It’s true that Little Thieves is a retelling of the Goose Girl - from the viewpoint of the maid who stole the princess’s identity. Little Thieves is the kind of obstinate story that simply strives to be what it is, regardless of other books in the same genre or what readers expect from a fairy tale retelling, and I liked it for that.

If she hopes to survive the curse and find her freedom, she’ll need help. Gisele’s fiancé has dark plans of his own, and a junior detective is hot on Vanja’s trail. There are more sinister forces at work than Vanja realizes, though. But when she crosses the wrong god in the forest one night, she is cursed to an untimely end. Vanja has two weeks to break the curse or she’ll turn into jewels, becoming what she so desired, and time is quickly ticking toward her death. Now, Vanja is one heist away from freedom. Using Gisele’s enchanted string of pearls, Vanja crafts a careful heist, living a double life as a princess and a jewel thief who steals from the noble’s coffers. The perfect opportunity to do so begins with stealing Gisele’s identity for herself as the princess travels to meet her betrothed. Instead, she’s determined to steal back her own future. And when she became too old to remain with them in their world, she returned to a life among humans to became the dutiful servant to Princess Gisele.īut her mothers have demanded a steep price for their care, and Vanja will do anything to avoid the fates they lay before her. Vanja Schmidt has been the goddaughter of Death and Fortune ever since her birth mother abandoned her to them in the forest. IN SHORT: This young adult fantasy book is an engrossing retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale.

Little thieves book review