“Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl…” The story’s themes are turned on their heads, and the end result is just as much a reaffirmation of the source material as it is a challenge to it. All the initial elements are present, the same characters follow familiar beats at first, only to eventually diverge. Little Thieves takes a lesser known fable, The Goose Girl, and picks it apart at the seams, only to refashion it into something far grander than you may have thought you could get from the original material.

This is exactly what a fairytale retelling should be. Thanks so much for the ARC, macmillan/henry holt and co! the plot and writing are also pretty simple, so combine all of these and it just makes the story feel drawn out and sometimes a chore to read.īut all in all, this would be the perfect book for someone who is looking for a fresh retelling that promises some interesting magic, world-building, and mystery.

The things that prevented me from enjoying this more were the slow pacing and long length. i also really enjoyed the use of an anti-hero and found vanya to be a compelling character. i like the atmosphere of the story - it has very woodsy, german village, dark fairytale vibes. i didnt fall head over heels in love with it, but its definitely far from terrible. i feel like the same tales get retold and retold, so its nice to read something new, even if im not familiar with the source material. Ive never heard of ‘the goose girl,’ so i have no idea how this compares as a retelling, but i do appreciate the unique story. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele's sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life. Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother's love-and she's on the hook for one hell of a debt. Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl.

Margaret owen little thieves