The Shadow Thief

 The Shadow Thief

Title: "The Shadow Thief"

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Plot: This is quite an interesting and strange book that is best described by reading it for yourself. I fear any other way I try to tell about it won't do this strange and rich tale justice. 

That having been said I will give it a go. The two main characters are a young adventuress named Millipop Klompet and a shy, young, would be gemologist Earnst Perriclof who's cabinets of rocks are his prized possessions.  Already a mix for trouble right? 

The story follows the two on their world wind adventure of trouble with Milli being poisoned, the two are kidnapped and kept as prisoners only to be rescued by the dreadfully fussy mayor and mayoress of the town who turn them into pets essentially. There are hedgehogs for walls, the theft of shadows (as implied by the title but to say anything more on that will ruin the book), over indulgences of luxury, evil genius/conjurers, and a perpetually flummoxed flamingo who acts as Mr Mayors secretary. 

I really got into this book and quite enjoyed the complexity of the interwoven layers of the story. There are elements of myth, fairy tales, enough made up names to fill a dictionary and made up nursery rhymes. The characters are well developed and the imagery is delightful!! A must read for all ages.

Rating: 5/5 Millipop Klompet's

Books in the "Strangest Adventures" series are below:
- The Shadow Thief (Book 1)
- The Lampo Circus (Book 2)
- Von Gobstopper's Arcade (Book 3)

Alexander wrote "The Shadow Thief" when she just 13 years old and was apparently inspired by J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan".