Gen is a thief and proud of it and this lands him in prison. Now the only way out is to prove once and for all that what he has bragged is true; that he can steal anything.

This review will be as brief as possible. To write more would simply give the game away. There are some marvels that should be experienced first-hand, like this book. Usually, when I describe a plot as unpredictable, I take into account the expectations of the target audience. With The Thief however, I can truly say that I believe no one could see the ending coming. If you can, without peeking, then I take my hat off to you.

The Thief is easily the most inventive novel for this age group that I have read in a year. Turner, who was rightfully recommended to publishers by Diana Wynne Jones, is an accomplished writer with astounding imagination. She combines the epochs of Ancient Greece and Early Modern Europe to create a world of rival kingdoms, political intricacy and rich mythology.

Turner's other success is that she is able to draw characters and relationships that are complex and insightful, linking the reader to their fates, while simultaneously maintaining an amount of subtlety. While The Thief may not be one of the richest reads of the Harry Potter era, it certainly ranks in my shelves as one of the most entertaining. Best of all, the following books in the series (of which three have been published, all of which I have read) only serve to raise the level of Turner's storytelling to higher and higher levels. I eagerly await further instalments.

Maryana Garcia is the eldest of four sisters. A student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, she plans to major in History and is currently an employee at the Mount Albert Community Library.