Review: Stolen Art by Ruth Silver

Stolen Art by Ruth Silver

April 28, 2015

205 pages

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi

Content: Clean, except for brief/mild fake sex scene

Source: eARC for Honest review

Sixteen-year-old Madeline has been living on the streets, refusing to be part of the foster system. Biding her time until she's eighteen, with little to no money, she takes on a heist in hopes of making ends meet. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything.

Getting caught is just the beginning of Madeline's adventure as she meets Weston and discovers the secret of where she came from. A dark and sinister past begins to emerge, and forces Madeline to come face to face with the unexpected.

Is it possible that she isn't who she thought she was? What happens when she is has to accept the reality of what is actually real?

This is a clean, easy read for YA readers. What starts as a homeless girl trying to survive by stealing, turns out to be a whole lot more. I don't want to go into too much detail, because this turns out to be quite a story full of conspiracies, mystery, and an intriguing twist. But I will say that I enjoyed the developing story and how things took on different levels and turns, not always predictable. The author kept me on my toes trying to guess where something was going and how things would resolve.

As for the writing, this is why it wasn't quite a 5 star read for me. I think Silver weaves a fascinating tale that kept me interested and entertained. I liked Madeline and Weston, but I would have liked a deeper sense of emotion in the characters. I felt like the story progressed well, but the characters could have been fleshed out better. The writing itself is also fairly simplistic. This actually works well for a younger YA reader, but perhaps could have been taken to a higher level.

This is my second Ruth Silver book, and while I like a bit more depth to my characters and writing, I can't deny that I love the appeal of her writing to a younger audience. This story has been categorized for ages 15 and up, but I would say that outside of a brief fake sex scene, this story would be fine for a younger teen. The brief kissing and lack of swearing was refreshing to see in a YA book.

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