The Stolen Chapters (Story Thieves)

This author is amazing. This book is also amazing, James Riley is a great author!

As a lifelong reader, I knew there was no way I wouldn’t love The Story Thieves, and I was right. The premise was just that much fun. Yet somehow, I didn’t manage to read the sequel, The Stolen Chapters, until now. Never fear, this sequel is just as much fun as the first one. Now, if you haven’t read these books yet, you really don’t want to jump in here. Author James Riley has created a wonderful world, and you’ll miss out on discovering the surprises and set up he’s done in the first book. In fact, this book assumes you already know the premise of the series and spoils a few events from book one. You see, the premise involves Owen and Bethany. Bethany is half fictitious, and she can jump in and out of stories. Owen is a reader and is thrilled to be able to visit some of his favorite stories. In the first book, they wind up becoming friends with Kiel, the star of his own series of magical adventures. As this book opens, Owen and Kiel wake up in the library. They have no memory of the last few weeks and Kiel doesn’t have his magic wand or his magic book. A man with a mask shows up, announces that he has Bethany trapped, and it is up to the two of them to free her. They have just over two hours to do it or they will never see her again. Oh, and then he sets the library on fire and announces he’s called the police with a tip that they are the prime suspects. Owen and Kiel immediately disagree with what to do – do they trust the police or not? Where is Bethany? And what happened during the time wiped from their memories? The book actually starts with chapter 10, but don’t worry, as the characters regain their memories, those first 9 chapters fill in for us. As far as spoilers go, I’ve just told you what happens in chapter 10. Yes, the book starts that quickly, and things never slow down until we reach the end. There are twists and surprises along the way, and the pages fly by all too quickly. While there are obviously three main characters, this book is really Owen’s story. He gets some great character growth here, and I enjoyed seeing it. Not to say that the rest of the cast isn’t strong. In fact, since we gets portions of the story from Owen, Bethany, and Kiel’s points of view, we get to know all three of them very well. Then there’s the humor. There are so many moments that made me smile or laugh. Not to mention just how meta this entire book gets. Trust me, just go with the flow and enjoy it. I mean, how can you not enjoy it when Owen complains to himself about flashbacks in a story just as he is about to get a flashback that fills in one of those missing chapters for us? And for fans of older series detective books, there is a fantastic joke/cameo in this book that I absolutely loved. And if the flashbacks worry you at all, it is obvious when they happen and they never slow things down. We, and the characters, need that information to fill in completely what is happening, so it’s great when it happens. The books are aimed at middle graders, but any fan of fun, well written books will be glad they picked them up. So don’t wait any longer. Pick up The Stolen Chapters today and enjoy a wild trip through the fictional world.

Let me preface this with an acknowledgment that I am neither part of the targeted audience nor the targeted reading level that is stated on the book (grades 4-6) as I am a college student who intends to go into teaching and I am currently trying to identify books that I think potential students would enjoy, and this strikes so many good points as a book, but I also think it's for a more advanced student or child. The plot for this story is hard to keep up with, and has a multitude of twists and turns you need to keep up with and frankly, the major twist in regards to what's really going on(and where they are) left me stunned and confused, and it was wonderful, but after that, I feel that some children (based on how I was at those ages) might get lost unless you take this as a chance to encourage rehashing the story on paper and creating a diagram or map to keep up with the story and characters. The writing is on par with Rick Riordan and Brandon Sanderson in the internal dialogue and sarcastic observations of Owen and other characters. It has well fleshed out villains, relatively dangerous stunts described in such vivid details it creates a cinematic image in my mind and has the charm of other series I have enjoyed both as a child and as an adult reading over them. If your child enjoyed Percy Jackson's snarky comments and the dangerous threatening parts of the plot, this book and this series would be right up their alley. Also, I love the subtle nod to the prior book on the cover, wasn't expecting that to come into play though!

This is a great continuation of the series. My son and I read the first book aloud when it first came out, so I could tell he was enjoying it. We waited for the second, and when it arrived, he wanted to read it aloud as well (If you never read aloud with your tweens, I highly recommend it! It's fun sharing a book in real-time and laughing together and hearing his theories on where the book is going). Owen and Bethany and Kiel are back with the addition of a few new characters, including Doyle Holmes, the great- great- great- something grandson of the great Sherlock Holmes. When the book begins, there are more questions than answers. Owen and Kiel are in Owen's mother's library, and it's on fire. They escape but are framed for starting it. The person who framed them also told them they have to find Bethany within the time shown on their watches -- about 2 hours -- or it will be too late. The first chapters are excerpts that are mostly blacked out. These are the missing chapters that are filled in as Owen and Kiel eventually remember what happened that got them into this predicament. These books are clever and smart, and I feel that this second installation is growing in maturity with the reader. The plot isn't hard to follow, but it's definitely a complex story structure, as the missing pieces in Kiel's and Owen's memories are filled in. Especially at the end where the twists and turns are revealed, one had to have been following along to really appreciate it. My son is almost 12, and a 3rd book is promised, and so I'm glad that he won't feel as if he has outgrown the series before it's over.

The twists and turns will leave you breathless with laughter and shock. The way James Riley made the first ten chapters blacked out to show amnesia was an amazing touch to the story and it Cement’s the revolving theme on reading and the magic of books. A wonderful novel, heartily recommended

Il y a un problème d'encodage sur ce livre. Le texte est remplacé par des lignes noires sur les 10 premiers chapitres. Ne pas acheter

The daughter loved it.

First of all, I love how this book reads like an old fashioned detective novel. Even though it is set in present day, the author made it feel like I'd travelled back in time which I loved. In terms of plot, I loved the pacing and the fact that there was a countdown all the way through the book really added to the atmosphere. Some really great twists in this book too! I think Kiel is 100% my favourite character, I just love his sarcasm and his use of humour to help him navigate difficult situations. We are introduced to a new character in this book : Moira Gonzales, I loved her energy and how she's willing to do crazy risky things to see a tash through until the end. As always, I love Owen and Bethany's friendship. I just really love all of the characters and the bonds that they all share and I can't wait to read the next book to learn more about all of them. Overall just a really great continuation in a wonderful series about a love of stories.

Very poor quality.....not worth it....I would have given 0 rating it was available....