Thieves by Lucie Byron

Reviewed by Yusmibel L.
Grade 11

Thieves by Lucie Bryon is a cute and captivating queer graphic novel. The book is split into two parts and follows a pair of high schoolers in France as they navigate the social messes of their senior year. Adventurous and bold, it’s a light-hearted read chock full of capers and charm.

The story follows the amiable and “cool” Ella, who’s biggest worry her senior year is talking to her sweet but reserved crush Madeline. So when she encounters Madeline while crashing a house party she’s more than thrilled to have a chance to talk to her. However, when a night of fun mixes with too many drinks, things quickly get out of hand, and she wakes up at home the next morning--hungover--in a pile of stuff she can’t remember stealing.

Even worse, the party she crashes turn’s out to be Madeline’s. So when Madeline rings on Ella’s door to check on her and tell her she’s been robbed, Ella panics and feigns ignorance. Desperate to set things right, Ella quickly comes up with the perfect plan--to secretly return the stolen items by crashing parties. She recruits Madeline to aid her and all seems well until secrets and feelings start bubbling up and threaten their escapades.

One of the best features of this book is the art style. Every character is unique and beautifully illustrated. A recurring motif in the book is Ella experiencing the sensation of “drowning” whenever she gets overwhelmed. Bryon, the creator, translates this feeling to the reader by drawing waves or “flooding” some of the panels. This is one of the many instances where a feeling or experience is conveyed by stretching the reality of the characters. It’s something that keeps an otherwise consistent setting dynamic and pleasing to the eye. 

Perhaps, just as charming as the art is the characters. The book mostly follows Ella’s point-of-view with a brief switch to Madeline’s midway through. Although there are some holes and parts of the story that aren’t fully fleshed, like some later introduced characters and sections of backstory it doesn’t take away from the story.

I highly recommend this book. Thieves was a delightfully fun read; I couldn’t put it down the second I opened the first page. The main characters throughout are complex and charming and the plot is straightforward but exciting. It’s an absolutely adorable and easy read that may just steal your heart.