Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

32 reviews

kiwij96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad 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

4.5

Good, solid worldbuilding alongside character development. From the first page, you know exactly who the main character is and why she does the things she does. Sometimes heavy on the symbolism, but I cannot fault the pacing, the twists, the characters, the romance and friendships that seemingly blossom naturally. Nothing in this story feels forced. Poldi and Ragne honestly have my whole heard, and Barthl is on track to be up there as one of my favourites if he appears in the next book. It was genuinely such a delight to read, but it was also so genuinely heartbreaking at the same time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Classism, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Injury/Injury detail

zannayo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Emotional abuse and Body shaming

kourteb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

“Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal Kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows.”

Easily 5 stars. Officially my favorite book. Vanja I will defend you WITH MY LIFE. If Vanja has no supports I AM DECEASED. The queerness is this world is so incredibly beautiful, words cannot describe how seen these romances make me feel. Vanja’s hurt is so heartbreaking but her strength and character development is such a heartwarming experience.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Grief, Body shaming, and Abandonment

tranquilitea's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

Minor: Body shaming

peskilanim's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Misogyny, Body shaming, and Animal death

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

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Death, Body shaming, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia

apollo0325's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

5.0

THIS BOOK ABSOLUTELY FUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The plot, the characters, and the setting really took influence from folk and fairy tales with queer and morally grey bad bitch MCs who don’t take shit. I had SO MUCH FUN reading this book. Owen’s humor really shines but doesn’t overshadow or trivialize the struggles and trauma of characters. It was perfectly humorous, fun, and that final confrontation was bonkers.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Murder, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I really think that teenage me would have adored this book. The representation, the characters, the humour. 

I find myself flittering around the edges of enjoying Young Adult, one of the downsides to growing up. Then a book like this comes along and I can put myself back in the mind of a teenaged me, obsessed with reading and books piled all around. 

There is not much more to say other than I found this book to be a joy and I hate how long it took me to actually read it. Curse my ever growing TBR, keeping gems like this hidden from me!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Grief, and War

Minor: Body shaming and Emotional abuse

aytac's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Genocide, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Rape, and Animal death