City of saints & thieves

Format:

Book

Title:

City of saints & thieves

Other title(s):

City of saints and thieves

Author:

Anderson, Natalie C. author

ISBN:

9780399547584

9781524738723

9781786072290

9780605993426

9780399547591

Publication:

New York, NY : G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, [2017]

Physical Description:

401 pages ; 22 cm

Summary:

"In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn't exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to build a new life and home. Her mother quickly found work as a maid for a prominent family, headed by Roland Greyhill, one of the city's most respected business leaders. But Tina soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. So when her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, she knows exactly who's behind it. With revenge always on her mind, Tina spends the next four years surviving on the streets alone, working as a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City's local gang. It's a job for the Goondas that finally brings Tina back to the Greyhill estate, giving her the chance for vengeance she's been waiting for. But as soon as she steps inside the lavish home, she's overtaken by the pain of old wounds and the pull of past friendships, setting into motion a dangerous cascade of events that could, at any moment, cost Tina her life. But finally uncovering the incredible truth about who killed her mother--and why--keeps her holding on in this fast-paced nail-biting thriller." --Amazon

Fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya. Her mother found work as a maid for a family headed by Roland Greyhill. But the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. After her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, Tina spends the next four years surviving on the streets alone, working as a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City's local gang. A job for the Goondas brings Tina back to the Greyhill estate, but as soon as she steps inside the lavish home she's overtaken by the pain of old wounds and the pull of past friendships. Uncovering the truth about who killed her mother-- and why-- could cost Tina her life.

Reading Level:

HL650L Lexile.

Decoding indicator: 100 (very high) Semantic indicator: 100 (very high) Syntactic indicator: 90 (very high) Structure indicator: 90 (very high) Lexile.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader 4.4.

Accelerated Reader AR 4.4 14.0 187286.

Accelerated Reader AR UG 4.4 14.0 187286.

Subject(s):

Refugees -- Juvenile fiction.

Sisters -- Juvenile fiction.

Murder -- Juvenile fiction.

Orphans -- Juvenile fiction.

Gangs -- Juvenile fiction.

Homeless persons -- Juvenile fiction.

Black people -- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Juvenile fiction.

Homeless persons -- Fiction.

Black people -- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Fiction.

Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Fiction.

Kenya -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Fiction.

Kenya -- Fiction.

Congo (Democratic Republic)

Genre:

Electronic Access:

Author's web site http://www.nataliecanderson.com/

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Stayton Public Library	TEEN ANDERSON, N	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Jefferson Public Library	TEEN ANDERSON, N.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Anderson, N.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	YA Fic Anderson, N. 2017	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mount Angel Public Library	YA ANDERSON, N.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Newberg Public Library	TEEN ANDERSON	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	TEEN Anderson, N.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Willamina Public Library	YA Anderson, N.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Gone Girl in this enthralling murder mystery set in Kenya.

In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn't exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to build a new life and home. Her mother quickly found work as a maid for a prominent family, headed by Roland Greyhill, one of the city's most respected business leaders. But Tina soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. So when her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill's personal study, she knows exactly who's behind it.

With revenge always on her mind, Tina spends the next four years surviving on the streets alone, working as a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City's local gang. It's a job for the Goondas that finally brings Tina back to the Greyhill estate, giving her the chance for vengeance she's been waiting for. But as soon as she steps inside the lavish home, she's overtaken by the pain of old wounds and the pull of past friendships, setting into motion a dangerous cascade of events that could, at any moment, cost Tina her life. But finally uncovering the incredible truth about who killed her mother--and why--keeps her holding on in this fast-paced nail-biting thriller.

Author Notes

Natalie C. Anderson is an American writer and international development professional living in Geneva, Switzerland. She has spent the last decade working with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations on refugee relief and development, mainly in Africa. She was selected as the 2014-2015 Associates of the Boston Public Library Children's Writer-in-Residence, where she wrote her debut novel, City of Saints & Thieves .

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Tina and her mother fled the Congo for Kenya as refugees. After Tina's mother is killed in the home of her employer and lover, a wealthy and prominent man, Tina becomes Tiny Girl and plans revenge. Tiny Girl lives off the grid as a member of the thieving Goondas gang. The present-day story set in the fictional Sangui City contrasts a life of privilege, Swiss boarding schools, laser security, and cyber theft with gangs of homeless thieves, arms trading, and rampant vigilantism. Anderson's experience working in refugee relief in Africa gives listeners a glimpse into the relevant, complex plight of refugees. The action is sometimes slowed with introspection and repetition, especially in exchanges between Tina and her accomplice Michael, her childhood friend and the son of her prime suspect. Pascale Armand's narration is wonderful. She portrays Tina as strong, independent, and likable with the slightest trace of vulnerability. Armand presents varied accents with clarity and aplomb. VERDICT A worthwhile story for upper-middle and high schools.-Jane Newschwander, Fluvanna County Public Schools, VA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Tina has been living on the streets of (the fictional) Sangui City in Kenya since her mother's murder at the home of Roland Greyhill, her mother's employer and the father of Tina's half-sister, Kiki. Recruited by the Goondas, a gang of orphans and street kids, Tina is the only girl trained to become a foot soldier. As she learns skills to become an accomplished thief, she lives by a series of rules, including "Rule 3: thieves don't have friends" and "Rule 15: a rule from my mother: run." As Tina gets closer to exacting revenge for her mother's death, she discovers that she may not have all the facts. Debut author Anderson, a former aid worker, deftly addresses issues in the region in this fast-paced thriller, highlighting the struggles of refugees in war-torn eastern Congo and the human rights violations that women in particular face. Using a smattering of Swahili, Sheng (street slang), and French, Anderson adeptly uses language to bring Tina's world to life as she carefully traces her heroine's history to reveal a shocking truth. Ages 12-up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

As refugees from Congo, Tina and her mother Anju are considered among the fortunate ones when Anju finds work with the Greyhills, one of the wealthiest families in Kenya. However, corruption and bloodshed are never far away, and Anju is soon found dead in Mr. Greyhills study. After ensuring the safety of her younger half-sister, Kiki--whose father is Mr. Greyhill--Tina joins the Goondas, the local gang, learning to become a master thief and honing her desire for revenge against Mr. Greyhill. As Tinas plans for dirt, money, and blood begin to unravel, narrator Armands calm, even tones react deftly to her private moments of anger and panic. Carefully distinguishing among accents, Armand has also taken great care to flesh out members of Tinas inner circle, Bug Eye, Ketchup, and Boyboy; the scenes that include all four characters are particularly compelling. With a fair amount of Swahili phrases sprinkled throughout the novel, the audiobook might be best used with the print editions glossary close by. eboni njoku (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* If you're going to be a thief, the first thing you need to know is that you don't exist. So begins Congo refugee and Kenyan street gang member Tina's gripping narrative, a wonderfully twisted puzzle of a murder mystery. Six years ago, Tina's mother, maid to wealthy Mr. Greyhill, was murdered in his study. Eleven-year-old Tina got her half sister Kiki (Mr. Greyhill's daughter) a scholarship at a convent school and then disappeared into the streets of Sangui City, where she joined the Goonda gang. Here Tina refined her skills as a thief while carefully plotting revenge on Greyhill, whom she has good reason to believe murdered her mother. Now 17, Tina is ready to put the plan into action by blackmailing and then killing her mother's assassin. Anderson, who has worked with refugee relief and development in Africa, addresses issues of race, class, and gender as intrinsic plot elements. Tina's gay friend BoyBoy is an especially sympathetic and compelling character who refuses to join the Goondas, yet lends his computer skills to their many heists. Greyhill's son Michael, Tina's childhood playmate, is now both her captor and maybe her love interest, highlighting the tremendous gap between wealth and poverty and the resulting power dynamics. The nicely twisted climax is wholly believable, and readers will be sorry to leave Tina, whose fierce loyalty to family drives her courageous actions.--Carton, Debbie Copyright 2017 Booklist