The Magic Thief: Stolen

Conn is a boy who isn't entirely sure of his age and has for years made his living on the streets of Wellmet picking pockets and locks. One day, he attempts to pick the pocket of Nevery, a wizard who had been banished from the city for twenty years. When Conn's quick fingers come up with Nevery's locus magicalicus - the stone that a wizard uses to focus his magic - Nevery is surprised that Conn isn't instantly killed by the stone's power. Curious, Nevery does something he's never done before and takes Conn in as his apprentice. Now Conn must work with his often difficult master to learn everything a wizard needs to know and find a locus magicalicus of his own.

Meanwhile, the level of magic present in Wellmet is quickly dropping. It soon becomes clear that without magic the city will die. Nevery is placed in charge of the investigation that will hopefully uncover the cause of this problem, but Conn instinctually knows that Nevery's conclusions aren't quite right. But what is a lowly wizard's apprentice to do about it, especially when his master won't listen and most of the other people in the city think of him as simply a gutterboy?

This is a great fantasy read, and I'd quickly recommend it to the youngest readers of Harry Potter. Author Sarah Prineas uses a lot of vivid descriptions to pull the reader into the story and has created an exciting cast of characters ranges from Benet, the hired muscle who knits and bakes, to the dutches who banished Nevery and clearly does not like magic, to the apprentice of another wizard who clearly does not have the city's interests at heart. The book is thick- just over 400 pages - but the font is large and the story is so exciting and the characters so engaging that many readers will fly through the book.

Overall Grade: A

There's also a sequel that's just recently hit stores! The Magic Thief: Lost picks up where the story left off and follows Conn's adventures as Nevery's apprentice.