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Story Thieves Kindle Edition

by James Riley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,014 ratings
Teachers' pick
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A hilarious, action-packed series launches with a story-within-a-story, from the bestselling author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.

Life is boring when you live in the real world, instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world’s homework and chores.

But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen—his classmate Bethany climb out of a book in the library. It turns out Bethany’s half-fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character.

Bethany can’t let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen’s favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he’ll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father…

…Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany’s secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot’s final (very final) adventure.
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  1. Reading age
    8 - 11 years, from customers
  2. Book 1 of 5
    Story Thieves
  3. Print length
    401 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    3 - 7
  6. Lexile measure
    750L
  7. Publisher
    Aladdin
  8. Publication date
    January 20, 2015
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  13. ISBN-13
    978-1481409209
  14. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4–6—When Owen sees Bethany climb out of a book, he learns that she is half fictional and is searching for her missing father. While Owen sympathizes, he also immediately sees the possibilities for fame, fortune, and glory. Owen's real life is boring, his mother works too much, his teacher gives him stupid assignments, and his classmates don't get him at all. If Bethany would just take him into the new Kiel Gnomenfoot book, he'd save the day and be a hero. When Owen sneaks into the story and sets in motion a series of really terrible events, he realizes he wasn't ready for fame and glory. Owen learns a lot about how to be a true friend and what courage really is in this fast-paced, action-packed tale. A fun book for fans who enjoyed Riley's "Half Upon a Time" (Aladdin) series.—Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix, AZ

Review

*"A droll and clever opener likely to leave readers breathless both with laughter and anticipation." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KU4NYRC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aladdin; Reprint edition (January 20, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 20, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1585 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 401 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,014 ratings

About the author

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James Riley

James Riley

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James Riley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Half Upon a Time and Story Thieves series, as well as many books too unwritten to count. He's met thousands of imaginary people, most of whom are more polite than you'd think, but less interesting than you'd hope. He doesn't believe fairy tales actually happened, mostly because he's never had tiny elves do his work for him at night, despite them promising several times.

James currently lives outside Washington, DC, but it's not like he's special that way ... so do a lot of other people.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,014 global ratings
Son enjoys it
4 Stars
Son enjoys it
My 8 yr old is named Owen like the main character. He "loves" the book so far. He got it free for summer reading. Paperback cover says retail is seven bucks ninety nine cents. This priceo on here is significantly high but made to look like a sale. Beware.
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Top reviews from the United States

Ethan
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than you’d expect
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024
Verified Purchase
It’s such a good and creative series.
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Mark Baker - Carstairs Considers
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy or Borrow (but Don’t Steal) This Story
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
Real life is boring. That’s what Owen has decided, and he much prefers to live in the world of his favorite books, at least in his day dreams. And then he meets Bethany when he finds her crawling out of a book. Wait, what? Turns out she is half fictional and can jump into books. She’s spent years looking for her father, who disappeared into a book, and works very hard to stay out of the stories so no one learns about her abilities.

But Owen has a plan. He wants to trick Bethany into jumping them into the climax of the sixth Kiel Gnomenfoot book, just in time to alter the cliffhanger, meet Kiel himself, and become a hero to the series legion of fans the world over. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out plenty, and as things spiral out of control, will Owen and Bethany be able to return things to normal?

For a lifelong reader, this book was a delight since many books I read and enjoyed as a kid were mentioned during the set up part of the book. The main story revolves around characters and set up from the completely made up Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and that felt like the weakest part of this book. Still, that is a very minor complaint. The story moved forward at breakneck speed with Owen and Bethany separated for much of the book. We’d flash between them quite frequently and we were always left with cliffhangers. These two characters are strong and fun, and we meet some other great characters along the way. Olus there is some fun humor as well that just added to the enjoyment of the book.

Having read the author’s previous trilogy, I was expecting humor, fun, and a great story. I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. I’ll already looking forward to the next entry in what promises to be a great series.
36 people found this helpful
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June Harrington
4.0 out of 5 stars It was really good...
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
It was one of my favorite books I've read but it wasn't
as good as Gregor the Overlander. Would definitely recommend it.

Age - 10
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Annette Lamb
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy Adventure for Book Lovers
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2015
Verified Purchase
STORY THIEVES by James Riley is an action-packed fantasy that blurs the line between real life and fictional worlds.
What if you could literally dive into a good book? Bethany can. As the child of a real mother and fictional father, she’s able to disappear into any paper book. Bethany has spent years carefully exploring library books for her lost father. When Owen discovers her secret, they begin an adventure that breaks the “fourth wall” mixing the real world with fantasy universes.
This clever new fantasy series will be a hit with a wide range of book lovers including those who enjoy fairy tales, magic stories, and science fiction. With many references to popular works of fiction, youth will be drawn into the premise and easily imagine themselves in the shoes of the main characters.
Known for his fractured fairy tales, James Riley provides just the right balance of action and suspense to keep readers engaged in the story. He skillfully weaves together silly subplots, humorous dialogue, and witty references into a storyline perfect for middle grade readers. Youth will easily empathize with the well-developed characters who have dreams and desires that sometimes get in the way of making good choices.
Fans of books like Fablehaven and Inkheart will enjoy the book’s premise, while science fiction and steampunk fans will love the characters from Owen’s favorite fictional series.
Like Bethany and Owen, your children will want to dive into this exciting fantasy adventure.
23 people found this helpful
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N C Bradford
5.0 out of 5 stars Great family reading
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
I downloaded and read this book to my grandsons on our last family trip. I read during the car ride and each night I would read 2 chapters. The youngest would beg me not to read because it made him fall asleep. The 8 year old (and his mom) begged for me to read an extra chapter almost every night. Filled with magic, robots, science, computers, and a little hint of romantic attraction, this book was a page turner. Several times I caught a grandson or my daughter sneaking a peak and reading ahead. The first night after the book was finished, the 4 year old begged me to read so he could go to sleep and the 8 year old joined in. I caved and downloaded the next book - The stolen chapters.
4 people found this helpful
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Seth Clossman
5.0 out of 5 stars Please give me more!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
After reading the Half Upon a Time series and receiving a reply to my tweet to the author, I had to take a look when I found out he was writing something else. This definitely left me hanging on multiple occasions with a "I can't stop reading this right now, I have to make it at least 2 more chapters to find out what happens to them in this story line". I love the pop culture references that are slightly hinted at in some situations and in others are pretty obvious. James does a great job of building a great universe and then unravelling it for your reading pleasure. Whether he came up with this in his imagination or has the ability to watch the lives of characters in his head like some television show still remains in question. Whatever the answer is, I'll definitely be picking up whatever he writes next. A++ on this excellent piece of work!
9 people found this helpful
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E. Van Der Scratchy
3.0 out of 5 stars poor character development, and kind of annoying
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
I bought this to read to my kids at bedtime. The premise of the book seems very cool at first (the idea of physically going into a book, and existing there and being able to interact with your environment and even characters) but the explanations of how this happens are extremely weak. Yes, I know, it's fantasy. But good fantasy should give you something to wonder about, this just doesn't. I also found it extremely annoying that the Kiel Gnomenfoot books were presented as being hokey and Harry Potter ripoffs, and then proceeded to become the focus of the whole book. I agree with the author, his book is hokey. It's like it was poorly written on purpose to show how poorly written some kids' books are. I found the whole thing frustrating to read out loud, and was actually relieved when my kids decided 3/4 of the way through they didn't want me to finish it.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amber D.
1.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't read past the 3rd page
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have never read a book that has opened with such a boring start. I understand that maybe a child who has to read the story for a book report might be able to get past the start and then the book might get better, but why start a book with the worlds worst maths class. You should grip the reader immediatly, so many stories have written interesting lesson scenes, how has anyone read past this terrible start. I have managed to read duncton wood which is long and I tried to read Gormengast which I couldn't get past page one as too much description, but at least that description was good instead of this fail to begin a story. If you can cope with the worlds most boring start maybe read this book. But otherwise don't waste your time and money.
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