The Good Thief (novel)

The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti, is a debut novel published in 2009 by Dial Press. It is the story of Ren, an orphan adopted by a pair of gentleman rogues in early American New England and led willingly into a life of crime. Ren, who is missing his left hand, is taught to lie, steal and run confidence games by his new mentor, Benjamin Nab, and they travel to the city of North Umbridge, where a mousetrap factory owner reigns supreme using his army of hired thugs ("hat boys") and the unmarried, dowdy girls who work in the factory ("mousetrap girls").

The Good Thief
AuthorHannah Tinti
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
Published2009
PublisherDial Press
Publication placeUnited States

The Good Thief is the winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award[1] and the Center for Fiction's John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize.[2]

Reception

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The Good Thief received positive reviews from Publishers Weekly,[3] The Washington Post,[4] Entertainment Weekly,[5] the San Francisco Chronicle,[6] The Seattle Times,[7] and The New York Times,[8][9] as well as starred reviews from Booklist[10] and Kirkus Reviews.[11] The book also received the following accolades:

Year Award Category Result Ref
2008 John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize Won [12]
2009 Alex Award Won [13]

References

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  1. ^ 2009 Alex Awards Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine from the American Library Association's website
  2. ^ First Novel Prize, Mercantile Library Center for Fiction
  3. ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti, Author". Publishers Weekly. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  4. ^ Charles, Ron (August 31, 2008). "Great Expectations". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  5. ^ Reese, Jennifer (August 18, 2008). "The Good Thief". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  6. ^ Ward, Meghan (2008-09-07). "Hannah Tinti's 'Good Thief': twist on Dickens". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  7. ^ Allison, Melissa (2008-09-26). ""The Good Thief": Coming of age with some seedy role models". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  8. ^ Meloy, Maile (2008-09-26). "Some Dissembling Required". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  9. ^ Maslin, Janet (2008-08-28). "An Orphan Becomes a Novice Grave Robber and Unearths Some Surprises". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  10. ^ "The Good Thief". Booklist. June 1, 2008. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  11. ^ "The Good Thief". Kirkus Reviews. May 20, 2010. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  12. ^ "The Good Thief". Goodreads. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  13. ^ "The Good Thief | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. September 5, 2009. Retrieved 2021-09-18.