Rating: 
Summary: Review of The Thief Lord
Review: I loved the book The Thief Lord. I have read all of the Harry Potter books so far and think that the Thief Lord was probably about as good as them. I wish there were more books by Cornelia Funke. I think it would be a great book for anyone ages 7 to adult. It had mystery, suspense, surprise and humor. It was sad when I finished because it was such a good book and I didn't want it to end!by Connor
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, But not Enchanting
Review: First off let me say, I had very high expectations for this book. I have heard it compared to harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and the like. The story tells of two runaway children off to Venice to escape their Aunt and Uncle. They hook up with the "Thief Lord" who is not all he seems to be. There are a few elements of Fantasy and Magic thrown is as well for good measure. I read the entire thing in one sitting, but was not ultimately moved at the end. Though the writing is good, the book lacks that sparkle ever so present in JK Rowlings, and Garth Nixes writing. Honestly, the story just did not leap alive for me.
Alas, I hope you have better luck with it than I do. Just be forewarned that although the story is certainly pretty from a distance, up close it is rather bland, and lacking the spice it needs.
Rating: 
Summary: Venetian digressions.
Review: An adventure story about runaway children in Venice with some supernatural ingredients.
It's hard to predict what children will enjoy, and some of my criticisms will be besides the point if it really is popular with children.
It starts off in a detective's office where the nasty Hartliebs are looking for their nephews. Then the scene changes and we get multiple points of view. I think stories have to be SPOV or first person narrator to hold a child's attention. There is a nice build-up of suspense around the identity of the enigmatic Thief Lord who helps the boys, but then this is solved and we go off on the chase for the missing wooden wing. This comes to an involved supernatural denouement, and
then several more unconvincing and anti-climactic chapters sort out rather inconclusively what becomes of the protagonists.
Speaking as a grownup, I enjoyed the descriptions of Venice. The author's delightful (but not very child-oriented) drawing of old Venetian buildings adorn the chapter headings. It's a book you might buy for a child you're taking to Italy, which brings me to one further damning criticism - it's highly educational.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The Thief Lord is a great book for young adult readers. It is very well-written and has a deep, original plot full of memorable characters and places. The setting for the book, Venice, Italy, is a very fine selection that provides a great background for the twisting and turnings of the storyline.
This book is about two young orphaned boys, Prosper and Bo, who seek shelter in Venice from the custody of their horrible Aunt Esther, who wishes to split them apart. During their stay they meet a group of other orphans who hide in an abandoned movie theater and rely on a mysterious boy who prefers to be called "the Theif Lord" to steal valuable items for them, which they later exchange for money from a sneaky and arrogant haggler called Barbarossa. Soon after Prosper and Bo's arrival, a detective tries to find them and from there on the plot twists itself into some unforgettable encounters....
Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro to a study of Venice
Review: This is a lovely book with engaging characters. Although the element of magic is subtle and not added until close to the end of the story, I thought it gave the story a much greater depth and was not at all jarring. In addition, I think this book would be a lovely way to introduce children to a study about Venice (and perhaps Italy too). The city is described with loving and intimate details that make you want to hop a plane and experience it yourself. The magical carousel that is central to the story makes you believe that Venice would be the kind of city where the unexpected is always just around the corner. Definitely worth the read. I listened to an excellent audiobook version(narrated by Simon Jones) that I would recommend highly. Jones read the book with nuance and did a wonderful job giving the characters distinct voices.
Rating:
Summary: Very well written and Entertaining
Review: I read this book in three days because I was on break and it was fairly easy to read. But the Thief Lord is a very enjoyable story about two children hiding from their Aunt and Uncle who want to seperate them. They are protected by a gang of orphans who, are protected by the mysterious Thief Lord. However as the story continues it turns out the Thief Lord has secrets of his own and the plot thickens when they recieve a mysterious new client. The Thief Lord is somewhat like a childhood fairytale but is written well enough and is suspensful enough to make you want to find out what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: The Young Bandit
Review: The Thief Lord
By:Cornelia Funke
Reviewed by:C.Chung
P.2
Prosper and Bo are orphans on the run from their mean Aunt Esther and Uncle Max Hartlieb because they wanted to adopt Bo and send Prosper to a boarding school which means that they would be separated from each other.Then Prosper and Bo met Hornet(real name is Caterina) while on their journey. She took them to a hideout in a closed movie theater where they met other street children named Riccio and Mosca. All are led by the a 13-year-old thief named Scipio, otherwise known as the Thief Lord.He welcomed Prosper and Bo and supported them.Meanwhile, Esther and Max hired a detective named Victor Getz to spot them Victor managed to spot them, but the gumshoe got outwitted by the children-twice.Victor got tied and gagged in the men's bathroom. The kids were tricked by Victor into letting him go. Scipio was doing criminal business with a smuggler called Ernesto Barbarossa. He took several items to sell to him. He also got an envelope from called the Conte. This person promised a lot of money for a wooden wing. It was hard getting the wing-they had to smuggle it out of Scipio's house. When they got the money, Victor found it to be counterfeit.Even worse, the aunt and uncle found Bo and took him to a hotel and Hornet, Mosca, and Riccio were captured into an orphanage. That just left Scipio and Prosper. Scipio's mother, Ida Spavento and Victor had rescued Bo,Mosca, Hornet, and Riccio and sneaked them out of captivity. Meanwhile back at the island where the trade occured, Prosper and Scipio went to get the wing back from the Conte, but a girl named Morosina, sister of the Conte locked them in stables until sunrise when the two will meet the Conte.Next morning,they met the Conte who was really known as Renzo. It turned out that Renzo needed the wing to complete the merry-go-round of the Merciful Sisters which would magically change your character depending on what you rode. Scipio rode the sea horse and looked a bit older. But suddenly a familiar redbeard was holding on Morosina's pigtails.It was Barbarossa.It turned out that Barbarossa was the crook behind the counterfeiting mess. He decided to take a ride on the merry-go-round and got punished by its effect. He rode on the lion so that meant he became a boy again. The little crook was carried to the dungeons to serve as prisoner. They went back to the city to Barbarossa's shop were Barbarossa had to pay with his money for cheating them. They went back to the hotel waving good-bye to Renzo. At the hotel, they were reunited back at the hotel along with Esther.This was the conclusion. Scipio became a detective like Victor. Prosper,Bo,and Hornet lived at Ida Spavento's house. Mosca worked with a fisherman, and Riccio became a pickpocket. And Barbarossa who ,as a kid, was adopted by Esther stole a lot of her belongings. Esther then shipped of to a boarding school where he known as "The Thief Lord"
What I liked about this book was that it was full of action and mystery. What descibed its action and adventure was "We have to hurry to the merry-go-round.
What made the mystery was "What exactly is the merry-go-round of the Merciful sisters?"
My favorite part of the book was when Barbarossa rode the lion. It was very funny when Barbarossa was hanging on the lion screaming"AAARRRGH!!!" Yes, The Thief Lord is a very wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: A very good read, although some flaws drag it down
Review: This book was a great book, great for basically any age between 10-16 (or more, I'm not sure.) However, the actual recommendation starts at 9 years old. I don't think many 9 year olds would easily be able to finish this book. I enjoyed this book because the characters were likable, although I thought Prosper-the main character, was kind of dull, and that Mosca was not featured nearly as much as he should have been. The two characters that you really get to know are Scipio (the Thief Lord,) and Victor, (the Detective.) Even Riccio is a character with depth. (although the problem with him is that he was supposed to be a kid who stole a lot, but you never really actually got to see him steal anything. It was just briefly mentioned at some parts, as more of an afterthought.) I got the feeling that the book's elements on theft, and language (which I will get to later) were simplified (at least in the English translation,) to avoid setting a bad example for younger kids. This comes off as unnecessary, simply because this is a book about thieves, and they should be stealing stuff! Parents who buy a book for their kids called "The Thief Lord" are obviously forwarned by the title alone that it will have some crime (or language) in it. I am just making this point because at one point in the book, where the group decides to go with a plan that involves breaking into a house, just wasn't believeable for that reason. I didn't believe these kids (who obviously didn't steal) would so easily break into a house! Anyway, that just kind of took me out of the book a little. Back to the plot, the adventures they have and the life they live, (living off the money from the Thief Lord's raids,) are the main plot of the book. They live in an abandoned movie theatre, with money from the Thief Lord, whose character is a mystery until later in the book. This book is not a short book at all. This does not stop this book from being a great book, but it adds to the flaws. First of all, I would like to point out that this book is a translation. The original version was released in Germany, written by Cornelia Funke in German. The book sold well there, so it was translated to English by Oliver Latsch, and released in America. I am not sure what changes were made, or what was lost (if anything,) in the translation, but some things are definately wrong with the writing. First of all, these characters are almost teenagers, (one of them is a teenager,) and the way they talk just doesn't seem believeable. First of all, kids ages 12-13 and even an adult being held captive don't usually say things like, "Gosh Darnet," and "To heck with it!" At this age, kids begin to use curse words. I'm not saying that this book needs to be loaded with bad language, but the occasional swear word, would really make these characters more believeable as teens or preteens. I am not sure if the book was written this way, or the translator felt the need to censore some items by eliminating some of the bad words, but a book about preteens and teens needs some bad words. Not to mention that these kids aren't living with anyone who will force them to stop swearing. And I am not off base here. (...) Another problem is the ages. They say Scipio is 13 years old, but he really seems more like a 14 year old, and Prosper seems more like a 13 year old than a 12 year old. And those aren't the only problems with the characters. Another problem is the fact that Prosper, the main character, is just not believable, and just doesn't seem real. Although he lives with a group of (it is implied) thieves, and although he basically lives off money from burglaries, he is against stealing, and resents others for doing so. Does that really make sense? (...) And as I stated, the ages seem a little off. And, the final (and possibily biggest problem with this book,) is the fact that the plot seems to drag at some parts. For example, there was one time near the end of the book where Prosper and Scipio alone go on an adventure, and this scene is designed to be the climax of the book. Unfortunately, this climax isn't as much a climax as it is a point for unnecessary conversation, and a dragging plot. Not just that, but when I think about all the things that could have been easily dropped from the plot, the book's pacing (espechily near the end of the book) would seem a lot better. Other than that, though, the ending is nice. It is both happy and sad, (more sad, if you are older, and really think about it,) but overall, it was a happy ending to a good book. This was a good book, and definately had it's moments. I enjoyed this book, but think that if the age group for this story was set a little higher (like, instead of being marketed for preteens, it could have been marketed for teenagers,) the characters, their actions, and their dialogue in general, could have been more realistic. (A group of thieves that hardly ever steals anything; now that's a new one) Add in sometimes unstable pacing, mostly due to a rocky 2nd half of the book which seemed like the author wanted to include too much, as well as the previously stated underdeveloped characters, drag the score down. I highly recommend the book, but it's got huge flaws, that just can't be overlooked.
Rating:
Summary: Your Heart Will Be Stolen By the Thief Lord
Review: In the endless twists and turns of modern Venice, Italy, hide two runaways, Prosper and Bo, who are being sought after by their haughty aunt, who wishes to adopt Bo and send Prosper away. She enlists the help of Victor, a soft-hearted detective who enjoys putting on disguises, and thinks it will not be difficult to find two children living alone in the city. But Bo and Prosper are no longer alone; they have come across a group of street children who are lead by a boy who calls himself the Thief Lord: a thief so great he has been in almost every noble house in Venice without being invited. When the the Thief Lord is given a special assignment, the children meet the strange photographer, Ida Spavento, and learn that their Thief Lord is not all he seems. Add to this the mysterious conte, the evil Barbarossa, and the secret of a magical carousel that turns adults into children, and children into adults, and you have a truly magical book that will delight and astound you to the very last page.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging
Review: Funke's setting and characters are charming and quirky, and combine to make a light, entertaining story. Venice,that beautiful and magical city, almost becomes a character in its own right. The two young orphans, Prosper and Bo, are appealing and well-drawn, as is the gold-hearted Victor, the detective hired to seek them. The secrets of the Thief Lord and the fortunes of the two brothers intertwine to make a fascinating whole. We can look for future novels by this author with interest and anticipation. The story is not without its faults, however. Chief among them is the introduction of a magical element nearly two-thirds of the way through the story. Indeed, until that the point the story follows the pattern of many other stories for children in which a young protagonist survives on his own, in a real--if melodramatic--world. The books of Joan Aiken, Barbara Brooks Wallace, and Avi, all with similar Dickensian elements, come strongly to mind. The sudden introduction of a search for magical objects, in a story which otherwise follows this classic pattern, is jarring. There is a problem as well with the sub-plot involving the boys' Aunt Esther, who plans to separate the brothers. It was difficult to worry too much about this; Esther was annoying, but hardly dangerous. The "wicked" aunt and uncle merely provide an excuse for the boys to run away to the city their mother loved. The author apparently didn't take this part of the plot too seriously either; much of the action resolving this sub-plot actually happens "off-stage," with the reader learning of it later.
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