Kraas Literary Agency

Thief-heroes abound in youth fantasy, as in Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord (2002) and Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief (2006). Bell, author of the Farsala Trilogy, introduces one more streetwise trickster here. When kind Justice Holis is seized for plotting against Deorthas' unjust ruler, the nimble reflexes of Weasel, his 14-year-old clerk and a former pickpocket, serve both in good stead. First, Weasel escapes his own imprisonment; then, with the help of his scrappy cellmate, Arisa—a country lass who, startlingly, excels in hand-to-hand combat—he rounds up outlaw allies to rescue his beloved mentor. Throughout, Bell illuminates tensions between new and ancient ways, and explores the potency of symbols (like a lost royal shield) to tilt public opinion. Weasel's history with Justice Holis is too briefly summarized to convincingly motivate all of this risk taking, and it's easy to miss the political nuances shading the conclusion. But with its Artful Dodger action and the satisfying expansion of its protagonist's social conscience, this first entry in the Shield, Sword, and Crown series will leave many readers wanting more.
-BOOKLIST