The Magic Thief: Found by Sarah Prineas

I think this is the conclusion of this particular trilogy, although I don't know for sure. It feels like a conclusion, anyway.

Apprentice wizard Conn is trying to find a way to protect the city of Wellmet--specifically, the city's magic, a living being--from a predatory magic. Conn is hampered since he still doesn't have his locus stone that allows him to work magic. He's also hampered by the city guards, who are convinced he's nothing more than a thief, and by the city's other wizards, who don't believe the magic is alive and don't believe it's under threat. With his mentor's help, Conn casts a spell to help him find his locus stone--a spell that leads him far away from Wellmet when the city needs him the most.

When I first read this book, I was a little disappointed. When Conn leaves the city, I didn't expect that part of the story to last so long. I kept itching for him to get back. But that was just me; now that I think about it, Conn's trip to find his Locus stone is a key part of the whole trilogy. That's where he discovers what the magic really is. I was just being impatient.

As always, I enjoy Conn's reticence and practicality along with his clever sense of wordplay. These are fun books to read and I daresay they'd be fun to read aloud. I hope there's more in this series, but even if there aren't, I like the ending a lot.

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The Magic Thief: Lost by Sarah Prineas

I read the first book in this series maybe two years ago and loved it. I finally bought the sequel--I don't buy many hardbacks and waited until the paperback was available; I guess I'd be buying the third book, The Magic Thief: Found, which came out in hardback in May, around this time next year.

One of the things I really like about this series is its unpredictability. Too many middle-grade books follow a pretty set formula and I can guess the ending well before I'm halfway through the book. These books are different. They're also fantastic.

Connwaer--which means black bird, although he's usually known as Conn--is a thief who happens to be a wizard. A potential wizard, anyway. In the first book, Conn pickpocketed a wizard named Nevery, who ultimately took him on as an apprentice. This book picks up a year after the previous book's events. Conn's no closer to finding his locus magicalicus--the locus stone that will let him work magic--and as a result, he's not allowed to go to school and is barely allowed to remain Nevery's apprentice. On the other hand, Conn's not going to let a little thing like that stand in his way. He's certain there are other ways to reach the magic that protects his city of Wellmet. He's also certain the magic is a living being, and that wizards' magic words are its language. And he's pretty sure one way of contacting the magic is by setting off small, slow explosions. It works--and Conn learns to his dismay that the magic of Wellmet is frightened, and that it expects him to help it. He just doesn't know what he's supposed to do.

I love Sarah Prineas's writing, which is clear and clever. She has a playfulness with words that fits easily into Conn's character--the story is told in first person. Conn is quiet, stubborn, and both a thinker and a do-er. He's also immensely likable, probably because he worries about those who are close to him, including Wellmet's magic. He does what he knows has to be done to help others, but he does it his own way--which of course includes picking locks and picking pockets.

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