The Good Thieves
By Katherine Rundell (illustrated by Matt Saunders)
Chloe's review:
I really enjoyed The Good Thieves as it is a good adventure book, you meet lots of amazing and unusual characters such as Vita the main character who gets into lots of trouble after she hears someone has ‘stolen’ her Grandad Jacks home Hudson Castle. Mr Sorrotore Vita’s enemy is a cruel character who burns down buildings to make room for estate agents to build on where he earns a lot of money.
I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of eight as some parts of the book are rude. Over all I give this book 4.5 out of 5.
Cian's review:
This is an amazing book that will make you want to keep reading on until the end. The plot of this addictive book is full of excitement, adventure and tension. Anyone who enjoys action, stunts or some thrilling thefts needs to own and read this book. This was a story that you will really be immersed in and you will feel like you’re there in the book as its happening. My favourite character was Arkady. He was full of secrets and fun. You can’t help but like him, so it’s no surprise that every animal stays by his side. There were no characters that I didn’t like, because they all had something unique and special about them. The time it was set in was perfect, giving us a blast from the past in the darker side of 1920s New York. It was an incredible story with an extremely exciting mission and stomach-clenching tension with a bit of a thrill. I would definitely recommend this book to other pupils and I guarantee they will enjoy it.
Jess' review:
Overall, I found the main character Vita very interesting and clever. You follow the story through her eyes but not all her thoughts are revealed to the reader for example: we think that her plan has failed when one of the men takes her book but it turns out she planned it all along to distract Mr Sorrotore from finding out her real plan. I found the notorious conman (Mr Sorrotore) the most unattractive because he manipulates people to do things for him that are illegal and he conned Vita's grandfather into losing his castle and photos of his recently dead wife. I learnt that in this time period (1920’s) that the book is set there was more things happening than what met the eye: rich men taking advantage of their position and manipulating people with fear and also that not all heroes were adults some children were much braver. I think that the plot was exciting as it was full of action to keep the reader interested and hooked in to the story line. This definitely made the story more enjoyable to read. This book has shown me that even if a book is based on a different time period than the modern day sometimes it isn’t really that obvious and not all factual. I would definitely recommend this to another student to read because you become engulfed into the adventure and feel the tension build up in you as the story goes on.
Megan's review:
The story is about a girl called Vita who had polio when she was little. As a result, she has a disability which causes her pain in her leg and foot. Vita’s grandfather has been cheated and lost everything he owns to a rich man called Victor Sorrotore. Vita is upset when she discovers this and makes a plan to take back her grandfather’s fortune. Vita is a very inspiring character, even if something doesn’t work out how she wants it to, she never gives up. Vita spent a long time unwell in hospital which made her into a determined individual and doesn’t let her disability hold her back. This helps her to achieve her goals.
I enjoyed this story because it is very descriptive and Vita is a headstrong character. I would like to read more of Katherine Rundell’s books because this story kept me interested and guessing what will happen until the very end. The ending wasn’t how I predicted, which made it even more enjoyable to read. I would recommend this book if you enjoy adventure stories.