The first time I read this I was in high school. This book is probably why I love Leverage so much, or even gave it a chance. I love reading about and watching con artists. ( )

3 in the morning, lying on his cot in a juvenile detention center, Jonah hears a commotion in the hall outside his cell. Shortly after, a young kid with an eye patch stands before him, politely informing him that he is being rescued. Later that night he finds himself in a mansion resembling every young kids dream palace, with a group of teenagers his age telling him he is now part of what is essentially an organized crime syndicate composed of troubled youth and headed by a very mysterious man who coordinates all their actions and, in return gives them all kinds of cool material things and, more importantly, a family to belong to.

Thieves Like Us was a fun journey, I admit. While it suffers from a few of the tropes that define a YA novel, like Jonah's tentativeness around girls, his struggles with feeling accepted by his peers, and the very 'intended for young people' sense of humor, these things barely hindered my enjoyment of the book, though one character's insistence on using the word don't when doesn't was more appropriate did irritated the crap out of me...

The plot is engaging, you'll be turning page after page for several reasons, it's thrilling, it's intriguing, there's a bigger picture that is slowly and meticulously revealed to the reader and it all leads to a theatrical and completely preposterous ending. It's everything that makes a good thriller without all the obnoxiousness of the ones intended for adults. ( )

An interesting book which managed to hold my attention from beginning to end. That said however I did feel that the ending was obvious, with a story line that held no surprises along the way. The story line was one that I had read before in other places.
The general story line is that a bring boy with a bad background is freed from prison by a misterious group with an even more misterious boss. This boss gives his protogies all that they want in terms of material posessions and encourages them to be a family, while using them to carry out various quests. Yes something goes wrong, yes the main character dispite being new has an important and necessary role to play.
one for the teenagers who have not read it before ( )

Jonah is two months into a year stint in juvenile detention when some strange kids show up in the middle of the night ready to bust him out. They are part of a group whose services are expensive and the work is risky. Jonah's computer skills make him high in demand. He must decide if he'll work with the other four of "Coldhardt's Children" in their criminal adventures that lead them to travel, steal spy, and maybe even find the secret to living forever. Could this be the family he has always been looking for?
Fans of the CHERUB series will enjoy this series too. ( )

Brilliant book, really exciting and really well-written, I loved all the characters and couldn't put it down. ( )