The Grave Thief
by Dee Hahn (Author)
A twelve-year-old grave thief gets caught up in a royal heist in this compelling middle-grade fantasy in the vein of Kelley Armstrong's A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying.
Twelve-year-old Spade is a grave thief. With his father and brother, he digs up the recently deceased to steal jewels, the main form of trade in Wyndhail.
Digging graves works for Spade -- alone in the graveyard at night, no one notices his limp or calls him names. He's headed for a lifetime of theft when his father comes up with the audacious plan to rob a grave in the Wyndhail castle cemetery. Spade and his brother get caught in a royal trap, and Spade must find the master of the Woegan: a deadly creature that is stalking the castle by night.
Along the way, he meets Ember, the queen's niece, and together they race to solve the mystery of the legendary Deepstones and their connection to the Woegan, the queen, a missing king and the mysterious pebble Spade finds in the Wyndhail cemetery.
This is a fantastic story of friendship, bravery, grief and acceptance.
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School Library Journal
Spade Archer Rustle doesn't believe in luck. In Wyndhail, a grave robber born with a bad leg can't exactly afford to rely on anything but his wits, after all. So when his father sends Spade and his younger brother, Benji, behind the Wyndhail castle walls to steal from a baron's freshly dug grave, Spade's not entirely surprised the plan doesn't work. In order to free Benji from the dungeon—and armed with little more than his uncle Malachi's fairy tales and the help of a persistent, adventure-hungry princess named Ember—Spade will have to face the most dreaded beast in the kingdom, the Woegon. Fast-paced and full of magic, this debut is sure to be a smash hit with fantasy and adventure lovers. Readers should come prepared with a box of tissues, however, as there are some tearjerker moments. Main characters are cued as white. VERDICT An easy recommendation for fans of Neil Gaiman, Cornelia Funke, or Sayantani DasGupta. Recommended first purchase.—Kaitlin Frick
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV039150 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Special Needs
Theft
Stealing
Mystery and detective stories
Fantasy
Detective and mystery fiction
Fantasy fiction
Monsters
Castles
Grave robbing
Tombs
