Grape Thief

by Kristine L. Franklin

Book Overview

A fine historical novel with lively dialogue and plenty of excitement. -- KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review) It's 1925 in multi-ethnic Roslyn, Washington, where twelve-year-old Cuss is able to swear in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763613258
• ISBN13: 9780763613259
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

This book is Wonderful.

I read Grape Thief before giving it to my pre-teen to read and I was quietly blown away, if that's possible. Since then I've shared it with other adult readers who have loved it. This book is some kind of sleeper -- I think it's a classic, but it's flying below the radar. It's a beautiful story, written well and absolutely captures a moment in american history. Beautifully crafted.

Grape thief

Twelve-year old Slava Petrovich is also known as Cuss, because he can swear in fourteen different languages. He is stuck in a hard position when he hits seventh grade. He is destined to become a miner like his brothers, until a problem comes to his town and his brothers are part of it. Trying to stay in school and out of work soon becomes the least of Slava's worries.This book is a great read and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.Some of the suspenseful parts in this book contain an accidental killing, thievery on a grape train, and running from the law. If you like suspenseful historical fiction books I would definitely recommend this book to you.

Gripping and authentic

Grape Thief is the story of a boy forced to grow up in a hurry. Cuss, an appealing although very human pre-teen, is one a large family of immigrants whose father's death has made their lives even more difficult than those of the other struggling people in their coal town. Still, it's a tight-knit community, and although barroom brawls and run-ins with moonshiners occasionally disrupt life, neighbors look out for each other and families pull together--as they must to survive.I disagree with the Booklist reviewer who said that the "happy ending seems patched on." Books don't have to end in gloom and doom to be realistic--good things DO sometimes happen--and this is hardly a rosy ending. The family is still torn apart, the younger brother's situation is far from optimistic (I don't want to spoil anything so won't go into detail), the mother has a hard struggle ahead of her--as does Cuss. And all the events that go toward mitigating the tough situation were carefully laid out by the author ahead of time; hardly a patch job.The details of life in this mining town ring absolutely true, as do the characters' inner lives. Highly recommended.