Museum of Thieves

Gr 4—8—In the city of Jewel, children are chained to their parents or to the Blessed Guardians from birth until Separation at age 16. Now the Grand Protector has lowered the ceremony to age 12, and the Blessed Guardians are furious. When a bomb interrupts 12-year-old Goldie Roth's Separation Day, she takes advantage of the chaos to run away, ultimately finding her way to the Museum of Dunt. Its four Guardians teach her how to survive on her own, how to steal, and how to live within the mysterious institution, which is much bigger than it seems, since it is constantly changing and home to all of the long-ago perils that filled Jewel back when it was the dangerous city of Dunt. When local politics endanger the existence of the Museum and its Guardians, and release war, plague, and other horrors on the city, Goldie and Toadspit have to come up with a plan for defeating the forces within in order to preserve the existence of Jewel. Tanner creates an enticing world, and the action picks up rapidly when Goldie enters the Museum. Readers are drawn into Jewel's past and present, learning along Goldie and wishing that they could acquire some of her nearly magical talents. A fun read and an intriguing start to a new series.—Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI