Story Thieves

by James Riley

published by Aladdin, 2015.

“You just told a character in a book that he was in a book! Do you have any idea what that means?”

“No?” Owen said.

“Me neither!” Bethany shouted. “And that’s what scares me!”

-from the back cover of Story Thieves

            Story Thieves is a fabulous book, and James Riley is a clever writer. The plot moves breathtakingly fast, with one dangerous, impossible situation following another.

Bethany, Owen’s classmate, is half-fiction. Her father was a fictional character and that gives Bethany the ability to jump into books. Even though her mother forbids it, Bethany continues to escape into stories to search for her father. She’s very careful not to interfere with the characters or plots, until Owen discovers her secret. He wants to go into his favorite series and perform some heroics. That’s when all the trouble begins.

Story Thieves is a fabulous, mind-stretching read. What book would you go into, if you could?