Cornelia Funke

Aimed at children aged nine to 12 years, this is a magical thriller set among the crumbling canals of Venice.

The Thief Lord

Maria

this whole book is just like: [scooby doo villain voice] “and I would have succeeded too, if it weren't for you meddling kids" i loved it 
realistically this is more of a 3.25/3.5 for me, but i also enjoyed it a lot so i’m rounding it up. i prefer books that are more character-driven and although this had a great set of characters, not much character development happens overall. but the plot is engaging and really entertaining and i think exactly the kind of fast-paced gripping story that i needed to pull me out of my slump. i think the fantasy plot was a bit unexpected to me, and i kind of hoped for it to turn into something more i guess, but still that didn’t really trump my enjoyment of the story overall.

A favorite when I was younger - I loved the setting of Venice, the fun twists, the satisfying ending. A quick read for me now as an adult but still so enjoyable.

Rachael Bahr

Jamieson

THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE BOOKS!

I love the characters, the world, the story. Scipio was like one of my first book crushes lmao. Seriously, this book is so exciting and fun and has such a great cast of characters who all have such genuine, important friendships and it's magical and beautiful could not recommend it highly enough. 

It's like Six of Crows except they live in a movie theatre and they are all like 12

KINDA wanna reread it again now its just the BEST

Nadine 

A book I’ve been meaning to read for a long while. Captivating from the start the story pulls you in as a modern twist on the Dickensian orphan story.

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog...

I really liked this book. I kept expecting characters from Artemis Fowl to pop out any minute. In my opinion that's a good aspect.

I fell in love with the characters although all through the book I could not figure out what the "aunt's" motive in the whole thing was. I kept expecting her to turn out to be something that she wasn't.

In the end all of the characters learned that what they were originally looking for was not what they actually wanted or what they ended up getting. I loved the lessons that Scipio, Prosper, and Victor all learned. Another minor character whose name escapes me right now got what he deserved in a laughable sort of way.

I definitely enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

Herr der Diebe

Marie Rogowski

Ein wirklich nettes Jugendbuch. Eine interessante Geschichte und sympathische Charaktere.

Milena

Grace Elizabeth

The enchanting international bestseller with bonus back matter and a beautiful new cover! Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling canals and misty alleyways shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy with a dark history of his own: He calls himself the Thief Lord. Propser and Bo relish their new "family" and life of petty crime. But their cruel aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the boys' freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.

Sophia Ejercito

alexis

elizabeth

Monicap

Darcy Lambert

Mel 

Stefan R. Schmid

Escaping the aunt who wants to adopt only one of them, two orphaned brothers run away from Hamburg to Venice, finding shelter with a gang of street children and their leader, the thirteen-year-old "Thief Lord," while also eluding the detective hired to return them to Germany.

The Thief Lord

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