Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames by Lara Maiklem, 2019

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A lyrical and evocative narrative history of London and its people, told through objects found on the banks of the Thames by the city's most prominent mudlark
For thousands of years human beings have been losing their possessions and dumping their rubbish in the River Thames, making it the longest and most varied archaeological site in the world. For those in the know, the muddy stretches provide a tangible link with the past, a connection to the natural world, and an oasis of calm in a chaotic city...
For fifteen years, Lara Maiklem has walked the Thames foreshore, spending innumerable hours peering into the mud for items discarded by past generations of Londoners. The list of things Lara has rescued from the river is long and varied: from Neolithic flints, Roman hair pins and medieval shoe buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes, seventeenth-century love tokens and discarded war medals.
Mudlarking is the story of the River Thames and its people, told through the objects that Lara has eased from its muddy clutches over the years. Weaving her story through and around the history of the River, from prehistory to the present day, she uses her finds to bring the ordinary lives of long forgotten Londoners to life.

(295 pages)

I moved to London last month. I've been looking forward to this for six months, and it seems like there are a million reasons to be excited to be here. One of the biggest to me, however, is the history of the city. I love the idea that I live somewhere people have been making history for literally thousands of year. I've been fascinated with the idea of mudlarking the Thames since I learned about it several years ago on a VlogBrothers video, and it was one of the first things I wanted to try once I arrived.

That's why I snagged a copy of this book when I was at a bookshop in my first week here. And I'm glad I did. Because Maiklem's love and knowledge of the Thames leaks through every page, heightening my own excitement to discover the history that's "up for grabs" every time the shore recedes. It's a delightfully meandering exploration of some of her favourite mudlarking spots, complete with descriptions of the items she's found in specific spots (and the history she's either researched or imagined for each one). Some of her exploits sound more appealing to me than others - I don't think I'm quite as hardcore as she is as far as miles of mud and fast-moving tides are concerned - but overall I finished the book feeling super pumped to go out there and find some items of my own.

I've only gone out once yet so far, and that was just for twenty minutes. But I found some nails and bits of pottery that lit up my imagination and left me excited for more. The history of London is insane, and I'm obsessed with the idea that the tangible pieces of its past have been left behind in the Thames for me to find them. Mailkem's narrative has enhanced my excitement for this. I just bought her Field Guide to Larking, which I'm looking forward to using to learn how to mudlark myself.

The Thief's Apprentice by Bryan Methods, 2016

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All of London lives in fear of the Ruminating Claw. He's silent. He's ruthless. And he's been living inside Oliver Diplexito's family home. In fact, he's the man who serves Oliver his dinner!
Timid Oliver has the shock of his life when he learns his father's butler, Mr. Scant, has a secret life as an infamous thief. Oliver expects to be the Claw's next target, but the truth is far more frightening. Mr. Scant wants Oliver to be his partner in crime!
As Oliver bumbles through the darkest corners of England, he discovers secrets within secrets. Mr. Scant is waging war on a society of thieving tycoons, taking from the crooks and giving to the rightful owners. But when the society strikes back, it could mean doom for the Claw and his apprentice . . . 

(272 pages)

It took me four months to finish The Thief's Apprentice. I think that has more to do with my own insanely busy summer than it does with the book itself, though. I read the first few chapters back in May, and enjoyed them, but then I went on a week-long trip and decided to leave my copy at home for when I would have time to really focus on it. By the time I got back, though, I'd forgotten everything I'd read so far. I kept meaning to get back to The Thief's Apprentice, but every time I'd crack it open I would read only a page or two before I needed to run off again. Then more urgent books, with release dates staring me right in the face, began pressing in on my reading time. I began to hoard my increasingly scarce free time, saving it only for books I had to read immediately and the occasional shiny new library book that caught my eye.

Finally, though, The Thief's Apprentice worked its way to the top of my priority review list. And when I picked it up to read a chapter before bed . . . I got sucked in for and hour and a half. Because I discovered all over again how fun this book really is.

Actually, I think that's the perfect word to describe The Thief's Apprentice: "fun." It's chock full of danger and excitement and drama that's extremely unrealistic but, somehow, even more appealing for its craziness. It's also set in historical London, which–if you're American, anyway–adds an extra layer of charm to everything. It's a pity I didn't read The Thief's Apprentice sooner, because it's just the sort of silly escapist fun I wanted last summer.

I'll pause for a minute and talk about the downsides of the book, so I can get them over with. For one thing, the first few chapters are not as gripping as they could have been. Part of the reason I wasn't more aggressive about finishing The Thief's Apprentice was the fact that I wasn't completely sucked in by the beginning. In fact, the vibe I got from the book's beginning made me think that it would be an exciting but also dull sort of story–the kind that drives eleven-year-old boys wild with excitement, but whose thrills are a little too unrealistic for the rest of us. As I said in the last paragraph, it's not like that at all: the unrealistic nature of the action actually adds an escapist charm to the story. But in the first few chapters, I was having my doubts.

The only other real problem I had with The Thief's Apprentice was that it skated over some things I would have preferred details of. Perhaps this is just it's middle-grade targeting coming through, but the narration almost entirely skips over describing Oliver's day-to-day life. We get sketches of his home and school situation, enough to whet my appetite for more, but that more never comes. I also would have liked more details of what, exactly, Mr. Scant was having Oliver study and how he managed to so rapidly improve in his studies.

While this is a book targeted specifically toward kids–and I did occasionally get the vibe that I really wasn't the target audience–I was surprised by how witty and clever it still was. Some of Oliver's observations about everyday life are very spot-on, and he makes them in a manner that's almost tongue-in-cheek. I also spotted a literary allusion or two, which was fun as well.

When it comes down to it, I think The Thief's Apprentice is a great, fun (yes, there's that word again!) book. It didn't completely blow me away, or leap right up to a top position on my favorites list, but I enjoyed reading it and I'll be interested in reading the sequel sometime down the line. I have a sneaking suspicion my younger brothers (who are more a part of the target demographic) will be even more enchanted than I was by Oliver's thrilling tale.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.