Note to parents: the end might be a little disturbing for younger children. You might want to look over it before letting your children read it.
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti (click here for the author website) is the ‘G’ book for this month. I originally read it in January and instantly knew that this was going to be a book for this month.
I was a little cautious about reading it at first. My family is not the biggest on promoting rebellion against the leaders that are over us. (Romans 13:1-7), but it was the good thief, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Ren has a mystery on his hands. Well, hand. You see, it was a raining night when he was left at the orphanage. The brothers (it was a Catholic orphanage) found the one handed boy the next morning. No one knows where he came from, or why he has one hand, or why anyone left him on the ground on a cold, rainy night. The only reason Ren even knows his name is because the clothes he came in had R-E-N stitched in the collar.
No one wants Ren; after all, what help can a one handed boy be on the farm? Until one day…a man comes in and looks at the boys. One by one, he passes them all by, until he comes to Ren.
The man tells a story–a story of how his parents were killed by Indians, and how he had gone to revenge their deaths and had now come back for his brother, Ren. Brother John does not believe him; but hey, if this guy is willing to take Ren, who is Brother John to question the will of God?
That night, Ren learns that this man is someone far different than what he’d hoped when they weasel their way into a man’s house and then make off in the night with his horse and wagon.
Before long, Ren realizes that this man tells so many stories, it’s hard to tell what is true and what is not. One thing is obvious, though. This man is not Ren’s brother. Yet somehow, he knows Ren’s past. It’s up to Ren to find out what really happened.
As Ren begins to find clues to his hidden parentage he comes to suspect that this man not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well.
Even though I have written way more than is on the back of the book, there is so much that I haven’t covered. I would definitely pick this book up and read it. Hannah Tinti’s writing keeps you on your toes the entire time. It’s engaging, exciting, and plot is like West Virginia roads: curvy.
I’d say the only bad thing is that it’s so interesting, I read through it really quick. And it gets in the way of chores and other mundane but necessary jobs. And definitely don’t read it while watching cousin or other mischievous children. They’ll have burnt the house down before you can get your eyes to look up from the pages. I will say though: the end might be a little disturbing for younger children. Parents, you might want to look over it before letting your children read it.
Other than that, pick it up and read it folks! You won’t regret it!
Country Girl Reviews 