The Thief Lord

Prosper and Bo have run away from their Aunt Esther. Their mother has died. Aunt Esther and her husband want to adopt 5-year-old Bo because of his angelic looks. They plan to shuttle 12-year-old Prosper off to a boarding school, separating the brothers. The brothers don't want that, so they have run away from their aunt in Germany and made their way to Venice, Italy.

They are about to give up and turn themselves over in Venice because they are hungry and don't have a place to stay. Then Hornet discovers them. Hornet is also an orphan. She takes the two boys to her gang's hide out in a deserted movie theater. Along with Riccio and Mosca, they settle in to live. Their leader is another boy, Scipio, who calls himself the Thief Lord. Scipio doesn't live with them, but mysteriously comes and goes. He robs elegant houses, brings the loot to the orphans, and lets them sell the items to a local unethical shopkeeper, Barbarosa.

Only if they know, troubles start following them.

This is my first Cornelia Fuke's book and I must say it was fantastic. It's a good tale about the versus between little children and wicked adults. It's like a fairy tale, except is modern. I recommend this book for any fans of adventure.