Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Kids jump in and out of book worlds in wacky series start.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
Based on 12 kid reviews
Kids say this book is an exciting and imaginative adventure that captivates readers with its clever storytelling and engaging characters. While some reviews mention initial pacing issues and cliched character traits, many praise its ability to spark creativity and be enjoyable for fantasy lovers, with a mix of humor, mild violence, and heartwarming themes of friendship.
- entertaining adventure
- character creativity
- initial pacing issues
- strong themes
- recommended for fantasy
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Owen finds life pretty boring. Especially fractions class. Most of his fun comes from reading fantasy books, from the classics (such as the Narnia series) to his favorite, the adventures of Kiel Gnomenfoot (which even Owen admits is kind of a Harry Potter rip-off -- but still). Owen's reread and relived Kiel's exploits many times, and, like the rest of the fan base, is dying of suspense now that the last, cliffhanger-resolving volume is about to hit the shelves. When it turns out that his classmate Bethany can travel back and forth between the real world and the fictional worlds of books, Owen makes her take him to a critical point in one of Kiel's adventures. Things start out awesome but quickly take unexpected turns as he finds several of his favorite characters are quite different from his mental picture. Mayhem and life lessons ensue.
Is It Any Good?
Part Looney Tunes, part video game, part wizardry, and part science fiction, the story not only requires you to suspend disbelief, it also demands you stop expecting many things to make sense. On the next page or around the next corner, protagonists land in the cyber-grid from TRON, battle the posse of dragons that just turned up on the front lawn, or grapple with the shock of discovering they're only a figment of somebody's imagination. Dozens of books make cameo appearances as characters careen in and out of worlds for split seconds.
Character definition is downright wispy, and plot developments often seem like the author is exuberantly making things up. But sometimes, in this collision of realities, that's part of the charm, and kids who thrive on wisecracking heroes and improbable events will get a kick out of this series opener and eagerly await the next installment: The Stolen Chapters, released Jan. 19, 2016.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why the idea of jumping into a book and being able to leave the real world to live in a fictional world is so popular. What other stories do you know where characters do this? How do they compare with Story Thieves?
Why is it often considered a bad idea to go into a story and change it? Do you agree? If you could change something about the way one of your favorite stories goes, what would it be?
If you could bring only one fictional character to life in our world, who would it be? Why?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Superheroes , Adventures , Book Characters , Friendship , STEM
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Aladdin
- Publication date : January 20, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 400
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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