The Nowhere Thief - Alice M. Ross - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Alice M. Ross

GENRE: Middle-Grade Fantasy.

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: An imaginative debut work for middle graders. Great multiverse setup and relatable characters, coupled with unpredictable plot developments. Enjoyable!

Story Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Elsbeth has a secret power – she can sense gateways through ‘Nowhere’ to step into other ‘Somewheres’ and bring back unusual artefacts with her, to be sold in her mom’s little antique shop. However, the shop hasn’t been doing too well recently, the landlord is a mean jerk, and the poor weather means that tourists numbers and visitors to the town are dipping. To add to it, Elsbeth has the strange feeling that someone is following her, even into the unknown. Has her magical ability put her life at risk?

The story is written in a limited third person perspective, mostly from the point of view of Elsbeth.

The synopsis doesn’t even begin to cover the adventures lying in store for Elsbeth! I love it when a blurb reveals just as much as necessary.

Bookish Yays:

😍 An imaginative and adventurous storyline that caters to its little clientele perfectly.

😍 The world-building, or rather, multiverse-building. I loved how easily the various parallel universes were incorporated into a middle-grade story without its becoming too overwhelming for little readers.

(I am following the golden rule of not overanalysing the technicalities of travelling through the multiverse. I just went with the flow, as most middle-graders undoubtedly will, and relished the experience of reading without my logical cap on. )

😍 The writing balances pace and description well.

😍 The main characters, Elsbeth and Idris, both are relatable rather than perfect. They mean well, they make mistakes, they learn from their mistakes. More importantly, they learn the importance of working as a team.

😍 Even within a fantastical world, the book manages to highlight climate change and the dangers arising from the same.

😍 The book is set in an alternate universe, and so we have places like ‘Lunden’ and ‘Amerika’. (But India was still ‘India’ – how boring!) I liked some of the Easter Egg-kind of references to places and people from our own world but with minor changes. I am not sure if the target audience of middle graders will get all of these, but they are still fun additions.

Bookish Nays:

😔 One of the adult characters has an abrupt change of heart at the end. It was too quick to be believable.

😔 The ending is a bit rushed, with too much happening too quickly.

Despite the minor quibbles about the ending, I enjoyed this creative and entertaining debut novel. It has many adventures and thrills to keep its readers occupied. Definitely recommended to the target age group.

My thanks to Nosy Crow and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Nowhere Thief”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.