Book review: She Thief(UK. Two Thieves) by Daniel Finn

What's She Thief about?
In this novel we get to know two young thieves, Baz and Demi, they're living in a bad neighborhood in a South American city. Both of the children are orphans and they have been raised by a women named Fay. Fay has teached them how to be the best pickpockets in the city in order to survive. Everything Baz and Demi steal goes to Fay, in return she gives them shelter, food and money for clothing. The three of them have been together for what feels like forever, they're almost like family. But just almost, if anyone breaks Fay's rules they're gone!

My thoughts:
When I opened this book I didn't really know what to expect, and really that for me is a good thing. I tend to have so high expectations when it comes to books everyone seems to fall in love with. I often end up disappointed. She Thief started out a bit slow for me, I felt there were so many long sentences and the English slang/dialect being used kind of annoyed me. After 30 pages everything that bothered me was forgotten and I was sucked into the world of the two friendly thieves, Baz and Demi, their friends and a whole bunch of other more dangerous criminals.

Daniel Finn managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, almost throughout the entire book. I was never sure where he was taking his characters. never felt sure if all the people I came to love would have a happy ending, would end up dead in a ditch somewhere or locked up in the Castle forever(or worse working in the Mountain). I cried and cried when I read the last few pages last night and today the characters have been in the back of my mind all day.


I loved the dialog between Demi and Baz, they're friendly banter is guaranteed to make you smile. She Thief for me was a story about never letting go of your friends and family, sometimes bad things happen but you don't just close your eyes and move on with your own life like nothing ever happened. Even in the worst thinkable places there can be good people, you cannot live your life without trusting a single soul. That's no way to lead your life.

Daniel Finn writes about a corrupted system that sadly still exists in many countries. It really is a horrible thing to reflect about, how many people have been wronged by this kind of way to governing? We also get to see a way of life that's the only option for survival for many, many young children living in poor countries, stealing. The most heart wrenching for me was reading about the children and the families working on the Mountain(a recycling compound/dumpster), getting sick by all the filth and garbage they live and breathe every single day. Sadly this is also the way of life for many poor people in real life.

The story is a bit like a modern Oliver Twist, I haven't read the book myself but I know how the story goes.

She Thief is a great young adult thriller. I really loved reading it and it made me even more grateful for everything I got.

The cover:
I just noticed that some has made complaints about the cover since the two main characters is described as having dark skin. I can understand the complaints but for me it's highly unlikely that the girl on the cover is supposed to be 13-14 year old Baz. In the book she is described as a girl looking just like a boy, very unlikely that she wears any makeup. For me the girl on the cover is Fay, their leader, she's described as a girl with fair skin and red hair in her late twenties/early thirties.

My rating of this book:
4.5 stars out of 5

Worth mentioning:
Daniel Finn is the name children's author Will Gatti uses when he writes books for young adults.

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Want to know more?
Visit Daniel Finn's homepage
The book on Goodreads

Pages(hardcover): 304
Publisher:Feiwel and Friends(Macmillan)
ISBN 13: 9780312563301
Full disclosure: Received from the publisher for honest review.

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository(and their likes).