Cover of The Shadow Thieves

The Shadow Thieves

The Cronus Chronicles seriesbook 1 of 3Next:The Siren Song(2007) →

See that girl, the one with the bright red hair, overstuffed backpack, and aura of grumpiness? That's Charlotte Mielswetzski. And something extra-ordinary is about to happen to her.Oh, it's not the very cute kitten that appears out of nowhere and demands to go home with her. It's not the sudden arrival of her cousin Zee, who believes he's the cause of a mysterious sickness that has struck his friends back in England. It's not her creepy English teacher Mr. Metos, who takes his mythology lessons just a little tooseriously. And it's not the white-faced, yellow-eyed men in tuxedoes, who follow Charlotte everywhere.

Read more

What's so extraordinary is not any one of these things....It's allof them. And when Charlotte's friends start to get sick one by one, Charlotte and Zee set out to find a cure. Their quest leads them to a not-so-mythical Underworld, where they face rhyme-loving Harpies, gods with personnel problems, and ghosts with a thirst for blood.

Charlotte and Zee learn that in a world overrun by Nightmares, Pain, and Death, the really dangerous character is a guy named Phil. And then they discover that the fate of every person — living anddead — is in their young hands.

In her dazzling debut for young readers, Anne Ursu weaves a tale of myth and adventure, danger and magic that will keep readers engrossed until the very last secret is revealed.

Setting
2000sGreece
Audience
young adultchildrensmiddle grade
Length
long · 424 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked The Shadow Thieves? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Shadow Thieves. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Odysseus in the Serpent Maze Shares mythology, fantasy, young adult
  2. Gods of Manhattan Shares fantasy, mythology, young adult
  3. The Sword of Summer Shares fantasy, mythology, young adult
  4. Iris, Messenger Shares mythology, fantasy, young adult

“People who read The Shadow Thieves tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Quicksilver
  2. The Night Tourist
  3. Snakehead
  4. Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood Street

“If you want more of the same (fantasy about childhood), start with these.”

  1. Valkyrie
  2. Loki's Wolves
  3. Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness
  4. Odin's Ravens

“If it was the mythology that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. The Demigod Files
  2. Dusssie
  3. The Throne of Fire
  4. The Red Pyramid

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Eternity
  2. Follow Me, Mittens
  3. How to Tame a Lady
  4. The "Snoopy, Come Home" Movie Book