We loved this book and devoured it as soon as it passed the doorstep. It's definitely upper MG, lower YA, as it features teens of various ages with no parents or even a guardian, and a younger teen main character who's a con man and thief extraordinaire, trained (and discarded) by the best.
And it's not about "finding one's place in the world," rather it's all about striking out on their own, making their own decisions and mistakes and finding their own paths.
The plot, of course, revolves around stealing something that Callan, the main character, instinctively knows shouldn't be stolen: a jewel called "the Eye," owned / guarded by the High Weaver himself. The last thief who tried to steal it went mad. Callan spots the deal's just too good, and there's an impossible deadline, too boot.
But Callan can't say no. Nor can the rest of the team hired by a "Mr. Soloman," himself a Weaver, though no member / friend of the High Weavers. Callan comes to lead Mr. Soloman's team of teen petty thieves: Meriel, a gorgeous knife-thrower and pickpocket who's a bit too confident and really needs to work on her skilz; Gareth, a book scholar who may provide the clues they need to figuring out what this "Eye" is even though all mentions of it, and how it came to be guarded so closely have been removed from the official magic books; Lachlan, the procurer with ties to just about anybody who can get them all the gear and information / recon they need to prepare and use for the actual heist; and Foxtail, with a mask for a face , no mouth and totally mute, the patron saint of thieves (although the teens haven't figured that out yet) who has her own agenda and wants an old wrong righted.
Callan is one step ahead of everyone except "the Eye" -- which wants Callan for its own ends and set everything in motion, centuries earlier.
I won't spoil what happens, just know it's a fantastic ride of plot twists and turns. In many ways, this is a fantasy Mission Impossible, but with and for teens.
Enjoy!
I loved it, and I've got the sequel on my TBR pile!
Ok, so I read the first book at the beginning of the year and DEVOURED it.
Now, there's a book 2 and guess what? I LOVED this one, too! Kevin Sands just keeps getting better and better.
It's upper MG / lower YA, as there's no love interest (thank heavens!), just all action, all the time.
This picks right where book one left off…
The Eye is still embedded in Callan, but now it's enchanted so he can't hear its overpowering thoughts all the time, and Foxtail provides an eyepatch that effectively renders it blind as well. It can't see what Callan is doing and seethes as he gives it only glances of whatever situation he's in.
Callan's still working to fulfil his bargain with it, but keep in mind, it hasn't revealed all the terms of that bargain.
Callan and his band of teen cons (the gorgeous knife-throwing Meriel, enigmatic Foxtail, and bookish Gareth) are desperately following a path out of Carlow, away from the exploding volcano, trying to escape the High Weaver, who's hot on their trail, looking for the Dragon's Eye (which Callan and gang stole, remember?).
They're carrying young Lachlan, who's dying, and Callan is following a trail only the Eye can see that leads them to… well, what Callan wants / needs / must have to save Lachlan's life. Immediately. It reeks of all the elements of a good con – need, speed, greed – the still-as-yet-missing Old Man taught Callan to use to get marks to take the bait.
While on this escape, Callan encounters a leopard and pay attention to this. He already knows he's got the patronage of the Fox, as all thieves and con men do, but he also has a special, personal relationship with the Fox. This leopard encounter seems inconsequential, but I LOVED how it was pulled in at the end! I won't say how, but just know, nothing in this book is included out of sheer happenstance; it all has meaning, never fear.
To continue…the Eye leads Callan to a man who can save Lachlan, but only by using the magic in the Dragon Staff, a sort of ancient, elemental magic that's difficult to control. The mage, who's not a Weaver, drains the staff and channels it into Lachlan, managing to convert most of this wild essence into bringing Lachlan back from the dead, but not all…
A small sliver of the elemental magic lives in Lachlan, twisting, writhing, trying to grow and get free. Callan can see it with the Eye, and he very quickly learns, this is but a brief reprieve for Lachlan. Because this wild magic will eventually consume the boy if Callan can't find…
…and you guessed it, exactly what the Eye wants him to find: the Dragon's Teeth. Before Lachlan is consumed and turned into something evil.
The Dragon's Teeth are two swords, hidden away more than a thousand years ago, and it's still a death sentence to anyone who touches them. One can siphon magic out of a person, the other can *supposedly* heal Lachlan.
Once again recognizing he's being conned, Callan's got no choice. He and his friends head to the lakeshore on the ancient trail of the Dragon's Teeth, just as the Eye intended all along. And here it becomes a fast-paced archaeological thriller, with Callan and gang struggling to find and correctly interpret the ancient clues…all while being conned, remember? But by just about every person they encounter!
I won't say any more, but oh my gosh, I am loving these books! The plots are intricate and extremely well-thought-out. The stakes, even when appearing to be achieved, are actually upped. The characterizations are spot on, and poor Callan, thinking he's leading or got any agency in this twisted game the Eye and his world's magical spirits are playing, when in fact – and it's all the more poignant, because deep-down he knows this – he's nothing but an instrument, a finely tuned one at that, in a thousand-year con, one that encompasses … his whole life. He's a manipulated instrument in a game he still can't see.
Can't wait to read the next one!
Enjoy these fantasy books. They'll make great gifts for the advanced readers in your life.
