~Sandee*Stuck in Wonderland~

Venice would be one of the places I'd visit before I die.
The story of The Thief Lord weaved wonderfully with the gorgeous city of Venice.
If this story had been in a different location it might not have been as appealing.
I love it when a book takes me to places I have never been before.
I rarely travel so that factor is very important to me.
This book did just that.
It took me straight to Venice.
Not only did it take me to Venice, I felt like I was right in the midst of the story.
Like I was one of the kids who lived in the old cinema.

The story began with the Hartliebs seeking Victor Getz's services in locating Prosper and Bo, the sons of Mrs. Harlieb's deceased sister.
Prosper and Bo ran away because their aunt wanted to adopt Bo but not Prosper.
Prosper not wanting to leave his brother with their aunt decided to run away with Bo to Venice which was a city their mother loved dearly.
While in Venice, the brothers met Hornet who took sanctuary in an abandoned movie theater along with other children who were either orphans or abandoned.
The kids from the theater were cared for and helped by the Thief Lord.
He steals from the rich people of Venice and gives it to them so they would have food to eat.
The plot thickens when the Thief Lord was asked to find a missing piece from an antique collection.

It was a very interesting read for me.
I got my copy as a gift for Christmas.
(Thanks jzhunagev! :D)
I didn’t know what to expect when I opened this book.
I thought it was something like Harry Potter but it wasn’t.
I have read another book of Cornelia Funke which was Inkheart.
I liked Inkheart so I was expecting to like The Thief Lord too.
So I was not at all that surprised when I found myself liking this book.
It was not really that original for me because I watched Neverland (a TV movie) which was somehow similar to this.
Neverland was like a different version of Peter Pan.
Peter there was an orphan who grew up with a bunch other kids who were care for by a thief.
Things got messed up when they got a hold of a magic ball which turned out to be a portal to Neverland.
And in this case they were looking for a broken wooden wing for the merry-go-around.
They were different but the same at the same time.

The characters for me were very distinct from each other.
Each of them had their own distinguishing characteristic.
Prosper would have to be my favorite character.
I could relate to his character because I have younger siblings too that I need to protect.
I also liked the detective Victor.
At first I thought he was an evil man but turns out he was the opposite of that.
I liked his two pet tortoises.
It was a really cute touch.

I liked the setting, the characters but I had a bit of a problem with the magical stuff that happens near the end of the book.
Why did she have to put it near the end of the book?
Why now?
Why not earlier?
It was a good twist but then again, it doesn’t jive with the rest of the book.
It was like a different puzzle piece that was forced to fit the puzzle that was missing a piece.

Anyways, I thought this book was still good.
The setting and the characters made this book a success.
This book was not bad but then again its not one of my favorites.
I still prefer Inkheart over this one.
I did enjoy it.
This is the first book I’ve read about Venice and it didn’t disappoint me.
I look forward to reading more of Cornelia Funke's work in the future.