The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

Ren was such an interesting protagonist! This book may have been written for young adults, but I appreciated the story and the historical aspect of it. Set during the Middle Ages, the story casually includes cultural beliefs in England such as religion, travel, and class distinctions. Although I think some of the story is ridiculous (I'm still scratching my head wondering why Tinti had the twin boys become part of the second half of the story), I appreciated that the plot did not explore Ren's sexual coming-of-age, which seems to be a popular plot tactic of writers of contemporary young adult fiction. Some of the characters are conveniently disposed of (the innkeeper, for example), the bad guys are really bad, and Ren and his companions are likable thieves. But in real life I doubt things would have turned out as well as they did in the book. I don't think the point of the book, however, is to be realistically and historically perfect; accurate is good enough. I would recommend this as a good book for young adults and a quick and easy, but interesting, read for adults.