The Thief of Always is a pretty good fairytale, in the old-fashioned seventh-son-outwits-all kind of way (though our protagonist is an only child). Harvey's a normal kid who gets to go on a vacation at the Holiday House, and experiences magic, learns that the Holiday House is secretly sinister, defeats all. |
Honestly, there isn't much depth to this book—no character development, few plot twists beside the obvious—but the book doesn't really need complexity. The Thief of Always tells a simple, straightforward tale with interesting ideas (Holiday House, where seasons pass in hours, for example) and competent prose, and that's all it really needs.
Rating: four out of five. The Thief of Always knows what it wants to do and does it well.
Turd rating: one out of five. Harvey has the lack of empathy that comes from typical childish binary between good and evil, but, well, he's ten. He'll grow out of it.
Rating: four out of five. The Thief of Always knows what it wants to do and does it well.
Turd rating: one out of five. Harvey has the lack of empathy that comes from typical childish binary between good and evil, but, well, he's ten. He'll grow out of it.