The Theif Lord

The Theif Lord by Cornelia Funke
Publisher: The Chicken House
Copyright: 2003
Number of Pages: 349
Age: 12+
Genre: Fantasy

Summary:
In this fantasy in Venice Italy is about orphaned boys named Bo, and Prosper, who are lead by the Theif Lord. The Theif Lord teaches the boys how to steal in order to survive. However, the Theif Lord has a secret that he doesn't share with the boys. The secret was that the Theif Lord wasn't an orphan, he had a family, a rich family at that. In the story there is a detective who is always on their case and is determined to catch the boys and their theft.
Later in the story there is a new treasure that was found by the boys and a rich man who hires the boys to find the missng pieces. The story climax's when the treasure is put back together, to find that it is a merry-go-round that turns to back to any age that you want. The man that had been helping the boys, had bad intentions so he pushed his way onto the merry-go-round but because he weighed too much, he broke the merry-go-round which made him a little baby again. The boys took him and gave him to their foster parents.
My reaction:
I enjoyed this book a lot because of the different secrets that were revealed through the book. I enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen and have the ending turn out to be something different then I thought.
Who would benefit from this book?
I think that any kid who is 12+ years would enjoy it because it has mystery, suspense, and has a touch of fantasy. It also takes them to a different part of the world that isn't typically put into stories.
What problems might this book cause?
I think this book would cause only problems that its ok to run away from home and to steal things from other people. The reader I believe should be old enough to know what is ok to do and what isn't.