Little Thieves

Written by Margaret Owen

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

A scrappy maid must outsmart both palace nobles and Low Gods in a new YA fantasy by Margaret Owen, author of the Merciful Crow series.

The little thief steals gold, but the great one steals kingdoms;
And only one goes to the gallows…

Vanja Schmidt knows no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love. Abandoned to Death and Fortune as a child, she has scraped by as a lowly maidservant with her quick wits and the ability to see her god-mothers’ hands at work in the world. But when they demand her lifelong servitude in exchange, Vanja decides that gifts not given freely…can always be stolen.

When an opportunity rises to steal a string of enchanted pearls, Vanja seizes it, transforming herself into Gisele, the princess she’s served for years. As the glamorous princess, Vanja leads a double life, charming the nobility while ransacking their coffers as a jewel thief. Then, one heist away from funding an escape from her god-mothers, Vanja crosses the wrong god, and is cursed to turn into jewels herself. The only way to save herself is to make up for what she’s taken—starting with her first victim, Princess Gisele.

A wicked retelling of “The Goose Girl,” Little Thieves is a delightfully witty YA fantasy about the fickle hands of fate, and changing the cards we’re dealt.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Oct 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781250795434

Margaret Owen

Margaret Owen was born and raised at the end of the Oregon Trail and has worked in everything from thrift stores to presidential campaigns. She is the author of the instant Indie Bestseller Little Thieves, which received five starred reviews and was a Kids' Indie next pick and YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection. Her debut, The Merciful Crow duology, was an NPR Best Book of the Year, a Tor.com Best of the Year, and a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection. In her free time, she enjoys exploring ill-advised travel destinations, raising money for social justics nonprofits through her illustrated work, and negotiating a hostage situation with her monstrous cats. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews for Little Thieves

[Kayla Pratt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

And now I have to wait a WHOLE YEAR for the next book!!

I was not supposed to finish this so quickly but I literally couldn't put it down. And duhh because Margaret Owen wrote it. Literally one of my favorite authors now. Her books always pull me in and I connect with her characters and their struggle. I'm glad I read this book.

5 stars

[nita.schmid · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a brilliant, thoughtful, thrilling book, and just as skilfully narrated! I couldn't put this one down.

[Latasha Renay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book didn't just call to me, it screamed out to me. I think that this book fell victim to it's own hype, for me, honestly. At first I had a really hard time connecting with the main character Vanja but thankfully once I started listening to the audiobook I was able to get invested in the story and the characters. I highly recommend the audio for this one.

[Tiffani Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This author is fastly becoming one of my favourite authors.

[Taylor Nelson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

EXCELLENT. It kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I had figured it out/it could wrap up nicely if it ended there, a new element was introduced. Stellar writing, characterization, author, and voice actor. Perfect for fans of Six or Crows.

[Belinda Gerbosch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The night when Emeric and Vanja play a game of cards and ask each other questions. Loved it

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Content warnings: emotional abuse, child abuse, whipping of a young child, girl on girl hate, mentions of the threat of rape, alluding to a rape in the past, and gaslighting

Rep: queer side characters, sapphic side relationship, male/male side relationship, nonbinary representation.


I love little Vanja! She's fiercely independent and maybe more than just morally grey. But in all the best ways! She was given to the Gods Death and Fortune at the age of 3. She was then turned over to a wealthy household as a scullery maid. There she met Princess Gisele and they became friends. When a cruel friend visits, Vanja sees that Princess Gisele wasn't willing to stand up for her. We learn how Vanja has been betrayed, hurt emotionally and physically and how she has learnt that she can only trust herself. This hurt just pulled on her earlier hurts.
A few years later she takes on Giselle's face and life using a magic strand of pearls. Only Gisele's betrothed is an evil man. Vanja begins to steal from other wealthy nobles- trying to amass enough to run away. But Emeric, a magical investigator, arrives and seems to be hot on her tail. Vanja leaves the house after stealing the jewels only to be stopped on the road by another God and told she will turn into jewels unless she can reverse the wrongs she has done.
Now you know I love a character that grows and that's just what Vanja does. The author did such a wonderful job weaving the complex relationship between Vanja and Gisele. She didn't just pit them against one another. Both recognize their privilege through the story. I would have liked a little more from Gisele but this was Vanja's story. The whole story really shows just how messy humans can be. It's very complex!

The side characters Ragne and Emeric were well rounded and thought out. I especially loved Ragne. She was so charming, sweet, and her abilities made the story so much more fantastical and exciting. And her excitement was so endearing without being over the top. Her character contrasted with Vanja’s hard edges, making this friendship so much better.

I loved how steady Emeric was through the story.

[Angel White · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I can't believe I waited so long to start this one. I love retellings so was excited to read this, but then again it's another series so...?

I finally decided to pick this up because of an October challenge for a book club. This is a big book BUT doesn't read like one. I loved the atmosphere, characters and story. This was a fast read for me and I finished in just a few days. I believe the 2nd is out already and I am definitely snagging it.

I actually haven't heard of The Goose Girl but I do have the Brothers Grimm fairy tales so will definitely be reading it after finishing this one. This is definitely a good one for fantasy and magic-loving fans.

[claire9y · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The thirteenth child of a thirteenth child. What an ominous moniker to have as a four year old girl. Which is why Vanja’s birth mother relinquished little Vanja to the Low Gods, Death and Fortune, who enslaved her to a life of servitude.

Little Vanja didn’t have it easy. Vanja grew up in a position that she hated. As such, Vanja vowed that no matter what, she would leave her current status for a hopefully better life even if it meant she had to become a thief. And so little Vanja grew up to be a master thief and a master liar. Until one day, she stole from the wrong person. As punishment for her crime, Vanja is cursed to die a slow death by turning into the very precious gems that she stole from others. And the only way to break the curse is to “make up for what she has stolen.” But it’s not as easy as it sounds, because Vanja has taken much more than precious stones…

The dust cover for Little Thieves really drew me in and I probably had some pretty lofty expectations because of it. Those expectations for the most part were not met. For a lengthly novel of 500+ pages, it was a slog to get through. It felt like extra fluff was added to get to specific word count. Not a good feeling. I almost gave up at the 50% mark, but hey, I got that far, I might as well finish it.

The plot was interesting and that’s what probably got me through it, though I skimmed through the fluff. The backstories behind the front story really came together and made the novel palatable. But, you could get easily lost if you’re not paying attention.

The characters are well developed but I found the world building to be a little off the mark. Perhaps it is because a more concentrated effort was put into the character building and fleshing out their details.

It is easy to get lost in the novel because of the German terms and deities. But in the physical copy of the book, there is a glossary of terms that was very helpful in navigating the landscape.

Overall, a respectable read. But I’m sure that there are many YA Fantasy fans that would just fall head over heels in love with this book. A two star, okay read for me.

I received a finished copy of Little Thieves from the publisher through Bookish First. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.