Review: Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief

Ｔｉｔｌｅ：Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief

Ａｕｔｈｏｒ：Rosie Somers

Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ：Standalone

Ｒａｔｉｎｇ：★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

＊Ｎｏｔｅ：I received a free copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Most sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t know where museums keep their rarest jewels (the basement) and they really shouldn’t know that vans make the worst getaway cars. But for Marisol Flores, a life of jewel thievery is a birthright handed down from generation to generation, even if she didn’t ask for it. So when a rival thief targets Mari and her mother, Mari’s more than happy to flee to the anonymity of bustling New York City.

Blending in is a dream come true for Mari, but keeping her former thieving ways a secret gets way more complicated when handsome Will Campbell sets his sights on her. She can’t help but like his terrible puns and charming grin…but when her past catches up with her, it’s not only her life—and her anonymity—that’s at stake.

Will could be the next target.

✩ Marisol was a good main character. She was funny, practical, and hard-working. Plus, she really cared about her family. I liked that she wanted to protect others and did her best to fit in and make friends. She actually made an effort to be “normal”.

✩ I really liked Will! He was also pretty funny, charming, and cute. He always looked out for Marisol in the most adorable ways.

❝ The life of a professional thief is glamorous. That is, if you consider attending five high schools in three years, possessing my own personal collection of ski masks, having better knife-throwing skills than social skills, and not having a close friend since elementary school glamorous.❞

This was a really light and fun read that you could easily get done in a day. Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief is a contemporary YA romance that follows Marisol (Mari) and her mother after they escape a rival thief and move to New York.

Based on the title and description I was expecting to see more of Marisol’s skills come into play, or see her getting into trouble using her skills to help others. Something along those lines. While there weren’t too many instances where Marisol went on heists or did unexpectedly epic things, I still really enjoyed this book just for the romance aspect.

As can be expected, Marisol is nervous about starting up school and trying to fit in. She’s never really had any friends or done anything “normal”, so she struggles with her social life and some of her schoolwork. It’s in seeking help for her math class that she gets to know Will Campbell, her sidewalk Romeo.

❝ Well, maybe I’m scared and want you around for protection.” His grin crooks to one side, and he winks. He’s teasing me. 

And it’s working. “Well, come on then. Lag behind and I’ll leave you to fend for yourself.❞

What I liked about Marisol trying to be “normal” was that she really put in the effort. She talked to the teacher about getting extra help, she took the initiative to join a club at school, she pushed herself to go out and hang out with her friends, and she chose not to let Will take over her life completely. She still went to her club meetings and everything else.

What I liked about Will? He accepted Marisol as she was! He didn’t demand that she stop hanging out with other people just because he wanted to walk with her after school.  He waited for her, brought her coffee, texted her. He just genuinely cared and showed it with the little things. He was also really adorable in that “I’m a flirt, but when you flirt back I’m going to blush” kind of way. I loved it ❤

The only thing I think that might be a little disappointing, again, is that we don’t get to see much of Marisol as a thief. I was also left wanting to know more about the rest of the thieves in Marisol’s family. There were also other side characters introduced that weren’t mentioned very much for the rest of the book because the romance between Will and Marisol was the obvious focus of the book. So, if you liked romance, this is great and you should pick it up. If you were hoping for more action then this might not be for you.

The action-y stuff in this book happens more in the beginning with the first heist and then progresses some more towards ending of the book. I think the book did a good job of tying together loose ends and answering a lot of the questions behind Marisol’s father and Will’s interest in her.

This lovely book comes out on August 8th ❤ Go check it out!