Uma viagem pelas ruas e canais de Veneza, onde Scipio - o autointitulado Senhor dos Ladrões - lidera um grupo de crianças órfãs contratadas para surrupiar um artefato mágico. Sucesso internacional de crítica e público, seis prêmios e 1 milhão de exemplares vendidos.

Tolle Geschichte, den Twist in die Fantasy gegen Ende hätte ich nicht gebraucht... ( )

Magic

Cornelia Funke is the 3rd bestselling author in Germany behind J.K. Rowling and R.L. Stine (this is what her bio in the back of the book actually says) (maybe she should change her name to C.?. Funke). This book takes place in Venice and it's pretty good. ( )

A YA read aimed at (perhaps?) a middle grade audience. The plot ran along the lines of a band of homeless kids in Venice, with a mysterious leader not really much older than they were (except for Bo, the youngest, a brother of Prosper, the other MC).

Without revealing the plot twists, there developed an untenable situation for the kids remaining in their hideout. How this developed was an engaging adventure, with amusing character developments. Inevitably, they ran into difficulties beyond their ability to cope. Two supporting characters ('Victor' and the countess 'Ida') manage to intervene in crucial, if unrealistic ways.

As an adult reading the story, I found the adventure which Scipio and Prosper had, on an offshore Venetian island, out of context with the lead up in the story, not to mention the fantasy developments afterwards. The story especially became convoluted with the 'child' Barbarino and his eventual adoption. The story wrapped up unsatisfactorily: felt rushed in the final chapter(s), without enough detail around the children who remained at Ida's. The Middle Grade crowd may be bored or perhaps enthralled with the book: it's a hard one to unreservedly recommend. ( )