Plague Thieves

by Caroline Fernandez

“Steal. Trade. Survive.”That's what Father tells Rose and Lem moments before he dies of the Great Plague.Orphaned and homeless in London 1665, all Rose and Lem have left are their wits, each other, and three bottles of Thieves Oil — a medicinal blend Father created that can protect people from the sickness.But then Lem goes missing, and Rose is left to fend for herself. As words of Thieves Oil spread to London’s most desperate scavengers, Rose must band together with her fellow street orphans, steal the essentials to survive, and protect herself and her newfound friends against both the Plague and a world filled with dangers.

Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Canada, Historical

208 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2024

About the author

Caroline Fernandez loves to write children's books for curious kids. She's won awards for her fantastic stories, like the exciting chapter book series "Asha and Baz" which highlights real-life historical women in STEM. She has written numerous picture books including; "Hide And Seek: Wild Animal Groups in North America" and "The Adventures of Grandmasaurus" (series) and "Stop Reading This Book". For those looking for a big adventure, her middle-grade historical novel "Plague Thieves" is now out.

Caroline writes, drinks tea, and bakes in Toronto, ON.

Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @ParentClub

Reviews

[Sylvia McNicoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover drew me in as I had bought this Plague Doctor Halloween costume for my grandson. The story hooked me and reminded me of our COVID days; how they could have been so much worse. Two children are orphaned by the Black Plague and left with nothing. This book tells about the harsh reality of how they survived in times when there were no social services. It reminds us that perhaps people steal and beg because they have no other choice.

[AllyP Reads Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give this three stars because I'm not the target audience and I think kids would enjoy it. I did not. It was repetitive and illogical.

SPOILERS- Firstly, the dog lives but numerous rats do not.

I almost stopped reading after the ridiculousness of the first few chapters. It was absolutely ludicrous that Rose and Lem had to immediately get out of the store when their dad told them to with just the coins he had plus the silver. Why couldn't they make more oil? Why wouldn't they at least take the ingredients for the oil? Also, the silver was not the most expensive thing they could sell. Taking the spices would have been better especially the saffron. Even today, saffron costs more than twice as much as silver; I can't imagine how expensive it would have been back then. But they just let it all burn. You can't tell me they didn't have time to gather some of the spices up before they left. That is utter nonsense.

Then the kids are on their own and doing ok but Lem disappears. Rose makes some new friends and they form a new family. She is often asked if she's the girl from the spice shop and if there is an oil to help with the plague but nobody threatens her ever or does anything that I took to indicate she was in any danger. But towards the end of the book when Cal and Cinn figure out she's Lem's sister they make this dramatic declaration that she's in danger and they need to get away to be safe. But then nothing happens. Not a single person comes after her or does anything. We're told the scavengers have moved on. So how is she in danger or ever was in danger? Overdramatic much?

Then there's the absolutely illogical scene when Amon takes them back to his house. Why the hell didn't they go back there sooner if they're living under a bridge?! But whatever. Then he pounds the floorboards so hard he almost breaks his hand trying to snap the wood and it's to get to the food hidden underneath. How did the food get under there if the only way to get it back out was to break the floorboards? Did they constantly buy new floorboards every time they wanted to squirrel away some food? I doubt it so major glaring error there.

Then they go to leave by rowboat at the docks but see a ghost ship where everyone has died of plague so they decide to walk to Cambridge instead. Why exactly? What does that ship coming from ports unknown portend for your rowboat of six people and a dog? You're not going to that ship or anywhere near it so no danger there. And then ok whatever you're going to walk to Cambridge instead but why wait until the next day? It was early in the morning so you still could have gotten a major start on the journey. What did they do instead? Sit around all day doing nothing? They were all prepared to go with their supplies and everything by boat so there was nothing left to gather so why wait? No reason; just illogicalness.

The dialogue was also atrocious. For example, Elizabeth says, "I can go to work as a washerwoman at the pesthouse." Someone else asks what a pesthouse is and Elizabeth explains. Then Rose asks "What would you do there?" She just fucking said she'd be a washerwoman! What did you miss? Open your fucking eardrums or write better dialogue.

We also have the constant tagging of everyone's names in the dialogue. People don't talk like that! If Rose and Lem are having a conversation, they are not going to keep addressing the other person. Rose Lem Rose Lem. This happens with most conversations throughout the book and it's unnatural, repetitive, and unnecessary.

And why is the only description of applying the oil to sprinkle it onto the cloth? Sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle. There's plenty of other ways to describe that then repeating the same phrase over and over.

[Amanda Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plague Thieves is a perfect middle grade novel for our post-pandemic society. Set during The Plague in London 1665, it’s an absorbing story of children orphaned by the horrific and misunderstood illness. As I read, I was reminded of the early days of our pandemic, and how little we understood about the virus. I remembered the nightly death toll, and thought about the number of children who were orphaned only a few short years ago. Back in 1665, Rose and Lem find themselves suddenly without a home, without money, food or family. They must quickly learn how to adapt to their circumstances. Understandably wary, they need to make decisions about who to trust. The book is an adventure story, with the children pitted against a society that has become desperate and menacing.
Seeing this other plague through the eyes of children, helps contemporary readers to contextualize our own times. I think what I liked best of all were the relationships and how the children had to learn how to work with others. They form important new bonds, creating a new family that you know will survive after this Plague has taken its course. It’s a story that deals with life and death issues, but in the end, is hopeful and optimistic. Just what we need for these hard times.

[Karen Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and know that partly it's because it is exactly the book I would have wanted to read as a kid, when I was obsessed with all things middle ages and macabre (nothing's changed). I appreciated so much that Caroline treated the subject and the reader with respect -- this happened, it was awful, there was also resilience and survival and hope, and you don't have to be an adult to understand or appreciate it. Great read.

[Michael Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of survival in the time of the plague, Fernandez brings 17th century London to life. About friendship and found family, it was fantastic to witness 12yo Rose bloom from naïve little girl to the leader of a band of reluctant thieves. I recently read Margaret Owen’s The Merciful Crow duology and this is an excellent comparable for middle grade readers.

[Jen Nishi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ there’s plenty of action and plot to have me reading late into the night. I just wish we got to know the characters more. While it felt researched and historically accurate, it was light on character development. I never really got to know any of the characters and that’s a shame. But overall it was a good book. I just like my books more character driven.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical fiction of survival during the Black Plague in London in 1665 is well done! I didn't think I would really like it that much, but I was hooked from the first chapter. I was so impressed with the kids and how they were able to survive in the midst of their grief and hunger. I'm excited to read more by this author. :)

[Isla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really cool and since it has history in it, that made it even cooler. You could really get attached to the characters. - Isla, 9 years old

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline and characters are quite compelling. The writing isn't that great. Lots of choppy sentences, and repetition. But my daughter and I enjoyed reading it together.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA The ending was a bit unexpected for me.