James Riley (4)Besprekingen

I love the concept and the story overall, but the writing bothered me. It wasn't very good, and seemed like the author was thinking "oh, I'm just writing for 12-year-olds, they won't care if the writing's just okay." Or maybe that's just James Riley's style? I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I was 10 at first read, not a young adult.

*I got this book for review for my honest thoughts* I gave this 3.5 stars for review*
I really enjoyed this read. I really loved the school setting and the world that this story was set in. I was impressed with the characters arcs and how this book went in a direction I did not expect of predict. I really liked how this book focused on one characters POV minus for a few situations. I thought the end of this book was bit rushed and had a massive info dump towards the end. I really am excited for book 2. I am really invested in all these characters and hope some of the smaller characters get more screen time in the future books in the series.

*I got this book for review for my honest thoughts* I gave this 3.5 stars for review*
I really enjoyed this read. I really loved the school setting and the world that this story was set in. I was impressed with the characters arcs and how this book went in a direction I did not expect of predict. I really liked how this book focused on one characters POV minus for a few situations. I thought the end of this book was bit rushed and had a massive info dump towards the end. I really am excited for book 2. I am really invested in all these characters and hope some of the smaller characters get more screen time in the future books in the series.

This was a very fun mystery book. It had lots of good twists that kept me wanting more. The final chapter also made me excited to read the next book. And as usual, the Acknowledgements pages are very funny to read. I highly recommend reading this book if you liked the first Story Thieves. 10/10. - August 11, 202

Reading level: Grades 3-7
Awards: Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts Award

Listened to the audio version. Funny, suspenseful story. The kids and I loved it.

I don’t really like this book I never even finessed reading it.

This book is full of adventure. This is a fantasy book that really makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. I recommend this book. This book was fantastic. I caught myself, many times, getting mad at characters or picking sides. This just goes to show how invested I was in this nook and how well written and displayed it was.

Ugh. Books capitalizing on a trend (for instance, re-imagining fairy tales) should either be very good and very interesting, or at least light fare, to be consumed like potato chips. This one is neither. Too many plot lines badly woven together. Too many reversals. And characters and writing that just isn't that interesting, as well as basically no worldbuilding at all. Might work for someone as their first introduction to the genre, but the hamhanded attempt to include a whiff of early-teen romance is likely to be a non-starter.

Story Thieves is a wonderful novel to truly bring all realms of fantasy and fiction to life. This text, while challenging, embraces the confusing nature of switching narrators and has readers pay close attention to detail. It is one out of several in the series and helps to introduce main characters and events that will only be added to later in the series. I enjoyed reading this book, but one must know that it requires a fine eye and attention to detail since it can be a bit chaotic. I would recommend this book for older children in the age range of high-achieving 5th graders all the way up to 9th grade potentially. It is a very exciting read while not having the romance that is usually included in novels. This can truly catch the eye of someone who is really big on fantasy and all the differences and plays on different books. This novel is truly a must read for fantasy lovers.

this book was okay, very long and drawn out.

I gave this book four out of five stars because it was a little too predictable at times in my opinion. Altogether it was a well-written book and was very thought-provoking at times. The main characters were well-rounded and I love the author's inclusion of the faceless "Nobody" as a kind of benevolent guardian angel. I also like the use of foreshadowing and flash-forward and flashback. This made the story just interesting enough to keep the reader coming back for more. I would recommend this book to anyone ages 12 -15.

This book will keep you on your toes. Each of our main characters in the book starts off wanting something and will do anything to get it. As the book goes on you, see them get into some severe problems and regret their choices. They grow from their mistakes and realize that there are consequences to their actions. Each character learns and grows from this experience.

Owen and Bethany are two separate individuals with two separate issues on planet Earth, but once they meet, they find themselves on a magic planet and science planet embarking on one journey together. Bethany has the problem of finding her dad and Owen has the problem of a boring life. As the story progresses, we see a theme that is common in traditional literature, coming of age. This type of theme unfolds throughout a story and shows the characters maturing and coming to realize that maybe their problem is not that complicated after all. This theme shows characters becoming more aware of themselves. We see Owen embracing this theme when he learns he will have to sacrifice his heart as Kiel. We see Owen accepting the fact that his boring life was just a small problem in comparison to death and we see him express this in a conversation with charm that went like this. “What are you doing here?” Charm asked… “Waiting”, he told her. “For what?” “To go home.” (Story Thieves, pg. 278) He also expressed that he would choose the day to day rather than a life of dangerous adventure when Bethany asked him at the end of the story to go back into another book and help find her father. The book states on page 377 that Owen says, “The idea of adventure just seemed so exciting from this side of the book… but people get hurt. It’s dangerous out there… I think I’m ready for some regular, boring, quite life now.

Story Thieves was written by New York Times bestselling author James Riley, who wants everyone who reads his book to know, “It’s good to be different.” The book begins in the perspective of Owen Connors, just an ordinary boy sitting in math class, which he hates. Owen feels like his life and everything around him is boring, until he sees a classmate, Bethany, literally jump out from inside a book. At first, Owen believes he must be dreaming but soon realizes this is no dream. “No! It had to be real! If it was real, then that meant there was more to life than boring classes and boring chores after school and boring everything else.” (Chapter 3, page 18) As the book continues, the reader goes back and forth from the perspective of Owen to Bethany.
Bethany finds herself telling Owen way more about herself than she had intended and letting him know her biggest secret; her father is actually a fictional character from a book. On Bethany’s fourth birthday she was given a book as a gift and jumped herself, her father, and all of her party guests into it accidentally. She was able to jump herself and her party guests back out but she has not been able to find her father sense.
Owen really wants Bethany to take him into books with her, especially his favorite, Kiel Gnomenfoot and The End of Everything. He tricks Bethany into thinking he only wants to help her get a spell to help find her father, when actually he just wants to meet his hero, Kiel Gnomenfoot, and to save another character, the Magister from an evil scientist, Dr. Verity. “Everyone in this cafeteria, everyone in cafeterias all over the world would read the book, see Owen’s name, and watch him save Kiel’s magic teacher.” (Chapter 5 page 40)
Unknowing of Owen’s plan, Bethany agrees to take him with her but he must not talk to characters or change the story in any way. Bethany couldn’t believe the first thing Owen did was break her rules. By doing so a chain of adventures unfold; fictional characters jumping into the real world causing trouble, Bethany and Kiel trying to save her town, and Owen fighting alongside a half robot to bring peace to fictional worlds.

Story Thieves is written by James Riley. He is an American Novelist. Story Thieves is his most popular novel. It is book one of five. All thirteen of his novels are published by Aladdin Paperbacks. Story Thieves is about two children in middle school. Their names are Owen and Bethany. Bethany has powers that allow her to go inside of books. Owen discovers this, and convinces her to take him with her to search for her father. Owen has other motives, and they find themselves in a bit of trouble. They must sacrifice many things to get themselves back to safety and reality.
There are many characters in this novel. The characters are Bethany, Owen, Kiel, Magister, Dr. Verity, and Charm. There are also a few characters that experience character development (pg.28). Owen comes alive throughout this novel and his character develops into a likeable character. He goes from being a selfish person and not caring who he hurts to an apologetic friend. He is also willing to die for all of the mistakes he has made.
The theme for Story Thieves conveys a moral message. The moral message is ethics. The morals and principles that you follow will affect the decisions that are made (pg. 30). Owen learns this the hard way. On page 345 of Story Thieves, Owen tells Bethany, “ I never should have done any of this. It’s all my fault. I don’t blame you for leaving me here to die. I deserve it.”
Quotes: “Why imagine a world in your head when you could just go visit another one in a book?”
"If Bethany was okay and he lived through all of this, he'd gladly sit for hours while she told him how stupid he'd been, and how right she was about everything. Hours."

Author: The author of the book Story Thieves is James Riley an American Novelist. This series is his most famous and well-known work and he has written a total of 13 novels.

Character: Bethany Sanderson one of the main characters of the book Story Thieves is a shy girl that is half fictional and half human. Owen Conners is another one of the main characters and is a very curious young boy. Kiel Gnomenfoot is another character that is fully fictional. He is the main character of his own book series that is Owen’s favorite.

Plot/Settings: This book takes place in many different realms. It starts in a middle school and transitions to books and the fictional world. Every aspect of the setting and plot in this book are integral parts of the story. As the book progresses in the later chapters each chapter flip flops between the real world with Bethany and Kiel and the fictional world with Owen.

Theme: The main theme of the book in my opinion is coming of age. Bethany really shows growth throughout the story starting out as a shy girl and ending with being confident and accepting herself. All of the characters are learning and finding themselves by experiencing things they have never experienced before.

Summary: In the book Story Thieves by James Riley, a middle school aged boy Owen Connors notices one of his classmates with their head stuck in a book. This raised his curiosity and finds out that Bethany Sanderson can literally dive into literature and experience the words on the page. Bethany and Owen then become friends and she takes him into one of his favorite books. Nothing seems to be going right and chaos arises with fictional characters coming to the real world and humans getting stuck in stories.

Quotes: "I really don't like that word. But fine. If you're half-fictional, stop acting so realistic all the time and embrace it! Be more fictional, Bethany" (page 287). “Five chocolate-covered fingers pushed right out of the center of the book, grabbed the edge, and began to pull themselves out” (page 9).

Story Thieves written by James Riley is an action-filled and thrilling story about two children who are able to visit their favorite stories. This book is published by Aladdin Books, and it appeals to those interested in stories that involve magic, adventure, and science. Life in the real world is boring, especially for Owen who has to deal with fractions, homework, and chores. However, everything changes when his classmate Bethany jumps out of a book in the library. Owen agrees to keep Bethany’s secret about her ability to jump inside of books if she agrees to take him inside of his favorite book. Bethany agrees as long as Owen doesn’t change anything in the story. The story takes place in multiple books, like Alice in Wonderland, the Kiel Gnomenfoot books, and the War of the Worlds. However, the major settings are Magisteria, Quanterium, and the nonfiction world. The story takes place in multiple books, like Alice in Wonderland, the Kiel Gnomenfoot books, and the War of the Worlds. However, the major settings are Magisteria, Quanterium, and the world. One theme of the book is it is good to embrace the traits and qualities that make each of us different. Bethany isolated herself from her peers from fear that she would hurt someone. In the end she learned to embrace the fact that she his half-fictional, and her gift led her to saving her town.

There are five main characters from the book Story Thieves: Bethany, Owen, Kiel, Charm, and the Magister. There are many conflicts in the book because of the merging of the non-fictional world and the fictional world. When Owen and Bethany hop into Kiel Gnomentfoot and the End of Everything, they start a chain reaction messing up both worlds. The main theme of the book is coming of age. We see our main two character’s Owen and Bethany face challenges as kids and overcome them. The book is an entertaining and funny coming of age story that teaches readers about making wise decisions, being selfless and brace, and many more life lessons. The book also reaches all kinds of readers by being a book that you cannot put down because you have to know what will happen next; each chapter leaves you wanting more. Students will also love it because of its use of magic, science, and references to classic books they will already know.

The well written, fantasy fiction novel titled Story Thieves is a full-on action-packed book written by James Riley and published by Aladdin Books in January 2015. James Riley does an excellent job in Story Thieves by transitioning between what is “real life” to what is considered a “fantasy world”. The most important characters are Owen Conners and Bethany Sanderson as we are familiar with them from the beginning to the end of the story. Owen is a young boy who is longing for adventure and feels like he has found it when he befriends a girl at school named Bethany. Bethany seems to be somewhat of a loner who we later find out is “half fiction” and has searched years for her father who had the ability to literally jump into a book.
The plot and theme of the story plays out over a series of events that begins with Owen and Bethany both searching for something. The story is told from two different views: one from Owen and one from Bethany. Owen wants adventure and Bethany is looking for her father who has been lost in a book. Together they agree to jump into a book for Owen to get the adventure he had been looking for and use a bit of magic to help Bethany find her father. Owen tries his best to convince Bethany to pull him into one of his favorite books by saying ““There’s a spell,” Owen told her. “Kiel’s used it before. It helps you find things.””. If he was able to convince her that finding this spell would help her reconnect with her father, then he knew he’d be able to have the adventure of a lifetime by actually being connected inside of a book. This book shows how two different people want separate things out of their life at this point and how they can work together to make it happen; yet still encounter hardships that help mold the story.
This book incorporates several different settings. We go from the beginning of the book at the school Bethany and Owen attend, to jumping into the Kiel Gnomenfoot books to fictitious places such as Magesteria and Quanterium. I think this is one of the better aspects of the books. While I typically feel like too many settings can make it hard to follow along, the flow of this book made comprehending scenes easier.
I believe Story Thieves would have been a great book to receive a Mississippi Magnolia Award nomination. I typically am not interested in fantasy fiction; however, this book caught my attention and really allowed me to visualize every scene the author portrayed. It was very well written. I feel like children who are upper elementary going into middle school would enjoy this book as it truly envelopes you into the story and the action.

This book was excellent from start to finish, I did not want to put it down. Its a great chapter book to allow children to read to get lost in a different world.

The elements and how they are portrayed are what make this book a good read. The theme in this book is centered around the idea of facing challenges then over coming them while learning a big lesson. The characters tend to follow the theme very well. The main characters contain human characters as well as fictional characters. Owen and Bethany are the two main characters and are classmates. As seen in in the book, they overcome challenges together all while trying to maintain a friendship that is on the verge of ending. Kiel is a character with a lot of power. He is seen constantly in the book trying to overcome his problems with an archnemesis as well as dealing with two new kids who are ruining many things for him, the same for magister. Charm is the robot president of Quanterium. She helps Owen along the way and become a great friend to him. Dr.Verity is the main villain in the book. The setting is based in another book, which I think is very unique and adds a lot of elements to the book in general. The plot is based around a series of causes and effects. Everyone in this book faces consequences in this book because of the plot. Bethany first faces issues because of Owen seeing her jump into a book which is the main cause of all of the issues presented in this book. In the end, all of the characters face these effects and in the end they all overcome their problems and prevail.

Story Thieves, written by James Riley, is a fantasy/fiction book following the adventures of Owen and Bethany, extraordinary children. This book is considered fantasy because of of Bethany's ability to travel between worlds and bring story characters to life. When Owen learns that Bethany is half-fictional and can jump in and out of books, he becomes obsessed with jumping into his favorite book, saving The Magister, and meeting Kiel Gnomenfoot, the hero of the novels. The story is filled with action, mystery, and adventure, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Story Thieves portrayed symbolism though the location spell that Bethany was saving to find her father and the theme of coming of age. The story also gives way to the idea of science vs. magic and features zombies, robots, and mythical creatures. I enjoyed reading this book and may find myself reading the rest of the series. It was a perfect blend of mystery, suspense, and funny and it portrays the idea that life is boring in the real world, so make it fun and exciting.

Story Thieves is a book by James Riley. It is about a boy and a girl who travel through storybooks and have adventures. Owen Conners is the main male character that travels through stories and fights for good, alongside Bethany Sanderson. Sanderson is the female main character that brings Owen into the world of traveling through books. Kiel Gnomenfoot is a magical character from one of the stories the kids invade. The Magister is a wizard that goes crazy and tries to free all the book characters into the real world. Dr. Verity is the main villain in the book series that the kids invade. Owen and Bethany jump from book to book to save the real world from the Magister wanting to free all the characters from all fiction stories into the world we live in. While trying to save the world, Owen also has to try to save the world of his favorite story by becoming the main character, and having to fight all the fights that Kiel Gnomenfoot would fight. In the end of the story, the world is safe for the moment and there seems to be many for adventures to come. James Riley is an writer who has written other books like Half Upon A Time, Story Thieves, and Revenge of Magic.

Story Thieves is a book about adventure and books, two things that most children would not think to put together! It is about Bethany, a half-fictional girl, and Owen, an immature, wanna-be hero, who make a mess of things when they interact with the story of a book they don't belong in. Through their adventure though, they learn to embrace their own character and be their true selves. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone looking to be absorbed into the adventure of a lifetime, with humor and heartfelt moments spread throughout the pages. Plus, this book is a part of a series, so the story is long from over!