol. Cause a guy comes and tells the main character Stevie that there is going to be a bird flu pandemic. And that is happening in real life right now...it just hasn't spread to people. So hopefully it didn't predict the future...
That's all. Thanks for reading💗
This book was decent. It just talked about some stuff I don't agree with, and it was boring most of the time.
This book gave me major 'shatter me' vibes and 'fourth dimension' vibes.
It is a time travel book, and it kind of freaked me out. Lol. Cause a guy comes and tells the main character Stevie that there is going to be a bird flu pandemic. And that is happening in real life right now...it just hasn't spread to people. So hopefully it didn't predict the future...
That's all. Thanks for reading💗
December 19, 2024
I was in a reading slump until I found this hidden gem. I had a long streak of 2 and 3 star reads. The Art Thieves deserves a solid 4 stars. The main character was likable, which is a major factor for me. The author executed the book well and was very consistent. The story was engaging and pieced together well. I tend to struggle with first-person point of view, and I did minimally here, but the pacing and writing style helped me to enjoy it. I'll be recommending this book often.
Read
September 19, 2024an engaging work of cherokee futurism! felt like 'parable of the sower' in its looseness, focus on mundanity in the midst of apocolypse, and tenderness. way to go!!
September 7, 2024
eARC Review
~ Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5
~ Tropes: Time Travel, Dystopian Future, Family Ties, Indigenous History/Culture, Second Chance
~ Spice: 0 (it's YA)
Let me preface this entire review by saying I loved learning about the Indigenous peoples and culture through this story. I think that it was the best part of the book, and it taught me so many things that I didn’t know, and has really piqued my interest in expanding my knowledge of the subject.
While I think that The Art Thieves had many important messages regarding racism, environmentalism, prejudice and social constructs, the story fell flat for me. I agreed with all of the moral topics that were broached in the book, but everything about the plot seemed very lacklustre.
The pacing was very odd. The beginning of the book seemed extremely slow, and seemed meaningless compared to the second half of the book, when things really begin to kick off. But then once we hit the peak in the book, things speed up to an unnecessary pace, leaving the plot to be unbelievable and bare. I felt like so many things were brushed over which needed much more of a build up, or explanation for the reader, to be as impactful as the author hoped they would be. For example, the huge reveal in the middle, was just put out there suddenly; out of the blue, and stated in a way that came across as “well it’s like this because I said so”, and not in a crescendo of tension, questions and emotions that would have made sense.
To begin with, we are introduced to a myriad of characters that sometimes have important roles in the story and sometimes don’t. While I understand that this was most likely done to portray a feeling of community surrounding Stevie, it definitely took away precious page time from important characters like her Dad, Adam and Loren, who I thought had the potential (and were meant) to be really impactful characters in the story, but turned out to lack depth in the long run. Many of the characters we meet in the beginning of the book are never mentioned again. I would have much preferred more in depth character building for the more prominent characters in the whole book.
The writing just seemed a bit choppy to me, like I was missing pages of clarification or explanation to help world build and expand on the characters. Some characters even had really metaphorical dialogue that seemed important at the moment, but then never amounted to anything other than a fancy bit of writing in the middle of an otherwise very simple novel. Jess seemed to be the main culprit of this, saying foreboding and auspicious phrases about half way through the book, only to hardly have any more dialogue and mention after that.
All in all, I think that this book has a huge amount of potential. There are so many important topics touched upon in this book that I can’t truly write it off as unenjoyable. It just felt like I was reading a first draft instead of a 99% finished book.
~ Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
~ Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5
~ Tropes: Time Travel, Dystopian Future, Family Ties, Indigenous History/Culture, Second Chance
~ Spice: 0 (it's YA)
Let me preface this entire review by saying I loved learning about the Indigenous peoples and culture through this story. I think that it was the best part of the book, and it taught me so many things that I didn’t know, and has really piqued my interest in expanding my knowledge of the subject.
While I think that The Art Thieves had many important messages regarding racism, environmentalism, prejudice and social constructs, the story fell flat for me. I agreed with all of the moral topics that were broached in the book, but everything about the plot seemed very lacklustre.
The pacing was very odd. The beginning of the book seemed extremely slow, and seemed meaningless compared to the second half of the book, when things really begin to kick off. But then once we hit the peak in the book, things speed up to an unnecessary pace, leaving the plot to be unbelievable and bare. I felt like so many things were brushed over which needed much more of a build up, or explanation for the reader, to be as impactful as the author hoped they would be. For example, the huge reveal in the middle, was just put out there suddenly; out of the blue, and stated in a way that came across as “well it’s like this because I said so”, and not in a crescendo of tension, questions and emotions that would have made sense.
To begin with, we are introduced to a myriad of characters that sometimes have important roles in the story and sometimes don’t. While I understand that this was most likely done to portray a feeling of community surrounding Stevie, it definitely took away precious page time from important characters like her Dad, Adam and Loren, who I thought had the potential (and were meant) to be really impactful characters in the story, but turned out to lack depth in the long run. Many of the characters we meet in the beginning of the book are never mentioned again. I would have much preferred more in depth character building for the more prominent characters in the whole book.
The writing just seemed a bit choppy to me, like I was missing pages of clarification or explanation to help world build and expand on the characters. Some characters even had really metaphorical dialogue that seemed important at the moment, but then never amounted to anything other than a fancy bit of writing in the middle of an otherwise very simple novel. Jess seemed to be the main culprit of this, saying foreboding and auspicious phrases about half way through the book, only to hardly have any more dialogue and mention after that.
All in all, I think that this book has a huge amount of potential. There are so many important topics touched upon in this book that I can’t truly write it off as unenjoyable. It just felt like I was reading a first draft instead of a 99% finished book.
~ Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
November 11, 2024
It's 2052, and Stevie Henry, a young Cherokee woman working at a museum in Texas, is saving every dollar for college. The world around her is caught in cycles of drought and superstorms, ice and fire...but people find ways to survive. Until now.
When a mysterious boy arrives at Stevie's museum, claiming he’s from the future and warning her of what’s coming, she dismisses him as a fraud. But soon, events will force her to confront a truth she can no longer ignore.
This was a fresh perspective of a climate/apocalyptic novel written by an Indigenous author. The book raises compelling questions about which art deserves to be saved and what part museums might play in cultural survival or restoration after disaster, even as it challenges museums' roles in today’s colonial systems. The book introduces these ideas in a way that’s both accessible and impactful for young readers. I quickly felt connected to the characters, especially the friendship between Jess, Loren & Stevie. The sense of community provided a comforting anchor amid a rapidly collapsing world. I loved the slow burn romance with the boy from another time era. I read this in one sitting and look forward to reading more by this author.
When a mysterious boy arrives at Stevie's museum, claiming he’s from the future and warning her of what’s coming, she dismisses him as a fraud. But soon, events will force her to confront a truth she can no longer ignore.
This was a fresh perspective of a climate/apocalyptic novel written by an Indigenous author. The book raises compelling questions about which art deserves to be saved and what part museums might play in cultural survival or restoration after disaster, even as it challenges museums' roles in today’s colonial systems. The book introduces these ideas in a way that’s both accessible and impactful for young readers. I quickly felt connected to the characters, especially the friendship between Jess, Loren & Stevie. The sense of community provided a comforting anchor amid a rapidly collapsing world. I loved the slow burn romance with the boy from another time era. I read this in one sitting and look forward to reading more by this author.
Read
July 7, 2025DNF @ page 75
Rep: Cherokee, Indigenous, Costa Rican
TW:
Swearing and Sex: Not in the first 75 pages
To quote Chris Crutcher, this book is CBAIT: a Crappy Book about Important Things. The author brings her rep and her passion for art into her writing, but honestly, it's like someone read Octavia Butler and thought, "I wanna do that too," and an editor didn't tell them to redraft once. It's marketed as YA, but it's at best New Adult. The characters, even the baby brother, read like adults put into younger bodies. The writing is lecturing, not showing. The pacing is both wrong and slow. It starts with an ominous letter and then meanders through a bildungsroman of the apocalypse.
If you are on the same journey as this author: an Indigenous photographer/artist who loves Octavia Butler, you may enjoy. Otherwise, skip it.
Rep: Cherokee, Indigenous, Costa Rican
TW:
Swearing and Sex: Not in the first 75 pages
To quote Chris Crutcher, this book is CBAIT: a Crappy Book about Important Things. The author brings her rep and her passion for art into her writing, but honestly, it's like someone read Octavia Butler and thought, "I wanna do that too," and an editor didn't tell them to redraft once. It's marketed as YA, but it's at best New Adult. The characters, even the baby brother, read like adults put into younger bodies. The writing is lecturing, not showing. The pacing is both wrong and slow. It starts with an ominous letter and then meanders through a bildungsroman of the apocalypse.
If you are on the same journey as this author: an Indigenous photographer/artist who loves Octavia Butler, you may enjoy. Otherwise, skip it.
May 9, 2025
Beautifully written story about the end of the world. This book was so much more than I expected. The value of art and culture in the future was so hopeful. The characters were so well written and perfect for this time in the world. The sweet love story was angsty and perfect. The amount of wonderful books mentioned and the love of reading was so refreshing. I feel like this book is slept on and I would highly recommend everyone read it. What would be a depressing bleak dystopian world has little pockets of hope and love.
December 7, 2024
The centering of Native voices is so important in this work of Cherokee futurism. The choices made by the indigenous people in the book make sense and it’s heartening to hear about the seven generations concept. The characters are flat and most of their dialogue is repetitive. There are several inconsistencies throughout the book and the ending is expected and cheesy. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more art thievery.
July 18, 2025
Made it 67% way through. i just could not anymore. It is obvious a lot of time and effort went into this book witht he history and language, and i did really lve the connection to art through the parts of the book. This was also the first Native book that i have read, along with it being Pre-apocolypse, that i thought i would ove it and be very exciting. But truthfully i was very board, even listening to the audobook (on 2.25x speed) . Im not a fan of the writing style, having our MC basically info dump onto other characters to give us background, along with her talking much to long to the point it got cring.
I did not love how they repetivly brought up points that have already been stated. Along with making there lives exclusively resolve around injustices around them, i did not see any personal characteristics in the FMC which was a shame cuz i thought her family situtation and friendships could have made a really interesting character. All the trust that when to the MMC was giving apocalipse twilight, "your a......vampire" type vibes, when again his plot could have been really interesting in preserving art and keeping native artifacts in tact. Along with how our FMC was immediately included into this story with little explanation nor questioning.
I did not finnish it all the way which to do sort of feel bad for but, at this point im protecting my peace.
I did not love how they repetivly brought up points that have already been stated. Along with making there lives exclusively resolve around injustices around them, i did not see any personal characteristics in the FMC which was a shame cuz i thought her family situtation and friendships could have made a really interesting character. All the trust that when to the MMC was giving apocalipse twilight, "your a......vampire" type vibes, when again his plot could have been really interesting in preserving art and keeping native artifacts in tact. Along with how our FMC was immediately included into this story with little explanation nor questioning.
I did not finnish it all the way which to do sort of feel bad for but, at this point im protecting my peace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2024
The author of the excellent Manmade Monsters created this engaging story of Cherokee futurism. It’s 2052 and teen Stevie is working at the Texas Cherokee Art Museum when she meets visiting artist Adam. She’s attracted to Adam, but suspicious when some of his backstory appears to be fabricated. Stevie is right - Adam is not really from Costa Rica. He’s from the future, come as part of a large group of time travelers returning to the past to secure original works of art against a coming climate change apocalypse. Take time to savor the excellent writing that fuels the propulsive storytelling. EARC from Edelweiss.
August 25, 2024
This is a Native American YA story about a young photographer who works for an art museum in Texas while she is waiting to start college. It involves fantasy and time travel as well as the gratuitous child dying of a terminal illness, but otherwise is a unique and creative story.
August 17, 2025
DNF @ 33%. This is a great idea, but not well executed. The story was so incredibly slow I had to force myself to keep reading. A good editor could make this book a lot better.
August 11, 2025
This book was intriguing then weird then uninteresting.
December 19, 2024
Sometimes we feel books are written for us or come to us when we need them the most. The Art Thieves by Andrea L. Rogers is that book for me.
January 10, 2026
I am going to admit that I couldn’t finish the book. Nothing has happened in the 100 pages I have read. And I know I should’ve just pushed through the book, but I was getting frustrated. 1/5
Read
February 5, 2025A lot of enjoyable elements and interesting ideas, but Rogers' prose and writing style is not for me.
April 16, 2025
This book was phenomenal. Completely grounded, it follows through on the premise of being an apocalyptic time travel love story without losing itself in the weeds of any of those genres. It shines in the moments of pure humanity, of which there are too many to count.
This book covers growing up in a dying world, and how to find purpose through community and family. The setting is perfect for the story told, crafted exactly to exemplify the message of the book, and I couldn't appreciate it more. It's not an epic or a fantasy, it's a story of survival and growth.
This book covers growing up in a dying world, and how to find purpose through community and family. The setting is perfect for the story told, crafted exactly to exemplify the message of the book, and I couldn't appreciate it more. It's not an epic or a fantasy, it's a story of survival and growth.
October 3, 2024
Thank you to Levine Querido for the gifted copy.
This book was great! It was 5⭐️ for me. If you are into speculative fiction & futurism then you are going to want to add this to your TBR ASAP. Inspired by Octavia Butler’s Afro-futurism, Rogers builds a near-future world that can be described as Cherokee futurism.
It is set in the near future where weather disasters and extremes are now the norm. But they live a pretty normal life considering the times. Her mother is intent on making sure the family is prepared in case of emergencies. She has a little brother, Levi, who is Black Cherokee, whom she loves very much and protects since he has bad food allergies.
But Steve’s life takes a turn one day when a mysterious young man appears at her museum job, an “indigenous” artist from Costa Rica. But is he an artist as he says he is or is he an art thief?
The book is divided into chapters named after song titles and the book is divided in half like a vinyl record of side an and side b. I love that the chapters are short, it keeps it mid-paced for reading. The playlist and the reading list alone will have you busy after you finish reading this book the first time.
I am now an official super fan of Andrea L. Rogers’ writing! Man Made Monsters was such a good book and it even had some futuristic chapters in it. Now she has hooked me with The Art Thieves. I love her writing style and how she unveils plot. One thing that you can bet on doing is returning to whatever front matter she has provided once you get into the meat of the book. There are always clues and connections hiding in plain site that once you connect them with the plot will make you go 🤯.
If you love to annotate books, you will enjoy engaging in a few quests. Let me set you up. Analyze the following in the book:
- Significance of stars and the sky
- Importance of art and humanity
- Music and vinyl records
- Book references
This book was great! It was 5⭐️ for me. If you are into speculative fiction & futurism then you are going to want to add this to your TBR ASAP. Inspired by Octavia Butler’s Afro-futurism, Rogers builds a near-future world that can be described as Cherokee futurism.
It is set in the near future where weather disasters and extremes are now the norm. But they live a pretty normal life considering the times. Her mother is intent on making sure the family is prepared in case of emergencies. She has a little brother, Levi, who is Black Cherokee, whom she loves very much and protects since he has bad food allergies.
But Steve’s life takes a turn one day when a mysterious young man appears at her museum job, an “indigenous” artist from Costa Rica. But is he an artist as he says he is or is he an art thief?
The book is divided into chapters named after song titles and the book is divided in half like a vinyl record of side an and side b. I love that the chapters are short, it keeps it mid-paced for reading. The playlist and the reading list alone will have you busy after you finish reading this book the first time.
I am now an official super fan of Andrea L. Rogers’ writing! Man Made Monsters was such a good book and it even had some futuristic chapters in it. Now she has hooked me with The Art Thieves. I love her writing style and how she unveils plot. One thing that you can bet on doing is returning to whatever front matter she has provided once you get into the meat of the book. There are always clues and connections hiding in plain site that once you connect them with the plot will make you go 🤯.
If you love to annotate books, you will enjoy engaging in a few quests. Let me set you up. Analyze the following in the book:
- Significance of stars and the sky
- Importance of art and humanity
- Music and vinyl records
- Book references
August 13, 2025
This book had a lot of cool ideas, but it's the pacing and the prose that gets me.
It took me awhile to sink into the narrative. It's about time traveling art thieves, except it takes half of the book for either of these to come into play. And also, there's not as much art thievery as the title would lead you to believe!
I'd describe it as a slice of life that gets hammered by the apocalypse right after a time traveler reveals it's coming. So kind of Afrofuturistic. Leading toward Afrofuturism. If there was a second book, the second book would be Afrofuturist. lol
I liked the set dressing of this romance, but the actual, tangible pieces of it just didn't quite come together for me. There are a few moments I enjoyed (in the RAIN!!!) but then it doesn't come back for me until that part at the end. I would like to say that ending sold me up until the last couple pages. I liked what we were leading toward... up until the very end. Then it dropped off a cliff?? Like just gone? I was like?? that's it?? what??
Also, every time she said she was in love, I didn't believe her. I just couldn't feel it!! I think this was a failing on the part of the prose. It felt a little too stripped.
There were parts I really liked - that section in the middle of the book were all the terrible things kept happening to Stevie, and Adam was inexplicably crying, I was like whoa. I felt that. And the parts at the end with Paka. I love a found family.
But there's a lot I wanted to feel that I didn't. I was sort of confused about everything with Levi - it felt like we were just being told a bunch of stuff. Same with Stevie's friends.
There was a lot going on in this book, but not a ton of emotional oomph behind things.
It was super intriguing, and I liked the message - though parts of it got a bit preachy (and I agreed with the message! I just think it could've been handled more artfully???) - and ultimately, I don't think it'll stay with me.
Another reviewer said it's a book trying to be a book about big things (which made me giggle), but I also think there's some truth to it. It tried, but it didn't leave me with much to reckon with.
It took me awhile to sink into the narrative. It's about time traveling art thieves, except it takes half of the book for either of these to come into play. And also, there's not as much art thievery as the title would lead you to believe!
I'd describe it as a slice of life that gets hammered by the apocalypse right after a time traveler reveals it's coming. So kind of Afrofuturistic. Leading toward Afrofuturism. If there was a second book, the second book would be Afrofuturist. lol
I liked the set dressing of this romance, but the actual, tangible pieces of it just didn't quite come together for me. There are a few moments I enjoyed (in the RAIN!!!) but then it doesn't come back for me until that part at the end. I would like to say that ending sold me up until the last couple pages. I liked what we were leading toward... up until the very end. Then it dropped off a cliff?? Like just gone? I was like?? that's it?? what??
Also, every time she said she was in love, I didn't believe her. I just couldn't feel it!! I think this was a failing on the part of the prose. It felt a little too stripped.
There were parts I really liked - that section in the middle of the book were all the terrible things kept happening to Stevie, and Adam was inexplicably crying, I was like whoa. I felt that. And the parts at the end with Paka. I love a found family.
But there's a lot I wanted to feel that I didn't. I was sort of confused about everything with Levi - it felt like we were just being told a bunch of stuff. Same with Stevie's friends.
There was a lot going on in this book, but not a ton of emotional oomph behind things.
It was super intriguing, and I liked the message - though parts of it got a bit preachy (and I agreed with the message! I just think it could've been handled more artfully???) - and ultimately, I don't think it'll stay with me.
Another reviewer said it's a book trying to be a book about big things (which made me giggle), but I also think there's some truth to it. It tried, but it didn't leave me with much to reckon with.
July 11, 2024
I was lucky enough to have received an ARC copy from my local indie bookstore. I don’t have the appropriate words to describe the beauty of this book. Beginning in the year 2052, Rogers weaves a tapestry outlined with droughts, fires, and destructive natural disasters. This paints a bleak picture, but the core of the story is love. Love is the thread that connects every character to each other and to the world. Love is displayed in a multitude of forms. Love for siblings, love for family, love for neighbors, love for community, love for friends, love for art, love for the Earth, love for humanity, love for all living creatures, love which enables you to heal and forgive, self-love, and of course, there is a timeless romantic love that will satisfy the readers of the genre. So much of science fiction is focused on constant colonization. Rogers adapts the genre to a Cherokee perspective, and begs the question, “What are we leaving for the people who choose to or are forced to stay behind?” Intergenerational equity is a theme that is brought up, and toyed with in a unique manner with the use of a time travel plot. There are so many fantastic book recommendations infused into the pages, many of which are on my list to read. This convinced me to move them up the list and read them sooner. Every chapter is labeled with a song title, and all of the songs completed form a hypothetical vinyl record. The music recommendations fit the chapters wonderfully and make for a wholly immersive experience. Listening to the last song after you finish the book will cause your tears to finally spill over. You will even learn some Cherokee words and culture, along with Chickasaw and Choctaw. I won’t forget this beautiful book any time soon.
July 22, 2024
I receive an ARC of this book!! The official release date is Oct. 8th!
THAT’S IT?? Ah man, I don’t even know where to start. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when getting into this book. I thought I had a general idea, but I was way off and I think that honestly worked out for the better. When the mid-book-twist was revealed, I was like HUH? I’m so glad I kept reading because I enjoyed the development of the plot so much! The character’s dynamic did fall a BIT flat for me but in the end, I was interested in reading how it would all end for the FMC. There were also a few characters that were introduced but were quickly forgotten? However, I did like the sense of community that they added to the FMC’s story. The ending was so cute but also left me with so many questions?? The author does hint that this isn’t the end, so we will see!
If the brief synopsis sounded interesting and you were considering picking up this book, I’d say DO IT! I WILL be picking up a copy of the official book when it comes out Oct. 8th!
THAT’S IT?? Ah man, I don’t even know where to start. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when getting into this book. I thought I had a general idea, but I was way off and I think that honestly worked out for the better. When the mid-book-twist was revealed, I was like HUH? I’m so glad I kept reading because I enjoyed the development of the plot so much! The character’s dynamic did fall a BIT flat for me but in the end, I was interested in reading how it would all end for the FMC. There were also a few characters that were introduced but were quickly forgotten? However, I did like the sense of community that they added to the FMC’s story. The ending was so cute but also left me with so many questions?? The author does hint that this isn’t the end, so we will see!
If the brief synopsis sounded interesting and you were considering picking up this book, I’d say DO IT! I WILL be picking up a copy of the official book when it comes out Oct. 8th!
February 17, 2025
2.5 stars.
That was....not great, unfortunately. To be a book about art thieves, there sure isn't a lot of thievery happening.
The pacing and plot are all out whack with this one. The first half was quite slow, but not in a bad way..Then somewhere around the halfway mark, everything seems to happen all at once. And I still don't really understand why. The pandemic was never really explained. I feel like her brother's situation was only written in as a way to get him out of the story easily. Stevie's friends seem like they're going to be important in the beginning and then just.... disappear. The bad guys seemed to be stopped way too easily. The cameras watching their every movement were never important. Oh and the random modeling incident? Never came up again. I guess trans rights and allergy awareness were thrown in for good measure as well.
The *writing* wasn't bad, but everything else left a lot to be desired. It felt like they accidentally published the first draft.
That was....not great, unfortunately. To be a book about art thieves, there sure isn't a lot of thievery happening.
The pacing and plot are all out whack with this one. The first half was quite slow, but not in a bad way..Then somewhere around the halfway mark, everything seems to happen all at once. And I still don't really understand why. The pandemic was never really explained. I feel like her brother's situation was only written in as a way to get him out of the story easily. Stevie's friends seem like they're going to be important in the beginning and then just.... disappear. The bad guys seemed to be stopped way too easily. The cameras watching their every movement were never important. Oh and the random modeling incident? Never came up again. I guess trans rights and allergy awareness were thrown in for good measure as well.
The *writing* wasn't bad, but everything else left a lot to be desired. It felt like they accidentally published the first draft.
March 14, 2025
Brief synopsis: This book was very interesting. Set in the year 2052, Stevie is working in a museum and trying to prepare for her future. A mysterious boy shows up and sparks her interest. But when facts aren't adding up and strange events start happening, Stevie begins to wonder how all things are connected.
What I liked: Indigenous dystopian novels might be my favorite genre and this book was on par with others I have read. And, as in other books, I love when Indigenous language is incorporated into the text. The author does a good job of weaving in Cherokee. This book read like a young adult novel and had a great balance of culture, love interest, and family dynamics! I was very shocked about half way through- though I won't spoil it for others!
Rating: 4/5
What I liked: Indigenous dystopian novels might be my favorite genre and this book was on par with others I have read. And, as in other books, I love when Indigenous language is incorporated into the text. The author does a good job of weaving in Cherokee. This book read like a young adult novel and had a great balance of culture, love interest, and family dynamics! I was very shocked about half way through- though I won't spoil it for others!
Rating: 4/5
November 19, 2024
This book was all over the place for me. Felt slow and repetitive in the beginning then suddenly it's apocalypse and no explanation or reasons why people are leaving, on edge. And it felt kind of preachy and trying so hard to tackle so many issues- climate change, trans rights, allergy awareness, environmentalism, colonialism.
September 1, 2024
This book blew me away. It is hard to explain the book or summarize it without giving away anything, but I highly recommend it.
September 14, 2024
Read as an ARC from Netgalley
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting, loveable and well-rounded and the story was captivating, if a little disjointed. For the longest time, while I was reading it, I was convinced that I would rate this book 5 stars, because I felt truly immersed and emotionally invested in the characters and their journeys in a way I hadn't experienced in a long time. However, the ending felt far too abrupt and unsatisfying for me, which somewhat ruined my enjoyment of the book.
The world in which "The Art Thieves" takes place is very well fleshed out. There are little bits and pieces of world-building that are inconspicuously woven into the text, which really help the world feel real. Things like the fact that the face on the 20 USD is now Harriet Tubman, or that the heat caused by global warming has necessitated changes in how manual labour is scheduled add an extra sprinkle of colour to an already very colourful world.
What I struggled with a bit was the pacing of the story. While it is difficult to assign it to any one genre, it is probably best described as YA dystopian sci-fi with a dash of mystery. However, this only really becomes clear around page 100, before then there is very little indication of a sci-fi, dystopian or mystery story. It feels like the story really only starts after the first 100 pages. Personally, I did not mind this, as I found the writing so immersive that I had no issues staying motivated to keep reading on, but others may not have the same experience and get frustrated during this long stretch.
Another pacing issue concerns the second half of the book. Scenes and actions in the first half were described in enough detail, without overstaying its welcome, to be immersive, the second half felt a bit rushed. Stevie's trip to Philadelphia is one example where I felt like everything went a bit too fast, which broke the immersion quite a bit. I also felt like the incident with the space station and the satellites went by way too fast and almost seemed as if it had 0 repercussions. Adam predicted the event, Stevie saw it happen, it was on the news like once, and then it's pretty much never discussed again. It had such little impact on the plot that thought that it was hinting that Adam was not actually from the future and Stevie had somehow just imagined the incident. If that was indeed the intention, then I don't think it was conveyed very well, since I cannot recall any other events that would point towards such an interpretation.
The end was unfortunately the part of the book that I struggled with the most. Perhaps this is in part attributable to the fact that I had so fallen in love with the world from the book that I did not want to leave it. I suspect, however, that it was mainly due to the fact that I was much more emotionally invested in the relationships between Stevie and her family and her friends, than in the one between Stevie and Adam. Yet the way the book ends very clearly puts the emphasis on this latter relationship, which I did not find as interesting. I would have much preferred if it had ended with Stevie arriving at her house in the Cherokee nation, where she finally gets to reunite with her mother and other relatives after having been apart, unable to contact each other for so long.
Ultimately, I did still enjoy this book very much and am happy to have read it. I loved going along on Stevie's journey, I loved getting to know Levi and Jess and Loren and Paka and all the other wonderful people inhabiting this world. It takes special skill to build a dystopia so beautiful that the reader regrets having to leave it behind.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting, loveable and well-rounded and the story was captivating, if a little disjointed. For the longest time, while I was reading it, I was convinced that I would rate this book 5 stars, because I felt truly immersed and emotionally invested in the characters and their journeys in a way I hadn't experienced in a long time. However, the ending felt far too abrupt and unsatisfying for me, which somewhat ruined my enjoyment of the book.
The world in which "The Art Thieves" takes place is very well fleshed out. There are little bits and pieces of world-building that are inconspicuously woven into the text, which really help the world feel real. Things like the fact that the face on the 20 USD is now Harriet Tubman, or that the heat caused by global warming has necessitated changes in how manual labour is scheduled add an extra sprinkle of colour to an already very colourful world.
What I struggled with a bit was the pacing of the story. While it is difficult to assign it to any one genre, it is probably best described as YA dystopian sci-fi with a dash of mystery. However, this only really becomes clear around page 100, before then there is very little indication of a sci-fi, dystopian or mystery story. It feels like the story really only starts after the first 100 pages. Personally, I did not mind this, as I found the writing so immersive that I had no issues staying motivated to keep reading on, but others may not have the same experience and get frustrated during this long stretch.
Another pacing issue concerns the second half of the book. Scenes and actions in the first half were described in enough detail, without overstaying its welcome, to be immersive, the second half felt a bit rushed. Stevie's trip to Philadelphia is one example where I felt like everything went a bit too fast, which broke the immersion quite a bit. I also felt like the incident with the space station and the satellites went by way too fast and almost seemed as if it had 0 repercussions. Adam predicted the event, Stevie saw it happen, it was on the news like once, and then it's pretty much never discussed again. It had such little impact on the plot that thought that it was hinting that Adam was not actually from the future and Stevie had somehow just imagined the incident. If that was indeed the intention, then I don't think it was conveyed very well, since I cannot recall any other events that would point towards such an interpretation.
The end was unfortunately the part of the book that I struggled with the most. Perhaps this is in part attributable to the fact that I had so fallen in love with the world from the book that I did not want to leave it. I suspect, however, that it was mainly due to the fact that I was much more emotionally invested in the relationships between Stevie and her family and her friends, than in the one between Stevie and Adam. Yet the way the book ends very clearly puts the emphasis on this latter relationship, which I did not find as interesting. I would have much preferred if it had ended with Stevie arriving at her house in the Cherokee nation, where she finally gets to reunite with her mother and other relatives after having been apart, unable to contact each other for so long.
Ultimately, I did still enjoy this book very much and am happy to have read it. I loved going along on Stevie's journey, I loved getting to know Levi and Jess and Loren and Paka and all the other wonderful people inhabiting this world. It takes special skill to build a dystopia so beautiful that the reader regrets having to leave it behind.
September 21, 2024
BOOK: THE ART THIEVES
AUTHOR: ANDREA L. ROGERS
PUB DATE: 8TH OCTOBER 2024
🧍🏽♀️🖼
REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
This is the first time I'll be reading about a Native American from a Native American's POV and it was really nice and a wonderful learning experience. I learned a lot about the Cherokee culture. To be very honest, this was my favorite part of the book. That and the description of climate change and the way the earth deteriorated. It's something I could relate to considering the world we're living in now.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
I loved the beginning of the book, especially the emails Stevie sent to her aunt, it made me expect so much. Unfortunately, I felt it didn't deliver. I was expecting a description if the Apocalypse, but I only got one of the matters preceding it. That was what I expected the book to be all about.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
But, I did get an insight into Stevie's life, beloved sister, friend and daughter. I really liked Stevie, she was a good person. Most importantly, I admired what she did for her baby brother, Levi. I liked reading about her relationship with others, her parents, friends and Adam.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
I would have liked Adam's POV too. I feel like most of the plot of the book was lost because we only had Stevie's. I liked Adam as a friend, but I felt like both of them didn't have chemistry as lovers.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
I don't really have a good understanding of arts, I just think some are pretty and move on with my life. Hence, I can't understand why someone would come back in time only to steal art pieces when they are other things that could have been done. So, I didn't like it.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
I also didn't like the ending because it was confusing and I needed some clarifications. And I didn't get the Apocalypse.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
I gave this book three stars because I liked the premise, the characters, part of the storyline and I was able to finish it.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
AUTHOR: ANDREA L. ROGERS
PUB DATE: 8TH OCTOBER 2024
🧍🏽♀️🖼
REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
This is the first time I'll be reading about a Native American from a Native American's POV and it was really nice and a wonderful learning experience. I learned a lot about the Cherokee culture. To be very honest, this was my favorite part of the book. That and the description of climate change and the way the earth deteriorated. It's something I could relate to considering the world we're living in now.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
I loved the beginning of the book, especially the emails Stevie sent to her aunt, it made me expect so much. Unfortunately, I felt it didn't deliver. I was expecting a description if the Apocalypse, but I only got one of the matters preceding it. That was what I expected the book to be all about.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
But, I did get an insight into Stevie's life, beloved sister, friend and daughter. I really liked Stevie, she was a good person. Most importantly, I admired what she did for her baby brother, Levi. I liked reading about her relationship with others, her parents, friends and Adam.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
I would have liked Adam's POV too. I feel like most of the plot of the book was lost because we only had Stevie's. I liked Adam as a friend, but I felt like both of them didn't have chemistry as lovers.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
I don't really have a good understanding of arts, I just think some are pretty and move on with my life. Hence, I can't understand why someone would come back in time only to steal art pieces when they are other things that could have been done. So, I didn't like it.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
I also didn't like the ending because it was confusing and I needed some clarifications. And I didn't get the Apocalypse.
🖼🧍🏽♀️
I gave this book three stars because I liked the premise, the characters, part of the storyline and I was able to finish it.
🧍🏽♀️🖼
March 18, 2025
The more I read, the more things grated on me: the logical inconsistencies (so many people have their hands full but then are also holding people's hands or grabbing more things), the name-dropping, the fact that the chapter being named after song titles makes no sense narratively or thematically, the fact that the theme is this beautiful idea of community and love in all forms but Stevie's parents don't seem to care or think about her, the lack of communication, the weird inclusion of a predatory pedophile which has no actual effect on anything, and, especially near the end, how stupid Stevie is.
And I very much acknowledge that this is a "me" thing, but as someone who does not have younger siblings I had to take care of and does not want kids, I really do not relate to the very heavy-handed themes of (quasi)parental sacrifice in these kinds of stories, especially when community is so much more than that.
Again, the theme of community and love above all is truly beautiful and meaningful, especially now and especially in dire times, the cover is gorgeous, and the easily and natural inclusion of Native languages is wonderful, but it's hard to appreciate that past all my annoyance. Everything is fairly predictable for fans of the genre.
And I very much acknowledge that this is a "me" thing, but as someone who does not have younger siblings I had to take care of and does not want kids, I really do not relate to the very heavy-handed themes of (quasi)parental sacrifice in these kinds of stories, especially when community is so much more than that.
Again, the theme of community and love above all is truly beautiful and meaningful, especially now and especially in dire times, the cover is gorgeous, and the easily and natural inclusion of Native languages is wonderful, but it's hard to appreciate that past all my annoyance. Everything is fairly predictable for fans of the genre.
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