The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid by Colin Meloy is a whimsical adventure full of tongue-in-cheek humor and a whole lot of twists and turns. When Charlie’s mother abandons him, he finds himself suddenly traveling the world with his diplomat father whom he hardly knows and never sees. They are currently in France and Charlie is bored. One day while sitting on a bench with his notebook, a boy comes up and steals the pen right out of Charlie’s hand. The boy is so sneaky that Charlie doesn’t even know it’s happening! Charlie is so intrigued that he begs the boy to teach him the ways of pickpocketing, and thus gets pulled into the fast-paced, high stakes world of the whiz mob: a group of kids who make their living stealing from the rich.

Book reviewed by Erin E., Youth Services Programming Coordinator