Museum of Thieves

Museum of Thieves
by Lian Tanner

Welcome to the tyrannical city of Jewel, where impatience is a sin and boldness is a crime.

Goldie Roth has lived in Jewel all her life. Like every child in the city, she wears a silver guardchain and is forced to obey the dreaded Blessed Guardians. She has never done anything by herself and won’t be allowed out on the streets unchained until Separation Day.

When Separation Day is canceled, Goldie, who has always been both impatient and bold, runs away, risking not only her own life but also the lives of those she has left behind. In the chaos that follows, she is lured to the mysterious Museum of Dunt, where she meets the boy Toadspit and discovers terrible secrets. Only the cunning mind of a thief can understand the museum’s strange, shifting rooms. Fortunately, Goldie has a talent for thieving.

Which is just as well, because the leader of the Blessed Guardians has his own plans for the museum—plans that threaten the lives of everyone Goldie loves. And it will take a daring thief to stop him. . . .

Museum of Thieves is a thrilling tale of destiny and danger, and of a courageous girl who has never been allowed to grow up—until now.

This book was right up my alley! A strong heroine, a mysterious and magical building, a dystopian society...



Goldie Roth is a twelve year old that has never been allowed to come to harm. Sounds great, right? Except that she is chained and monitored 24/7, for her own safety...as are all children in Jewel. Blessed Guardians keep the children safe, if not happy, and adults have forgotten the woes that used to plague them.

These children grow into frightened, naive adults, but Goldie is having none of it! She is headstrong and runs away. She ends up at the Museum of Dent, a wondrous place that is more than it's own character in this series!! Goldie grows in leaps and bounds once she meets the Museum's Keepers and another headstrong runaway, Toadspit. Goldie becomes a very brave and smart heroine. She is one of my new favorite middle grade characters!

Her new friends, Toadspit, Bru the Brizzlehound, Herro Dan, Olga Ciavolga, and Sinew are also wonderful, warm, and humorous. They consistently made me smile and warmed my heart. I love their relationships with Goldie, especially Bru, who saves her life and then gets the favor returned, and Toadspit, who true to teenage boy form starts out giving Goldie a horrible time, who becomes her best friend. I loved how they came together and relied on each other to deal with the threat to the city and the Museum.

If you are looking for adventure, friendship, magic, and mystery, try this great new series! I am definitely looking forward to reading City of Lies (book 2) when it comes out.

Full disclosure: Audio book version received to review for AudioFile.