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Honor Among Thieves: Honors, Book 1
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Honor Among Thieves is the first book in a sci-fi series by the author team of Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires series) and Ann Aguirre (the Immortal Game series). It pulls a thief from the streets, Zara, into an elite world of Honors, those chosen to fly into space for a year with living ships called Leviathan. Before Zara leaves for space, she kills someone in a fight by accident, almost gets strangled to death, and witnesses the aftermath of an explosion that kills someone. In space, she gets injured and nearly loses her life many times in fights with drones and other creatures, and her ship is beaten up badly by another ship. There are mentions that her father abused her from an early age. There's drug use on Earth -- Zara's boyfriend is addicted -- and Zara buys moonshine. Strong language is heavily sprinkled throughout, with "f---ing" not as common as all the others. Characters are diverse and main characters are all female -- unless you count the ship, who goes by "he." Zara makes a huge change from her world of crime and homelessness to become a capable leader on a ship. Her ability to pry the truth out of those in authority saves her life.
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What's the story?
In HONOR AMONG THIEVES, Zara thinks her days are numbered when she steals a purse from the wrong person: the daughter of a mob boss. After a hit man comes after her and ends up accidentally killed in the fight, she tries to hide in a rehab facility only to be found by the most unlikely group of people: the Honors Selection Committee. One hundred people are chosen a year as Honors to fly into space with a living ship called a Leviathan. After a year, they can decide whether they want to go on a mysterious trip called the Journey and never come back to Earth. Zara has no idea why she was selected when the program is for elite scholars, but she has little choice about going with her life still at risk. After training, Zara rockets up to her Leviathan, a ship named Nadim. She will live inside Nadim with a lone human companion, a talented and straight-laced Brazilian named Beatriz. From the start, Bea is very focused on following her mandated to-do list. Zara? Not so much. When Zara is given a building task that looks like a weapon, she has lots of questions for Nadim. Why would he need a weapon? Weren't Leviathan peaceful creatures? What are the Leviathan hiding from all of humanity?
Is it any good?
There's much to enjoy in this sci-fi space story: strong female characters kicking butt, a protective living ship, and an alien race full of secrets about themselves and the whole universe. Authors Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre don't always keep the pacing even -- especially in the sudden rush to leave Earth -- but they do juggle the many elements of the story well. At the heart of Honor Among Thieves is a deep personal story about an abused woman finding her place and finding out just how skilled her rough life has made her. Her challenges are many out in space, but they're made bearable by the growing relationship she has with Nadim, the ship. Her moments of bravery to protect this new life and the beings in it drive the story's action and purpose.
One of the best parts about the story is that the reader never knows whose side to take. How much should we fear the aliens and what they aren't saying? How much should we distrust the Elder Leviathan and despise him for his cruelty? Whose side are the graduated Honors really on? Are they brainwashed or complicit? All this adds an intriguing layer that will keep the story fresh in readers' minds until the next installment.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the future world of Honor Among Thieves. Do you think our Earth would accept technology from an alien species? How did it benefit people in the book?
Would you want to be an Honor? Would you want to know as much as Zara does or would you rather train for a year and then go home?
Will you read the next in the Honors series? What do you think is in store for Zara?
Book details
- Authors: Rachel Caine, Ann Aguirre
- Genre: Science Fiction
- Topics: Adventures, Friendship, Misfits and Underdogs, Robots, Space and Aliens
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
- Publication date: February 13, 2018
- Number of pages: 480
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.