This exhilarating coming-of-age story, a prequel to the Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, returns to a beloved character just before she first takes flight.
Before Verity ... there was Julie.
When fifteen-year-old Julia Beaufort-Stuart wakes up in the hospital, she knows the lazy summer break she'd imagined won't be exactly what she anticipated. And once she returns to her grandfather's estate, a bit banged up but alive, she begins to realize that her injury might not have been an accident. One of her family's employees is missing, and he disappeared on the very same day she landed in the hospital.
Desperate to figure out what happened, she befriends Euan McEwen, the Scottish Traveller boy who found her when she was injured, and his standoffish sister, Ellen. As Julie grows closer to this family, she witnesses firsthand some of the prejudices they've grown used to - a stark contrast to her own upbringing - and finds herself exploring thrilling new experiences that have nothing to do with a missing-person investigation.
Her memory of that day returns to her in pieces, and when a body is discovered, her new friends are caught in the crosshairs of long-held biases about Travellers. Julie must get to the bottom of the mystery in order to keep them from being framed for the crime.
"Starred Review. Each thread of this novel is exquisitely woven." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Another ripping yarn from a brilliant author." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. A finely crafted book that brings one girl's coming-of-age story to life." - Booklist
"Starred Review. A must for Verity fans and a good read for those who enjoy mystery with a touch of romance." - School Library Journal
This information about The Pearl Thief was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Elizabeth Wein was born in New York and grew up in England, Jamaica, and Pennsylvania. She holds American and British citizenship and has lived in Perth, Scotland, since 2000, where she earned her private pilot's license. Flight inspires her fiction, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Code Name Verity.
Link to Elizabeth Wein's Website
Name Pronunciation
Elizabeth Wein: ween

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