Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - Little Thieves

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Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

13 reviews

breaklikeafish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Am I getting too old for YA?

While Little Thieves is a great book, I didn't love it as much as I could have. Some of my criticisms are at least somewhat justified; others line up very well with something I have been suspecting for some time now: at the ripe old age of 23, I might finally have grown out enjoying books targeted at teenagers.

The book starts with a prologue that sets the atmosphere for a story that is just a bit too original to be called a fairy tale retelling but with enough references to one of my favorite Grimm tales to make me squeal in delight several times.

I especially enjoyed the Falada reveal at the climax. Looking back, I probably should have seen the talking horse coming since it kind of is the most memorable part of the fairy tale (I had nightmares about that as a child), but it caught me completely off guard and I loved it.

Vanja, the protagonist, gets rejected by her birth family and adopted by two so-called Low Gods; but despite this very fairytale-esque origin story, she has a lot more personality than your stereotypical Grimm's maid. I enjoyed her introduction a lot. The first few chapters set up some important themes of the book perfectly, and also already gave the reader a glimpse of the development Vanja would presumably need to go through to reach her fairy tale ending. I found the mysteries in Little Thieves surprisingly intriguing for a YA book that focuses mostly on personal fulfillment.

Sadly, after this very strong start, I felt like the book dragged for the entire first half. I still liked Vanja's character, but her adamant refusal to let anyone help her, while realistic, kept any meaningful relationships from developing in the first half. I sometimes feel like I read solely for character interactions, so I found it increasingly hard to care about the plot at all.

The other thing that bugged me was Vanja's narration. There were many witty comebacks and fourth wall breaks that I'm pretty sure I would have found funny a few years ago. Now, it just threw me out of the tale for chunks of time. This is probably the main reason I would recommend Little Thieves to actual young adults and not, well, people like me, who are not quite the target audience but refuse to let go of an entire genre for the sake of growing up. Seriously, I loved Vanja even through her darkest moments in the book and would gladly forgive murder, but whenever she gloated about pulling off a successful trick, I just could not stand her.

I also found the ending to be incredibly cheesy, but I honestly simply don't enjoy happy endings as much as I used to. I guess it is fitting for a fairy tale.

There were, of course, also things about this book I loved. I think more fantasy books would benefit from weaving in LGBTQIA+ representation as seamlessly as it was done in Little Thieves. Most of the time, it was no big deal and just casually happening in the background, and the few times the issues were talked about, it was done respectfully and to give more insight into the characters (

Emeric not wanting to kiss Vanja, the discussions of Gisele's sexuality

). The characters were all lovely and I wanted to adopt them, and the love stories made me giddy and excited as if I was the one having a crush.

This is, by the way, how I like my enemies-to-lovers: actively trying to murder each other repeatedly even after they presumably develop romantic feelings. Lastly, I appreciate that the big bad was defeated not by murdering him, but instead in a court case. Murder does not solve anything, and the mechanics of the court of the Low Gods were very interesting.

All things considered, I'm glad I took the time to read Little Thieves, if only because I got to know Emeric, Gisele, and all the other amazing people in it.

Content Warnings

cookiecat73's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I finished this book in 3 days, which considering the amount I've been reading on average per day so far this year, is fast. The writing style is one that I flew through, and the plot had me hooked from chapter one, which isn't common. Despite the constant threat of death, the trauma, and dark topics, this is the funniest book I've read in a while. It doesn't make light of the heavy stuff, but the narration and dialogue contain a lot of jokes which so happened to be exactly my sense of humour, and I laughed a lot. I also cried a little bit.

I adore so many of the characters, especially Ragne. The world was good, though nothing incredible. The Gods were amazing, probably my favourite Gods that I've ever read in a story, though to be fair I'm not normally a big fan of Gods in stories so there's not much competition. The description of Eiswald was incredible.

Unfortunately, this book isn't 5 stars for me. So many parts of it were, and I wish it had been 5 stars, but there were certain things in it that I just didn't like as much. Nothing it did wrong really, just things that brought my enjoyment of it down.

I can't believe they called this Untitled Goose Girl when it was being written, reading that in the acknowlegments cracked me up.

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jasperdotpdf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I cannot tell you how many principles of knife safety you are violating right now.""Where's your sense of adventure?"
"When it comes to stab wounds? On indefinite sabbatical."

I don't know what it is about the year of our lord 2023 but I keep reading books that completely rip my heart out with how seen they make me feel.

Little Thieves was so incredibly good and it had me hooked from the very first page. This book truly delivered on everything I could wish for. It had a compelling, slightly unhinged main character acompannied by a delightful cast (I would like it to be known that I would die for Ragne), an incredible romance, so many absolutely hilarious lines as well as moments that absolutely broke my heart.

“For all my schemes and façades and artifice, I am not prepared in the slightest for the simple, devastating intimacy of being believed.”

This book has one of the best depictions of trauma I have ever read about, and I cried real tears at multiple times throughout reading this because it struck such a chord in me. Vanja is such an amazing protagonist, she's witty and competent, and it's just so fun to read about her. But she's also traumatized, and it is just as organically woven into her characterization as any other part of her. The way hear fears bubbled up, the way her internal monologue is so clearly influenced by her trauma and not what she actually wants to be thinking, the fact that she can't help but listen sometimes and self-sabotages, the way people keep showing up for her regardles... No one talk to me I'm not okay.

"There's something bitter about parting with someone who had a hand in who you are now; it's even bitterer when that hand left scars."

I also thought her relationship with Giselle was incredibly compelling. Their relationship is so complicated in so many ways. They grew up together, they were friends, they were also servant and lady and they failed and betrayed each other. Seeing these two characters whose wounds are so intrinsically tied to each other learn how to get close again, to try and forgive each other was so interesting. Yes, they both hurt each other so much, but that's not the end of their story. It was just really nice to see characters who are linked through trauma and pain attempt to heal a part of that together, because it is rarely that simple.

“I want him to stay like this. Close to me, touching my face feather-light, like I am something precious, I am worth taking care. Like I deserve to live without wounds, not despite them. I want this moment trapped in amber, so I can hold it tight when I need it most.“

Onto more cheery matters, I'm absolutely obsessed with Emeric and his dynamic with Vanja. He is such a nerd and they are so stupid for each other and I adore them. I love how their relationship develops from Vanja severely underestimating Emeric, to them becoming adversaries, to them being in love. Vanja's love language being pickpocketing Emeric is probably one of my favourite parts of the novel, as well as her very endearing descriptions of him.

"All in all, he gives the impression of a collection of billiard cues that unionized to solve crimes."

In conclusion, this has quickly become one of my new favourite books. I fell in love with the characters, the humour, the magic and the heartbreak in Little Thieves, and the time it'll take for me to get over how good this was should probably be measured on a geological scale.

Content Warnings

starlitpage's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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vivavia's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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albernikolauras's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a retelling of Goose Girl from the perspective of the thief. It starts off slow and Vanya is an extremely stubborn and frustrating character (which I can relate to at times).

As the book carries on and you learn more about Vanya and Vanya starts being forcibly befriended by multiple people, the book gets better and better. By the 30% mark, this book had stolen my heart.

It's not a book that will work for everyone, but some of the scenes between Vanya and other characters just hit me. It was the perfect ideal fairytale to help break the slump for the time.

Content Warnings

sanctuary_vessel's review against another edition

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challenging funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sarahaf712's review against another edition

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5.0

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readwithria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Little Thieves stole my heart and ran with it.

I wasn’t expecting to love this YA fantasy novel, but here we are. Although it was off to a bit of a slow start, I completely fell in love with Little Thieves and the characters within it. It’s so hard to write a review of a book you love, but let me give you a rundown of some of my favorite aspects.

Things I loved
- I’m a sucker for a good found family story, and this found family is build exceptionally well!
- The growth of all four of the central characters was so well written! Vanja, Gisele, Ragne, and Emeric all grew as individuals and also developed strong relationships
- Vanja and Emeric!! They’re so cute! Gotta love a classic enemies to lovers storyline
- the casual queer representation was lovely! While it wasn’t integral to the plot, having this world accept LGBTQIA+ folks was fabulous

The book wasn’t perfect, but it was exceptional. Definitely check trigger warnings before you read, but then dig in! 4.5 stars.

Content Warnings

tieflingreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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