Little Thieves

CW: abandonment, whipping, abuse, mention of past attempted sexual assault, panic attacks

The author's debut The Merciless Crow was a favorite of mine because I found it so unique, but I never got around to reading the sequel because it released during the pandemic and I just couldn't find the right headspace to read and appreciate it properly. But it's waiting for me on my bookshelf and hopefully I'll get to it soon. In the meantime, I was very excited for her new book since it's announcement because I trust her to deliver a very interesting tale. And she didn't disappoint.

I had never heard of The Goose Girl story before last year and I read a bit about it only in preparation for the release of its retellings like this one as well as Thorn by Intisar Khanani. I never did get to read Thorn but I was quite interested to see how the story would be retold in Little Thieves. What I didn't expect was the whole fairytale subverted, it's antagonist given the reins here and the addition of an ensemble cast who make this story a lot more fun. I will say that it took me a while to get into the story - the prose and lines were very attractive and engaging right from the first page but I think it took me a while to get used to the very German (I think) based world. But I think it was at about the 20% mark that something clicked and I couldn't put the book down after that. The author does a wonderful job giving us a world with cool gods like Death, Fortune, Truth, Justice etc; a story that feels like a dark fairytale but also has a heist like feel, as well as quite a few mysteries to solve, with a few love stories interspersed in between. All the elements blend together very well to give us a thrilling and entertaining ride, while also giving us a few scares.

But the star of this book is our protagonist Vanja. She wears many forms - a princess, a bride to be, a maid, a thief, goddaughter of Death and Fortune - but there's always something unknowable about her. She maybe looting the nobles riches to earn money so that she can escape, she might be striving hard to forget the life of servitude she used to live previously, she might behave like she is selfish and doesn't care for anyone and just does everything for herself - but ultimately what she wants is love and belonging even if she doesn't want to acknowledge that to herself. She is scared that she might be caught, repelled by having to make a choice between her two godmothers, is full of rage against Gisele and her family for treating her like a nobody; but she slowly makes unexpected friends and allies, starts caring for them, shows utmost bravery to save them all, and thinks beyond herself when the moment calls for it. She truly is an unforgettable character.

Emeric on the other hand is an investigator who wants to catch the thief stealing from the nobles. What starts as a cat and mouse game of chase and evasion between them quickly turns into so much more. He is intelligent and earnest and very dedicated, and despite their very opposing professions, Vanja - who is notoriously distrustful of everyone - comes to trust him. They both are represented as demisexual characters which I really appreciated and there are some beautiful lines between them reflecting their feelings.

Most of the other characters play small but significant roles in the story but we never do get to know them deeply because this is a single first person POV story. However, Ragne left a deep impression on me because she is powerful but naive in her own way, a very loyal friend and a sweetheart when in love. Gisele is more hard to like because of her fraught history with Vanja but her altered circumstances and meeting Ragne have changed her, made her more understanding of her faults and given her strength to stand up for herself and others. Joniza only shows up in a couple of scenes but is quite a delightful support. And finally our antagonist who is extremely loathsome and I just kept wanting him to get his just desserts.

In conclusion, this was a fun, entertaining, and very emotionally engaging dark fairytale retelling with a protagonist who keeps making questionable decisions but you badly want her to succeed, and an unexpected group of supporting characters who help her on the way. When I started, I didn't know it was a standalone but I'm glad it is and the author wraps up the story very neatly. Maybe the romantic plotlines felt a little rushed because of the one book constraint, but I am still pretty satisfied with how much I enjoyed this fascinating story.

God this was all way too dramatic for me. The main character was a total bitch basically the entire book except for the last 50 pages. The whole romance was super boring and honestly, I barely enjoyed the story. I really only barely needed to know the ending because the audiobook was easy to speed up. 

The vibes were really the only thing that rescued this. The prose definitely didn't convince me but the whole visual and vibe of this book were great. I wish they focused on the gods some more. The last couple of pages of this were pretty good when Truth and the other goods were introduced. A little communication could have sliced this book in half and I really do loathe the miscommunication trope. I will not be reading the next book. 

This book had me hooked from the beginning! I am not familiar with “The Goose Girl”, but that didn't hinder my experience at all. The story was super engaging and the characters were all very flushed out. I was a little confused about the curse but as the story went on, it made more sense. I'm excited for the sequel!




Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.

In this story we follow Vanja, a girl given up by her mother to Death and Fortune when she was young. She becomes a maid to a princess in the land, where she is mistreated throughout her childhood. Her “mothers” offer her to work for them, but she doesn't want another person she is being controlled by. She becomes an accomplished thief, saving her money to escape. She is able to steal the magical necklace of the princess, allowing her to take her place. What follows is a story of Vanja learning trust and acceptance, as well as fighting the mysterious evil afoot.

I enjoyed this book. The story felt unique, and I really like Vanja as an MC. She was flawed and interesting to follow. The side characters aso all felt complex and fully fleshed out. The action was exciting and fun. While I did enjoy listening to this book, I ultimately think I'm outgrowing YA some. This book is targeted for an age group younger than my own, so I didn't relate to the characters as much. This doesn't mean the book is bad by any means. The 3 star rating is purely subjective based on my reading experience.

I would recommend this book to fans of YA fantasy!

TW: child abuse and neglect, abusive relationships, trauma from past assault

I quite enjoyed this book - very original premise and a story well told. The characters were interesting and I liked how the backstory was revealed.
I took away a star because there were too many conveniences that were presented a bit too late in the book for comfort. To the point that I felt there were pretty much no stakes.

Either way, a nice read and I would recommend.

Okay, I am soooo in love. It's been a long time since I've been obsessed with a book like this. I'll try to sort out my feelings by making a list.

Why I loved it:
1. Not to judge a book etc but have you seen the cover? So gorgeous.

2. I'm no expert in German culture but I loved its influences in the book. The language of course and I think I recognized some of the mythology and customs? Apparently the OG Goose Girl is also a German story, which is really neat.

3. The storytelling was so compelling, not one boring moment! I could not put it down, other than when I had to walk off my feelings or something. When I couldn't read it, I'd switch to the audiobook (which is also amazingly narrated, btw). The ending, which was probably tricky with so many threads, was satisfying as well, for the most part.

4. Vanja herself! All this time when I prayed for an anti-heroine, she's who I meant. The story starts with her slipping into her different alter egos to pull off a heist, but even so, it surprised me how layered she was as a character. The gist of it is that she's a high-profile thief, she's a con-woman, she's a princess, she's a maid, but she's also just a heavily traumatized kid, trying to survive. She wrestles with her morality and her trauma throughout the story. She's insecure, she's badass, she's smart. And she's funny. I love love loved her.

5. Death and Fortune trying to co-parent killed me. They're kinda terrible because they don't really understand humans, but that also makes them so funny. The resolution of that whole 'You need to pick one of us to serve' thing was a bit too simple, maybe? But it's fine anyway, because this way they can actually have a good relationship with Vanja, which I'm so looking forward to. Hope to see more of them in the next book (which I will be ordering ASAP!!!).

6. Actually good queer rep? The MC and the love interest are het but it's heavily implied that they're demisexual. 2 prominent side characters are sapphic - and they weren't done in a boring-yawning-sloppy-lazy way either; they're well-rounded, complex characters (though one more than the other, I guess).

7. Which brings me to the next point, Gisele and Vanja's crazy ass friendship? I loved it so much. It was like their hate and love and resentment and longing and shame and everything was just stacked one on top of the other like a pile of pancakes... and I ate it all up. And both of them developed and got so much better as people. Loved the part where Gisele tells her parents to fuck off, so cathartic. It will be interesting to see what their actual friendship looks like after the dust settles. I know in like the epilogue they were sitting in a group of friends, but still.

8. Emeric was so sweet!! So smart and respectful and he and Vanja fit together so well. He also communicates and emotes like a normal person, very refreshing after having to slog through those ‘cool, silent, mysterious' types. An adorably perfect love interest, no notes.

10. Ragne!!!!!! I love her.

11. The whole scene with the Godly Courts council or whatever they were called was funny. I'd love to see more of the gods.

The list of what I didn't care for as much is super short and kinda minor - there were some anachronistic expressions (‘in this economy?' stopped me cold. it was funny tho), and I felt that the characters would have been more believable aged up a bit ? Like the MC and Gisele are 16 in this book, and Emeric is around that age as well. Ehh, I don't know, it just seems like a lot for teenagers, but I feel that about most YA I guess.

Overall, this is easily the best fiction book I read this year and I can see it becoming a favorite to re-read. Easyyy 5 stars. Thank you for writing this lovely book, author Margaret Owen!

Cerita dibuka dengan Vanja yang diserahkan oleh ibunya ke dua dewi, Keberuntungan dan Kematian. Vanja pun dibesarkan oleh keduanya.
Cerita beralih ke Vanja menjadi Putri Gisele yang juga mempunyai dobel peran lain, yaitu pelayan Gisele bernama Marthe, juga sebagai Penny Phantom, yang suka menggasak harta para bangsawan. Sial bagi Vanja di pesta yang dihadirinya malam itu, muncullah Prefek Junior yang dipanggil oleh tunangan putri Gisele untuk menangani kasus Penny Phantom.
Pertanyaan yang muncul kemudian, dimana Putri Gisele yang asli apabila Vanja mengambil tempatnya? Bagaimana cerita latar belakang Vanja hingga dia mencuri identitas Gisele?
Mengangkat anti-heroine sebagai tokoh utama cukup tidak umum, namun buku ini mampu merangkai perjalanan Vanja dengan baik. Aku sebagai pembaca ketika sampai pada cerita latar belakang hidup Vanja, menjadi simpati kepadanya. Dan Ragne, tokoh yang cukup mencuri perhatian, sungguh menyenangkan penulis menghadirkan Ragne sebagai pendukung Vanja.