Thief

by Brian James

Elizabeth is a pickpocket and thief living on the edge in New York City, torn between loyalty to her foster sister and a new boy who's recruited into their thieving ranks.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

Library Binding

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

I've written numerous children's books, including the Pirate School series and the Catkid series. I'm also the author of several novels: Pure Sunshine; Tomorrow, Maybe; Perfect World; Dirty Liar; Thief; Zombie Blondes; The Heights.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this one needs to be read a bit slowly. There are only so many similes a girl can take before she goes, ok we get it. Though, it gets points for the imagination it would have taken to write this. I would like to see this as a movie because of all the artistic swirls of colour that we could roll with. juxtapose, that's the word I'm looking for, nicely. enjoyed.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

its reeeeeeally good. the only problem is that its written kinda wierdly. Sometimes its a little hard to get, but i totally recomend it!!!! It is awesome!!!!

[Sam Stebbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to re-read this middle school favorite to see if I was remembering it correctly. I can understand why I liked it as a kid, but as an adult there’s just no reason to include a flowery metaphor every other sentence. Not terrible for what it is, 2.5 stars.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by hoopsielv for TeensReadToo.com

Sure, many of us contemplated doing it as a kid... and some actually carried it out. But can you imagine stealing each and every day as a means of survival? In Brian James' novel THIEF, that is exactly how Elizabeth (also known as "Kid") lives her life, along with her foster sister, Alexi. Their foster mother, Sandra, has the system all worked out where the girls go out and bring home enough cash to support all of them.

Then a new thief comes along: more income, according to Sandra. Dune joins this foster family and becomes Kid's apprentice. Dune is unsure and unbelieving of this way of life, but Kid is reassuring during his "training" and tells him what Alexi once told her: "Good thieves never want for anything as long as they live." Yet there is a sense that Kid does want and actually needs more.

Alexi sees the strong bond that is growing between Kid and Dune and isn't pleased with it. She believes Kid belongs to her and they are destined to be together. Dune isn't part of that plan. She never misses an opportunity to make him feel inferior. At the same time, she's determined to make Kid feel guilty about her relationship with Dune in hopes that it will end.

Kid's worst fear is being alone, and she takes drastic steps to ensure that doesn't happen. She takes a risk, and with one bold step, everything changes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though Kid was a criminal, I couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards her. This is a well-written story that draws the reader into the feelings and actions of the characters. Teens of all ages would like this book.

[Roman Partlow]

Thief by Brian James was an okay book. I choose this book because i thought that it would be like an action type book. It took place in Brooklyn, New York and there was three main characters in the book. Two girls and one boy.
The book was about these girls brought into a foster home and their job was to steal for their "mother." What they stole went all to the mother but sometimes they would keep a little for themselves. When a little boy came into their so called family only one girl liked him and that caused a big problem for the rest of the girls. They thought that the boy was a drag and worthless. But he was learning on howto steal. But all the girls thought he was just a waste of time and he slowed them down.
The book ended with the same girl looking after the boy and all the other girls left them. They were still together but they had to do things on their own. They tried to get their trust with the other girls but it just didn't work.
My personal opinion of this book is that its slow and more relationship problems than anything. It wasn't my favorite but if you like drama then you might like this book.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book i am currently reading is Thief by author Brain James.The genre of thief is a suspense and action fiction.I enjoy this book because the way the book starts Elizabeth the main character and is introduced by her talk she has on the street which is her personal thoughts on why she had to go through bad situations like being a foster kid and being a thief roaming around new york at 17 years old and never knowing her parents is hard for a kid so young i am interested to read more about my book.

[Genie Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very good quick read. The suspense of the story was really good. I liked this title but there was a lot of wasted words on details. I am just not a detail person when it comes to my reading. I have to admit the subject matter is depressing though, foster parents using their foster kids to make money. It does have a good ending though in my opinion.

[Manisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was awesome! you have to read the whole thing and then reflect back to really understand what a hard time "Kid" (Elizabeth) goes through then her foster mom takes in a boy DUne and they slowly hit it off. Much to ALexis's disgust at Dune. Kid and Dune work together! They show that you must stick together!

[Kamaya Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

so far elizabeth is a pickpocketer. she does it for her stepmother sandra. the people came to see if the foster children were okay and offered sandra to take in a boy. she is making her deicion because she says boys are bad stealers. she says this because they cant look innocence no matter what color or anything they are.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Foster care, the search for love, and an artist. This is a quick read, but the imagery requires some thought to understand. While the main story describes the tragedies of foster care, the undercurrents try to make wishes come true.

This book contains alcohol use, sex, smoking, and swearing.

[Lucy-mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely stunningly beautiful. So well written, Brian James can make the most tragic of things sound magic, he takes the ordinary and turns it beautiful. Thief is a brutally honest book, with everything you could ask for. His writing never ceases to amaze me.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absoluteli loved this book!! I enjoyed the style it was writen in!!

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't waste your time on this book that is trying to be "poetic," which translates into really bad young adult literature.

SO frustrated I paid money for this book!

[Emily Shaughnessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it great book

[Dannielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent YA book that I will likely recommend to my students