Hoțul de stele

by Lindsey Becker

Honorine este servitoare la conacul Vidalia. Viața ei este cam plictisitoare, întrucât nu face altceva decât să șteargă praful de pe tot felul de comori aduse din lumea întreagă și să viseze în fața numeroaselor hârti ale lumii care se găsesc aici. Totul se schimbă atunci când prinde doi marinari care jefuiesc biroul lordului Vidalia și apoi pornește în urmărirea unei fete cu aripi care se pierde în noapte.

Dintr-o dată, Honorine este prinsă în mijlocul unei bătălii între echipajul unui vapor spectaculos și o serie de constelații mitice. Stelele de pe cer au prins viață pentru a se apara de cei care vor sa pună stăpânire pe puterile lor. Spre surprinderea ei, Honorine este piesa centrală a acestei lupte, punctul de întâlnire dintre magie și știință, dintre cărări bătute sau necunoscute. Dar poate o fată curajoasă să aducă laolaltă două tabere prinse într-o luptă pe viața și pe moarte înainte ca acestea să dezlănțuie un spirit malefic mai străvechi decât stelele?

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Fiction, Childrens, Steampunk, Mythology

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2017

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

To see this review and others please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com

The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker is a fantasy chapter book for middle grade ages but can be read by anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, including adults.

We loved all the characters, especially Honorine. The story moves fast and becomes an exciting adventure. The author is so imaginative to have created this story and the way she incorporated living constellations along with the detailed steamship makes it so fantastic and magical. This is a book I would've loved reading when I was in grade school.

We loved the few illustrations that were included, but wanted more.

Looking forward to more from this author.

4****

Thank you Netgalley for sharing a copy of The Star Thief with me.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Video Review:

https://youtu.be/YS57VBPcBlE

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book from a local LFL, released by bookcrosser here in CC. It was their first release!

Good book. Lots to love about it, like the fact that the hero(ine) works so hard to make sure a truce is reached and everyone lives, there are no 'bad guys' that need to be killed, for example. Some problems, like the fact that constellations aren't a thing, and my inner scientist cried BS through the whole book. I also had trouble staying engaged, I didn't *feel* the characters.

It's a long book, but it's actually fairly concise, as it covers the ground most MG fantasies would cover in a trilogy. I could have used more humor, too: not the coarse wise-cracking sort of thing in the Percy Jackson stories, but something more than a series of thrilling adventures interspersed with world-building and learning about the complexities of the adult characters' motivations and characters.

I do recommend it to fans of MG adventure fantasy. I just feel that I, personally, cannot quite say I liked it enough to give it four stars.

[Sandra Deaconu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aproape interesantă, dar prea amețitoare și încărcată de detalii, mai ales dacă mă gândesc la numărul de pagini. Potrivită mai degrabă pentru copiii care apreciază romanele de aventură.

,,Nimic frumos în lumea asta nu există fără ceva puțin respingător ca să echilibreze balanța, spuse silueta."

,,Dreptatea e lucru delicat [...]. Când pare să fie aproape, poate fi puternică și înălțătoare. Dar, când îți este negată, poate să te distrugă până când nu mai rămân decât amărăciunea și regretul."

[BookishStitcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a middle grade book full of adventure and fantasy. I think a lot of middle grade students would really enjoy this. As an adult, I found it to be a cute, fun novel, but nothing amazing.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept of having constellations as warriors reminded me of a bit of Saint Seiya AKA, The knights of the zodiac, one of my favorite anime series of all time, which is why this book made it to my favorite books of 2019.

[Samm | Sassenach the Book Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

See if zodiac signs were like this...I could get into it. This was a fun and creative concept with a lot of twists and turns and my all-time favourite trope: lineage reveal! It's also hella pretty in person.

[Kasey Giard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! The story world is very imaginative and different than anything else I'd read before. I loved the characters, especially Honorine, with her compassion and talent for mechanics. I liked that she protected and valued the people she cared about, even if she didn't trust them.

The plot kept me guessing and the unusual story world made for a lot of unexpected surprises. Everything came together for a satisfying ending that still left some room for the story to continue. In our minds if nowhere else.

If you're not quite ready for Percy Jackson yet or you're looking for something with the same kind of mythology-in-real-life feel, you definitely need to check out this book.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Star Thief is a magical steampunk adventure for middle-grade readers!

Honorine is a maid in the house of Lady Vidalia. The household hasn't been the same since Lord Vidalia disappeared mysteriously. Honorine's life is a steady stream of dusting, cleaning and boring tasks, amid her dreams fueled by Lord Vidalia's dusty maps of the world, books and strange treasures. One night, Honorine finds magical black feathers and fiery footprints leading through the house. Hearing strange voices coming from Lord Vidalia's study, she discovers sailors ransacking the room. Suddenly she finds herself whisked out of the house by a girl with wings into the middle of a battle between living constellations and the crew of a floating steamship. Honorine discovers she is much more than a maid, and constellations are more than stars in the sky.

This is such a fun middle-grade steampunk adventure! The characters are sparkling and the action is out of this world! It is just a fun, exciting read. The plot is creative, interesting and well-executed. The characters are engaging and have depth. Honorine finds herself torn between both sides in this epic battle. I loved her as a main character because she followed her heart and conscience, forming moral decisions based on her own inner compass. She did not make decisions based on battle lines, but by what was right. She is definitely a strong, independent female character even though still a child.

This book is age appropriate for middle-grade readers, but also enjoyable for adults to read. The plot is original and the quick pace keeps the action exciting.

**I voluntarily read an Advance Readers Copy of this book from Little Brown Books via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.**

[Shoshana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, with a few distinct quibbles:

After a few mysterious occurrences around the house where she is a maid, Honorine finds herself swept up into a fantasy-adventure, featuring constellations/creatures of myth come to life, and a man who appears bent on capturing them all.

As far as the fantasy element goes, "The Star Thief" is well-crafted: the use of constellations felt pretty original, and some of the settings (particularly the constellations' ship) were truly beautiful and imaginative.

The characters, however, weren't that compelling to me. Honorine is alright, and The Mapmaker (I think he was called?), a slightly sinister, morally gray constellation-guy was interesting. Beyond that though, no one felt particularly real.

My MAJOR problem, though, was how parentage/orphan status was used. I get that middle-grade is littered with orphans - that's fine. I even know some of why it's the case. Honorine is an orphan, and the question of her parents (who you find do still exist - so I guess she's not an orphan) and reuniting with them is a pretty major thread of the story. However, Francis (her best friend) also has a missing father, who also proves less-missing... but this is not a big deal at all. To the point that when Honorine is reunited with Francis, her first words to him are NOT, "Your father is alive and on the ship!" but a bunch of stuff about herself. And when Francis DOES find out, for some reason he does not develop a consuming priority to go find his father. Nevermind that a) that's what I would have done and b) that's what Honorine has been doing this whole time.

In short, it felt that only Honorine's needs mattered, and she was the only fleshed out person, and everyone else existed to assist her or act as a foil (or even oppose her). Not into it.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up for free from my daughter's elementary school knowing nothing about it. Then we read it aloud together at bedtime every night for a few weeks, and we both really enjoyed it.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I Love:
1. The story obviously and indeed it lives to my expectations–I'm hooked to read it in 1 day.
2. Constellations alive, chase and being chased, having battles to stop the old evil creatures; YES I'M LIVING FOR THEM.
3. I kinda like Honorine because she's a cool-headed MC most of the time and she can handle the issues quite well despite her age (quite reaching perhaps, lol). All I can say that she deserves being one of the ‘mythical creatures’ because she has the virtue.
4. Story pace is good because I don't feel it's dragging, I feel like I'm running and flying with the characters (which is FUNNNN TIME).

What I Don't Like:
1. I don't feel touched in the moments that suppose to warm my heart or probably they're indeed not touching because looking at the events no adequate time given to build those.
2. Nautilus supposes to be dangerous as he's described but I don't feel that. I feel he's lacking ‘proofs’ to become the equal nemesis for Mapmaker. If Mapmaker is already mad then we should have the same for his enemy (fighting tooth and nails!)


All in all, the book is enthralling ride and I wish more people can read & enjoy it more than I do💗

[D. George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It immediately jumped into the action - our main character, Honorine, is doing her boring maid duties, she sees something strange, and then she's promptly pulled into the excitement!

The author has a great deal of skill writing an adventure. It would be almost impossible for me to describe everything that happens to Honorine and the other characters. The book incorporates astronomy, mechanics, travel, and lots more. I think it's fair to call it a steampunk story.

I took off one star in my rating because, like other reviewers, I didn't really care much about the characters; they were, for the most-part, very one-dimensional. I didn't really get anyone's motivation, tho I did feel for Honorine. I liked that she was spunky, determined, inquisitive, and didn't just sit around.

I received this product free from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an unbiased review. I never guarantee a positive rating, and all opinions are my own.

[Tiffani Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

While I enjoy astronomy and the idea of this book, I didn’t find the adventure very thrilling nor did the big climax of this book put me on the edge of my seat.

Honorine and every other character in this story are great but they are under developed and the action of this story falls flat instead of lifting the characters to greatness. I really wanted more from this book after being so intrigued by the synopsis.

I feel like more thought was put into how the two ships would look in the illustrations that some of the narrative. I would rate this lower but the characters keep me from giving this book less stars.

I’d be interested to read other books by the author but I’m not in any rush.

[Tiffany Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, cozy adventure set in the stars!

***SPOILER FREE REVIEW***

Honorine is a young girl who finds herself in the middle of a battle between two old adversaries and nothing is as it seems!

What a unique steampunk adventure full of inventions, sky ships and stars!

A few of the elements and tropes within this story are:

- Magic
- Mythology
- Steampunk
- Lost Heir
- Constellations
- Secrets
- Mystery
- Wise Old Mentor
- Found Family
- Forest/Nature
- Food
- Inventions

If you enjoy a good middle grade sci-fi fantasy, this is a fun one!

[Rachel F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, interesting story, captivating!

[Alessandra Cracan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aproape interesantă dar dacă mă gândesc la numărul de pagini are cam multe detalii plictisitoare.

[Escape Into Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw the cover for this book on NetGalley, I thought it was cute. I mean, two kids sitting on the back of Pegasus in star constellation form? Adorable!! When I read the synopsis, I went “Hmm”, would this be a book that my 9 and 11-year-old like?”. So, I requested this book and I was thrilled when I got selected to review it.

What I liked that there was a bit of steampunk in the book. If you have followed this blog, you all know how much of a fan I am of steampunk. So I was thrilled when I saw that there were airships and other steampunk elements in the book. The bees were probably the coolest part of the book. They were all mechanical and acted like real bees. Except they didn’t make honey, they tracked down the Mordant’s and reported where they were to Captain Nautilus.

I loved the use of the constellations in The Star Thief. What a great way to get kids to look to the stars and track the constellations. I even got into it, googling the names of the various characters and seeing what constellations they were attached too. There were a lot that I wasn’t aware of (not that I know a lot about constellations). Like I said, it was truly fascinating.

Honorine was a very spirited girl. She had been raised in the Vidalia (yes, like the onion…lol) household with her best friend, Francis, and worked there as a maid. She loved inventing and dedicated her free time to doing so. She was also very spunky and knew her own mind. So when the Mapmaker showed up to “save” her, she questioned him. And she questioned his motives during the entire book. She was a very smart girl.

I was a little shocked when it was revealed who Honorine’s parents were. Actually, a little shocked wasn’t the word for it. I did feel a disconnect when she actually met her parents. Maybe because they weren’t like “Oh my baby girl, I have searched for you” and smothered her with kisses. Instead, her father wanted to use her for his own agenda and her mother, well, she wasn’t very motherly….lol.

The end of the story was full of action and I liked how everyone had an HEA….including the bad guys.

How many stars will I give The Star Thief: 4

Why: This is a perfect story for any child between the ages of 8-12. The storyline is great and keeps your attention and the characters are likable. The drawings at the beginning of each chapter are beautiful and I can’t wait to see them in paperback (I am pre-ordering for my son).

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Child

Why: some very mild violence and one scene where Honorine is hurt that might upset some younger readers. Other than that, a perfect children’s book.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honorine has grown up as a servant in Lord Vidalia's household, but what she really wants to do is invent machines. All plans are on hold, though, when the house is invaded by strange creatures and dangerous men, and Honorine must leave. From there, she is torn between the two opposing forces in the battle raging for the fate of the earth. Her best friend, Francis, has joined with the pirate Nautilus Olyphant, who is a master inventor with a ship full of marvels, some of which he's using to capture and imprison the "Mordant," which seem to be avatars of constellations (I never really understood that part). The enigmatic Mapmaker is a Mordant who opposes Nautilus, and doesn't care about collateral damage in his quest to rid the world of Nautilus and free the Mordant. Honorine doesn't know whom to trust, including Francis, so wavers back and forth. She wants the Mordant to be free, but doesn't want to kill everyone on the ship to do it.

This could have been great if I'd understood it better and if I'd liked Honorine better. It does have some cool ideas and descriptions, and lots of action. As it was, though, I kept picking it up and putting it down, for days at a time, because I didn't really understand the premise of it (I never really understood what the Mordant were, why Nautilus wanted them imprisoned, why everyone on the ship never questioned whether this was a good idea, etc., etc.), and because I never knew who I was supposed to be rooting for. Neither Nautilus nor the Mapmaker were trustworthy or pleasant, and maybe that would have been all right if Honorine had been more trustworthy herself. Her motives waffled as well, and she promised loyalty right and left and then abandoned those promises at the next waffling and made new promises, which she also abandoned later. Maybe that's believable, but it didn't make me like her. Maybe overall I just didn't get it. Not the right book for me.

[Josephine (biblioseph) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Young parlor maid Honorine and her friend Francis find themselves in the middle of an epic feud between a crew of scientific sailors and the magical constellations come to life.”

First off, I’m pretty sure the front cover is depicting the boy, Francis, incorrectly as white, since his mother is described as brown skinned, even though his father is white. So I think Francis is bi-racial and he appears white on the cover. I’m sure this was an honest mistake, but I hope a future edition of the book corrects this.

This book was awesome. I loved the details that Lindsey Becker poured into the house in which Francis lives and works, even the rooms that she spent little on-page time in, such as her attic bedroom. Which is more workshop than children’s room. The ships themselves, the Carina and the Gaslight are such amazing feats of creation, reminding you in little ways of how vast they are and how interesting the world in which all of this occurs is.

The conceit of living constellations was fascinating. They’re highly intelligent creatures who have constellations and are more like ‘muses’ of ancient greece, inspiring humans who come near them.

And there is a deliciously epic feud as described, I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there is a conflict within Honorine when she meets these two factions, being led to believe that both sides are right, and both sides have good reason to distrust the other. But I was still wholly unprepared for the ending. I’ll admit it, I teared up at the very end. And I’m fairly certain I’ll reread this book.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plucky snowflake Honorine constantly vacillates between helping the Mapmaker or Nautilus and I constantly vacillate between thinking this book is creative (the constellations/Mordants are cool!) or just too looooooong. It strives for suspense, but sort of just meanders around Honorine's plans for saving the world.

[ilinca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shittiest shit I’ve ever read I WANT MY MONEY BACK

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐ Rating: 5/5 || Recenzia pe Secretele Simonei

“Hoțul de stele” de Lindsey Becker este un fantasy alert, o aventură plină de magie, cu o protagonistă (Honorine) inteligentă și plină de farmec care te poartă printre stele, constelații și creaturi mitologice grecești. Cum să nu fii imediat captivat?

Cărțile fantasy sunt printre preferatele mele și nu mă așteptam să mai nimeresc o carte care să mă fascineze așa de mult. Așa este și Hoțul de stele, o carte plină de metafore și descrieri magice care te prinde în mrejele ei.

“Cartograful merse spre bezna întunecată din spatele serei, dând la o parte vrejurile ofilite acoperite de frunze îngălbenite, apoi deschise un ochi de geam care ducea spre o spărtură îngustă în zidul de cărămidă al grădinii. Astraea și Corvus merseră după el, lăsându-i pe Lux și pe Honorine singur sub strălucirea pietrelor prevestitoare și sub frunzele moarte de palmier. – Tu prima, zise Lux dând din cap spre mica intrare de cărămidă. Eu sunt chiar în urma ta. Îți promit. Honorine trase aer în piept și aruncă o ultimă privire spre Casa Vidalia, apoi pătrunse prin zid și lăsă în urmă grădinile îngrijite și moșia elegantă și intră în pădurile întunecate și sălbatice.” (p.43)

O aventură fantastică plină de mitologie
Mi-ar plăcut foarte mult această carte deoarece se citește ușor și am avut mereu o stare plăcută de relaxare, un cosy vibe în suflețel. Este o carte cu concepte cunoscute, dar care au fost abordate într-un mod diferit, unic, minunat, fascinant. Constelațiile cerului prind viață, fiecare dintre ele având o putere deosebită.

Apar și niște noi rase, Mordanții, un fel de manifestații fizice ale constelațiilor. Rolul lor este de a ghida umanitatea cu ajutorul puterilor deosebite.

Honorine este o tânără care lucrează în casa Lordului Vidalia, ocupându-se cu sarcini extrem de plictisitoare precum este păzirea focurilor din casă. În momentul în care casa este invadată de niște necunoscuți, viața lui Honorine are să se schimbe pentru totdeauna.

“- Așadar, fugi de Nautilus Olyphant? întrebă el cu unul dintre zâmbetele lui largi și jucăușe. De asta ești afară în pădure în toiul nopții, îmbrăcată cu salopetă de grăjdar și plină de noroi și unsoare? Și fără încălțări în picioare?

Honorine se uită la picioarele ei.

– Da, fără pantofi, fără cizme, zise ea și începu să râdă, apoi izbucni într-un hohot incontrolabil care-l făcu și pe Francis să chicotească. În unele momente râdeau atât de tare încât de-abia mai puteau să respire.

– O gașcă de brute înfiorătoare a intrat în casa mamei tale și a încercat să fure din biblioteca personală a tatălui tău, explică Honorine printre hohote. Dar tu? Așa te îmbraci la școală?” (p.51)

Constelațiile prind viață
Aventura lui Honorine o poartă pe această prin navele plutitoare din cer, într-o lume fantastică destul de periculoasă. Pusă în situația de a alege între prietenul ei bun Francis care se află pe o navă de pirați și Cartograful, un Mordant pe jumătate, fata se află într-un impas. Lui Honorine îi este greu să distingă binele de rău, dar aventura nu se oprește și o poartă mai departe până spre mama sa, Andromeda.

Inițial am fost atrasă de coperta minunată a cărții, de titlu și de descriere. Se pare că și aventura m-a cucerit și de aceea mi-a plăcut la nebunie această lectură liniștitoare care m-a dus și cu gândul la primele mele lecturi din adolescență.

“Honorine și lordul Vidalia o luară către biroul lui, jos, în burta navei, încadrat de pereți de rădăcini încâlcite. Erau câteva piese de mobilier adevărat: scaune, birouri, rafturi, chiar și o sobă veche și voluminoasă lipită de perete. Camera mirosea a hârtie, a tutun dulceag și a nisip și era luminată de felinare agățate de rădăcinile ce atârnau din tavan și ciupeci lucioase de toate culorile, prinse de pereți. Podeaua era netedă, acoperită cu covoare de mătase roase și presărate cu nisip sclipitor care se aduna în grămezi pe la colțuri.

– E frumos, zise Honorine, privind la comorile ciudate împrăștiate prin cameră: un glob acoperit mai degrabă de stele decât de continente, un obelisc de piatră neagră cu imagini sculptate ale cititorilor în stele care priveau spre cerul plin de creaturi zburătoare, o tapiserie din lână neagră și fire de argint, înfățișându-l pe cel care trebuia să fie Lux alergând pe un câmp de stele. Deci aici ați fost în tot acest timp?

– Am fost aici… începu el, așezându-se într-un fotoliu vechi de lângă birou, zece… unsprezece,,, doisprezece ani. Nu pare atât de mult. Dar, pe de altă parte, reprezintă toată viața ta, nu-i așa?” (p.96)

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I. did. not. like. this. book!

I cannot believe this book not only made it to publication but also into the OwlCrate, Jr!
I was so excited to read this book. I bought that crate and opened it and loved everything in it.
I waited for a few months just to build the suspense of what this book might be.
It was utterly disappointing.
I would have abandoned it, except that I paid $30 for that crate and wasn't about to not read it!

The first couple of chapters are so good - you get into the book so quickly! What's going to happen?!
Then....blah....nothing happens! I guess some people would think things are happening, but I was bored out of my skull!!

First, Honorine is a stupid name. Nautilus is a name of a ship, not of a man! Is this steampunk or not. The author seems to have ties to steampunk aesthetics but doesn't use it in the best way possible.

Second, I don't care at all about any of the characters except the Mapmaker, who I'm not supposed to care about! He is fascinating. I want to see those eyes. Robert Knepper would make a great Mapmaker in a movie.

Third, the ship Carina is somewhat interesting, except you can tell the author really wants this book turned into a movie by the exaggerated descriptions given to everything.

Fourth, the constellations might have been a good choice for characters IF they were well known constellations and if kids knew what a constellation is! There isn't really a description, and you're expected to know who they are. I'm an adult, and I'd never heard of some of these constellations with huge names. But I didn't care enough to look them up.

Fifth, who is the audience for this book? It's way too hard for middle grade, too boring for adults, and for YA it has too many big words and TOO MANY WORDS in total!! So many words!!!! This book would have been better if written in half the number of pages.

Sixth, the ship Gaslight was so amazing sounding, yet I felt cheated out of the experience to explore it. I felt it was the best part of the book, aside from the Mapmaker, and it wasn't fleshed out.

Seventh, who cares about the characters? They aren't fleshed out. They don't act like you think they should. Spoiler or I'd tell you more.

I was so bored out of my gourd by this book that I decided to use it for speedreading practice. I basically read as fast as I could, reading mostly the first sentence of each paragraph, and I had NO problem following the story line. I have never been able to skip parts of paragraphs in my reading before.

I really wanted to like this book. The cover is gorgeous. The Gaslight is an amazing steampunk ship. But, alas, it's just not good.

(BTW...if you read the first sentence of each of my 'paragraphs', you can see what I mean!)

Oh, and how confusing that Mordant and Ballua or whatever are both singular AND plural?!!! I teach 5th graders and I know they wouldn't get that!

[Aelvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honorine is a maid for the Vidalia Estate, but her life completely changes when she discovers intruders breaking into the house. One group has curious beings like a winged girl and a wolf whose body isn't the usual flesh and blood, and they want Honorine to join them. The other group, however, has Francis Vidalia, Honorine's childhood friend, and many new devices that fascinate her--and the two groups are bitter enemies. All she wants is to live happily with Francis and her long-lost family, but the only way to get there is by sacrificing everything else . . .

This had some interesting ideas I wish went farther. The Mordant are star-creatures, linked to their constellations, and they have various influences and abilities related to those constellations. We meet several of them: Lux, Scorpio, Leo, and so on. Their powers are decidedly magical. On the other side we have Nautilus and his (steampunk) technology, who is capturing the Mordant for reasons unknown. Obvious logic would put Nautilus as the villain, but the Mordant's mysterious leader, known as the Mapmaker, doesn't exactly want what's best for humanity, just the Mordant. So we have a situation where both sides are neither good nor evil, but it's more nuanced.

I liked it well enough overall, but nothing about the characters or the story really stuck to me. The fact that both sides are somewhat villainous kind of irritated me by the end, because it means Honorine keeps waffling between them while she's trying to find a way for everything to resolve without wiping out one side. (And I can't say I think too highly of the scientists who are happy to enslave sentient beings simply because it makes them more productive.) But the Mordant are a lot of fun, and hopefully if there are future books we'll see more of them. I rate this book Recommended.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the #kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own!

Honorine, a young orphaned maid at Vidalia Mansion, is dusting and snooping around the east parlor when she notices hot embers erupting from the fireplace. She investigates and finds things out of order and a secret book under the embers. Soon after, she encounters two strangers chasing a mysterious girl with wings in the mansion and follows the girl into the night.
Honorine soon discovers that she is at the center of an epic battle, and must decide who she can trust - her childhood friend with a pirate-like crew of a steamship or the band of mythical constellations that have rescued her from death.
Perfect for middle schoolers (and up!) that enjoy fantasy and steampunk, Star Thief is a fast-paced, imaginative debut by new author Lindsey Becker.

[Kiersi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into the story, because so much is unclear at the outset—as it's unclear to our heroine, Honorine. But Becker unfolds a beautiful, epic, magical world as you get to know the people and constellations (Mordant) that populate it.

What I loved most was the shades of gray in this novel—neither Nautlius Olyphant nor the Mapmaker are really villains, but neither are they friends. They are looking out for themselves, and no one else. I really appreciated the care with which Becker filled out this conflict, where Honorine struggles so often to know what to do given that there's no real "bad guy," but neither is there a "good guy."

A fantastic novel for advanced middle-grade readers, as some of the more complex worldbuilding might be hard for some readers to follow. A bright star of a book.

[J. Else · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable fantasy tale with a world-spanning adventure, steampunk inventions, and astrological intrigue. The pacing was great; I kept wanting to turn the pages. The story is unique, and I loved exploring the setting from the Mordant ship to the human ship to the places where Mordant live.

I didn't understand why the Mapmaker was so unpleasant throughout the novel. I'd hoped he'd show some growth, but he only seemed to get more unlikeable. I'd also hoped for more development from Francis. He finds out his father is alive and doesn't feel an urgency to get to him. That seemed out of character for someone who's father has been missing since he was a baby.

All in all, this was a fun middle-grade tale with surprises, a rich setting, and a gripping adventure. Recommend.

[Johara Almogbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steampunk! Stars! Pirates! Legends! Oh, this was a good one. The pace was so fast, and the action barely took a breath throughout the story. I put it down twice and both times all I could think of was the book.

The descriptions and settings are also extremely visually appealing, the author took time to set the scene (even though I was reading so fast I didn't appreciate them properly). My only gripe with the story was that at times I felt like we could have known more about a character or a universe or the fight between the mapmaker and nautilus but was rushed along to the next scene. It was almost as if I was reading the second installment of a series instead of the original book.

But definitely recommended, especially if you or a child you know like astronomy.

[Penny lurkykitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed The Star Thief. It is the kind of book I wish had been around when I was in middle school. The concept of the constellations having living representations makes for some really interesting characters and action. The heroine Honorine, is admirable for her inventiveness and her desire for no harm to come to those around her, even though she can't trust all of them. I love the world building and the steampunk aspect with the Gaslight and Carina ships. I'm glad that there were pictures of the ships in my hardcover copy and wished there more pictures throughout the book. There is a strong visual component to this story and if done well would make a great movie. The Star Thief could be enjoyed by YA readers as well as middle graders. It was fascinating and fun.