Semester 2 Book: The Good Thief By Hannah Tinti

As you can tell by the title of this blog post, my book for Second Semester is The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. This book is about a boy named Ren, who had lost his hand from the elbow down. He doesn't remember how he lost it, but ever since he had been at the orphanage, St. Anthony's, he had been without that part of him. Because of his missing apendage, the chances of him getting adopted are very low in the time period this book takes place which is the 19th century. Then, one day, a man comes claiming that his brother was given away by accident. To Ren's surprise, the man, Benjamin as we come to know him as, decides that this cripple is who he wants to adopt. Ren has to leave his friends behind and the orphanage that he had lived in since he could remember, to go to the outside world.
Unfortunately, the man claiming to be Ren's brother reveals himself to be a con artist, and that he isn't actually Ren's brother. The only reason he had picked Ren was because his arm could earn them some more money. As Ren is thrown into the lawless job of a grave-digger and corpse seller for Benjamin, Ren slowly stops praying to God. In the orphanage, Ren had followed the other boys in prayer every night before bed and they had also confessed frequently for every little thing. As soon as Ren meets the real world, though, he stops praying as often, and in time it seems like he stops believing that prayers would help him. This book is so great, I have already read way farther than 1/6 of the book.