She Thief
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The girl, Baz, and the boy, Demi, are master pickpockets. They weave through rich neighborhoods to slip bags off shoulders and wallets out of pockets before disappearing into the crowd. Their loot goes to Fay, who runs a gang of child thieves from her den in the Barrio. This sweltering slum—in a city that is imagined, but all too real—is what passes for home to the kids, and Fay is what passes for family.
That all changes the day Demi steals a magnificent blue ring. Soon, the police chief and the Barrio's crime boss close in on Fay, and she begins to break under their pressure.
Baz has never doubted Fay before. She's never been apart from Demi, either. But soon, Baz is left alone to find her way through a world more corrupt than she's ever realized. Here, the lives of children are thrown away without a moment's hesitation. Here, the rich and powerful are just thieves on a larger scale. And somewhere in this wreck of a city, Baz must find the scraps of hope, the small acts of kindness, and the steely strength that will take her back to Demi and wash them both out of the Barrio for good.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British author Finn's awkwardly titled U.S. debut is an exciting, if often bleak, update of the classic trope of orphans making a living as thieves. In the downtrodden Barrio in an unnamed contemporary city, the titular thief, Baz, lives with the wiry Demi, assorted other young boys, and their Dickensian den mother, Fay. Demi and Baz steal a ring from a rich woman, but trouble erupts when it turns out that their victim was the police chief's wife. Things get even more complicated when they learn that Fay's son, given up for adoption years earlier, has been raised by the police chief, and now wants the help of Fay (as well as her charges) to steal from his corrupt father. The chain of events set off by these actions leads to misery for many characters, and Finn's strong writing (filtered through Baz's tough, unsentimental worldview) keeps the sense of tension and danger prominent. There's little that's romantic in the poverty or thievery in this tale, but there is an engaging story with solid characters, intense action, and a strong narrative voice. Ages 12 up.
