Loot by Jude Watson, 2014

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On a foggy night in Amsterdam, a man falls from a rooftop to the wet pavement below. It's Alfie McQuinn, the notorious cat burglar, and he's dying. As sirens wail in the distance, Alfie manages to get out two last words to his young son, March: "Find jewels."
But March learns that his father is not talking about a stash of loot. He's talking about Jules, the twin sister March never knew he had. No sooner than the two find each other, they're picked up by the police and sent to the world's worst orphanage. It's not prison, but it feels like it.
March and Jules have no intention of staying put. They know their father's business inside and out, and they're tired of being pushed around. Just one good heist, and they'll live the life of riches and freedom most kids only dream about.
Watch out! There are wild kids on the loose and a crime spree coming . . .

(272 pages)

I have to say that when I picked Loot off of the library shelf I had no idea what it was about. I read the tab, thought it really did sound good, and slipped it into my (already full - it's well established that I'm a hopeless book hoarder) bag of books to check out. I read it a few days later, while I was really tired, and started skimming so badly I swear I almost want to go back and read the whole thing over.

Almost. But not really. Because it's really not that complicated, that I could miss too much nuance if I skip a line here or there. I do like the story idea, and it makes a very exciting plot (lots of daring heist scenes) while still maintaining a lot of emotions and heart. It's a story about thievery and lost jewels and mysterious curses, but it's also about friendship and family. And I really liked that.

What I didn't like so much was the fact that thievery is placed in such a good light throughout the book. Yes I realize that the kids don't have much choice, and that they make a point of only stealing from people who "won't be harmed" because they're so rich they'll barely notice, but that doesn't change the fact that March spent his entire life learning the "art" of stealing, and that he's very, very good at it. And I can be impressed with his scheming, but I'm also a little wary of being all gungho behind him as he steals from people - no matter how much money those people will still have in their bank accounts.

Other than that, I did like that Loot was a deeper novel than I was expecting for this sort of MG adventure novel. Jules has some legitimate anger towards the father who dumped her on his sister-in-law in favor of her twin, and at first she's really not very happy about being back with March. As they slowly grow closer, I appreciated that she learned to comfort March when he mourned for their father, even as she couldn't mourn for a man she'd never really known. This level of complexity in relationships isn't always achieved in middle grade, and it was done well here.

All in all, Loot is a great middle grade book that I probably won't be reading again any time soon (because really, I think I'm just not the target audience), but which I'd definitely recommend to a middle schooler looking for a book down this particular alley. My only hesitation in recommending Loot would be if the kid in question seemed easily swayed by what he read: I wouldn't want him to adopt the attitude of the characters in the book, in which thievery can actually count as a valid form of employment as long as you only steal from the rich.

Rebel by Willo Davis Roberts, 2003

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Her name was Amanda Jane Keeling, but from the time she was two, everyone called her Rebel. Rebel's first word was "No!" And it was downhill from there. As a toddler she resisted strained spinach and potty training. At five, she refused to go to kindergarten. Now at fourteen, she has toned down her rebellious streak somewhat, but whenever faced with a challenge she still feels the need to confront it head on, despite the opinions or advice of others.
When Rebel and her friend Moses -- the only boy she's ever met who can match her in both wit and height -- witness some strange goings-on, instead of going straight to the police, they decide to investigate the matters themselves. A bizarre robbery, an open door in the middle of the night, muddy footprints...all these clues lead Rebel and Moses to more questions than answers. But still they won't go for help. Little do they know the danger that awaits them....

(153 pages)

This was a book swap find, which I only picked up because it was free. It provided an entertaining hour or two but was not a groundbreaker in any sense of the word.

Roberts does an excellent job of simply "dropping" us into the lives of the people we're reading about. They feel just like real people - a little smart, a little naiive, a little awkward, and a little insecure.

Rebel is really tall for a girl (5"10') and doesn't like to admit that her height makes her nervous about ever finding a spouse (you know, down the road. Like any fourteen-year-old, she wants to get a head's start on picking a mate). She comes across extremely pushy in the teaser, and lives up to her nickname in the first chapter or two. Rebel quickly mellows out into a fairly normal MC by the time the action really picks up speed; she definitely speaks her mind, but is not nearly as obnoxiously rebellious as you'd expect from the synopsis. She's actually a bit insecure because of her height, and is really happy that Moses is taller than her. What I enjoyed about her is that she is so excellently characterized that it doesn't even feel like it should be labelled "characterization."

Moses, or Mo for short, is also very tall and often feels oppressed by his business-minded father. He's not a dramatic hero, or a lone rebel. He's just a teenager with a passion for something not very financially secure, with parents who don't support it. He did annoy me sometimes with his constant obsessing over his video camera, but then again, I've been known to obsess over things too. And I'm sure it annoyed my parents far more than Mo annoyed me.

Praises aside, this is not going on my top-ten favorites list. In fact, I doubt I'll ever read it again. I liked Rebel and Mo, and I enjoyed watching them solve the mystery (slow as they may sometimes have been at it), but Rebel is nothing to go back and re-read. It's the kind of book you read because you're sick of unrealistic, idealistic heroes you could never live up to. I didn't even realize I needed a break from them until I read Rebel! If you see a used copy of this at a thrift store, then I definitely suggest taking it home to read. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother hunting for it.