Name: The Readymade Thief
ISBN: 9780735221833

Augustus Rose

"Lee Cuddy is 17 years old and on the run, alone on the streets of Philadelphia. After taking the fall for a rich friend, Lee reluctantly accepts refuge in the Crystal Castle--a cooperative of homeless kids squatting in an austere, derelict building. But homeless kids are disappearing from the streets of Philadelphia in suspicious numbers, and Lee quickly discovers that the secret society's charitable facade is too good to be true"--

The Readymade Thief

Colleen

DNF on Page 76 of 384

This review contains some spoilers.

I usually give books I abandon 1 Star. That does not necessarily say that they are bad books just that they were not for me. The Readymade Thief was not for me. The description sounded intriguing. Goodreads recommended this book to me because I liked Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. That was a VERY misleading representation, Goodreads. You should be ashamed of yourself! Other than a vague tie of secret societies, there did not seem to be any commonalities in plot, characters, or writing style. In fact, the comparison definitely hurt my experience reading The Readymade Thief. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore was a fun and humorous adventure. By comparison, what I read of The Readymade Thief was dull and depressing. I've been in a reading slump lately, and I just could not bring myself to lumber through yet another book about which I was not enthusiastic. 

It felt like YA with dark, depressing content. It seems that this is being marketed as Adult probably due the violence, drugs, and other mature content. My library had it in the Adult section. But the characters are nearly all teenagers, and what I read centered around shitty teen drama. (view spoiler)[And then he threw in the horrible troupe of teen pregnancy and made it seem like guessing who the father was would be one of the main plot points. (hide spoiler)] 

The main character, Lee Cuddy, seemed completely dead inside. And not in the interesting psychopath kind of way. She was a drone going through the motions of live without any emotion. She was completely lacking in personality, a stereotypical teenage delinquent acting out through sex, drugs, and crime. I did not care about Lee AT ALL. None of the other characters were interesting or appealing either. So why bother forcing myself to finish the book.

The story was non-chronological and so slow paced it was hard to imagine there was any chance the pace would pick up later on. There was no adventure, no thrill, no captivating spark. Maybe it does get better later on... There were a lot of elements introduced that might have been interesting. But they were drowning in angst and drama. And there were too many different things going on. It felt like the author could not make up his mind about what direction to take the book. 

I usually try to give debuts the benefit of the doubt, but as I mentioned, I just did not have the mental fortitude to push through this book. Nothing about it captured my attention. And I do mean nothing. Maybe there is a niche of readers who will love this book. But I am clearly not among them. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 1 Star
Writing Style: 1 Star
Characters: 1 Star
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 1 Star
Originality: 1 Star

Jeff James

I originally picked up The Readymade Thief by Augustus Rose because the cover caught my eye, but the summary and a few blurbs from some of my favorite authors finished the sale. I started reading it soon after I bought it, and loved the first half so much that I enthusiastically recommended it to several people. Unfortunately, the latter half of the book feels messy, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying. I would still recommend it, but not without a few caveats.

The main character, Lee, is an intelligent and resourceful girl who finds herself backed into a life on the run after a series of mistakes and personal betrayals. Lee is the main reason the book works as well as it does for as long as it does; she’s a sympathetic and compelling character trying to find her way in the world under impossible circumstances. It also helps that I love stories about secret societies and histories that exist just out of view, and a character forced into the margins of society is the perfect person to explore that kind of world.

Like most high schoolers, Lee dreams of going to college, but she builds her funds by shoplifting and selling her classmates the goods. When the school finds her best friend’s drugs in Lee’s locker, she takes the fall and ends up in juvie. After a few excruciating months of bullying and stress, Lee escapes, and that’s when things get interesting.

Now homeless and friendless, Lee falls on the mercy of a strange organization called the Société Anonomie. They’re mostly known for throwing wild parties and dressing up in antiquated clothing, but they also run a house for homeless runaways where Lee winds up when she needs somewhere to sleep. It isn’t long before she discovers something more sinister going on at the SA house. In her haste to escape, she steals an object precious to the SA, and spends the rest of the book trying to decide what to do next. Should she run, fight, or give back what she stole in the hope that they’ll leave her alone?

There are a lot of things I loved about The Readymade Thief, which is why I’m sad that it doesn’t stick the landing. My favorite parts are when Lee is living in the houses of people on vacation, going on night-time excursions to abandoned places with her new friend Tomi and trying to figure out why the SA wants a stolen Duchamp readymade. Trying to solve a mystery is almost always the most engaging part.

I started having problems with the book when it became obvious that Lee could probably give back the Duchamp and the SA would leave her alone, but the story kept manufacturing reasons for her to stay invested. The real problem is that Lee doesn’t have a driving, personal reason to stop the SA. All she wants is for everyone to leave her alone so that she can live her life. She’s an interesting character, but she isn’t a crusading hero-type. The best she can manage is a quest for vengeance, but her plans all fall apart because she keeps doing stupid things without thinking.

The hoariest cliché arrives during the climax, when Lee finally confronts the villain. He monologues for pages, helpfully connecting the dots and explaining his organization’s true motivations. That device rarely works without feeling heavy-handed, and here it just misses the mark.

The best parts of The Readymade Thief help make up for its flaws, but the one downside of a shaky ending is that it’s the last thing you remember about a book. That’s probably why my criticisms are still so fresh in my mind. Even so, The Readymade Thief is worth a read, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for future books by Augustus Rose.

This review originally appeared at Full of Words

Holy Crap!! I think this may be the best book I have ever read!
The character development, the story, the intricate details and weaving of so many different subjects.
This is my dream book. Strong female character, string theory, physics, art, love, underground, all woven into an amazingly intricate story.
I can't even describe how much I loved this book!
I couldn't put it down, read it in 2 sittings only because I had to sleep. 
It sucked me in and never let me go! 
Rarely does a book intrigue me enough to look up information while I am reading it. This book did that. I wanted to know more about Duchamp and his works. I wanted to know EVERYTHING!!
Thank you Mr. Rose for a brilliant book that kept my mind active throughout!
I cannot wait to see what you do next!

An addictive literary puzzle that introduces an unforgettable young heroine plunged into the twisted world of a secret society with a dark agenda. Lee Cuddy is seventeen years old and on the run, alone on the streets of Philadelphia. A fugitive with no money, no home and nowhere to go, Lee finds refuge in a deserted building known as the Crystal Castle. But the Castle conceals a sinister agenda, one master-minded by a society of fanatical men set on decoding a series of powerful secrets hidden in plain sight. And they believe Lee holds the key to it all. Aided by Tomi, a mysterious young hacker, Lee escapes into the unmapped corners of the city. But the deeper she goes underground, the more tightly she finds herself bound in the strange web of the men she’s trying to elude. Aware that the lives of those she cares for are in increasing danger, it is only when Lee steps from the shadows to confront who is chasing her that she discovers what they’re really after, and why. Part literary detective novel, part art history, part conspiracy thriller, The Readymade Thief introduces a singular, indomitable heroine and the arrival of a spellbinding and original new talent in fiction.

The Readymade Thief

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