Of course she and Owen both grow as individuals during the course of the story, but neither of them is a joy to be around for the first fourth of the book or so. She would really just like to be alone and angry. She seems to harbor guilt from an accident she caused at the tender age of four and that leads her to lash out at anyone who crosses her path. Plus he reveals later that he’s willing to deceive others to get his own way and he has an unhealthy obsession with getting others to hero worship him.īethany, meanwhile, is angry. He simply can’t be bothered to try to take an interest in anything. Apparently no joy mars his days, no friendships or family make it worthwhile, no hobbies can distract him from his boredom. He does nothing but spend all day contemplating how boring life is.

Owen is Norton Juster’s Milo–but far worse. I admit I formed a slight personal bias against the book from the start, as I found both the protagonists annoying. However, though the plot is fast and James Riley keeps the surprises coming, I found in the end that Story Thieves lacks a little bit of heart. It’s a bunch of genres flamboyantly gallivanting across the page and rejoicing in their own sometimes silly combinations. After all, its premise, that of characters jumping through various books, allows this book to have it all–magicians, dragons, cyborgs, lasers, zombies, and more. Story Thieves seems to promise a winning middle-grade fantasy from the start.

But Owen’s actions have unintended consequences and soon he finds himself starring in what could be his first and only adventure. Bethany warns him they cannot interfere with any plots, but Owen longs to change the course of his favorite series and become a literary hero. Learning that his classmate Bethany can actually jump into stories and experience them, then, is just about the greatest revelation ever. Owen finds life incredibly boring and escapes every chance he can get into one of his favorite books.

Story thieves book 1