Brilliantly simple - an absorbing read with no fancy narrative tricks. It follows the life of a kid who starts stealing when his ill mother can't afford to feed him while she's undergoing cancer treatment. He gets so good at stealing that he attracts the attention of someone who forces him to keep doing it at that evil person's bequest. A master caper finally gets him out from under that man's thumb. Has a fascinating cast of characters, all distinctive and emotionally real. Extremely well done and enjoyable.
Usually Roberts is a "can't put it down, order pizza for dinner because I'm not cooking and stay up way too late" author for me. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this one just didn't work for me. It was fine, but I set it down lots of times. The lead characters spend a lot of time apart, which was necessary for the plot but led to much more telling than the showing I usually appreciate in a Roberts read. I liked the high school teaching and drama club aspects very much.
