The Good Thief
by Hannah Tinti
Middle grade · ages 10–14 · grades 5–9 · 780L · 2009
Why we'd hand it over
A genuinely dark, complex historical adventure that doesn't talk down to kids — Ren's missing hand and orphan status are central to the story, not inspirational props, and the 1850s setting feels lived-in and unromanticized.