The Nowhere Thief

A fantastical, world-hopping adventure that keeps the reader wanting to find out more from start to finish, The multiverse idea is not a new one but the author takes the science of bubble universes with different fundamental constants to another level. The quite brilliant idea of hostile and benevolent worlds that overlap as spheres made my head hurt a little and I loved the kaleidoscope concept and symbolism. The Marvel Multiverse is full of superhero’s wearing capes but Alice Ross’ sphere-traders are characters who the reader can really relate to. Elsbeth and Idris are insecure, unsure of their place in their respective spheres and their talents until they come together as an unstoppable and admirable team. The spheres that they travel to are wonderfully realised with similarities and huge differences and the concept of environmental damage is also expertly explored. A great read that would be a superb class read for Y4, Y5 or Y6 children, and one that has already been pre-ordered for my school reading ambassadors to read and recommend. I hope that I can enjoy some more adventures with Elsbeth and Idris in the not too distant future 🤞🏻

Truly imaginative. Can't wait to see what comes next!

This was a very intriguing and exciting storyline that hit just right for my nine-year-old. It's the first time she's been eager to get to the end of a book without losing interest along the way. Very cleverly written with powerful descriptions and perfectly constructed reality-twisting. Ross also seamlessly deconstructs societal conventions to introduce children to - or reinforce their awareness of - freedom and difference without fanfare.

I loved this from beginning to end - a brilliant and inventive take on the multiverse. I'll really miss Elsbeth!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me access to this book.This was, in the end, an enjoyable read. I found it a bit difficult to get into at first. Elsbeth hops into various alternate worlds but we don't hear much about them, not even about Victoria and her world, so I couldnt really see the point of the world jumping and i couldnt see where the story was going.It all livens up though when Elsbeth meets Idris and from then on it is an entertaining story with some twists and turns and a good plot full of adventures and mystery and a bit of danger. I think it would stimulate a child's imagination. The characters and Idris' world are well drawn and described and the dialogue is authentic and the friendship between Elsbeth and Idris is realistic.The ending is good, it finished this book very well but also leaves a hint that there could be other books to come.Also, if the book was to be used as a springboard for other things there are a lot of activities a child could do based on the book - they could imagine alternate worlds of their own; they could create new animals; they could research our world to look for a world like Racine's; they could even research the meaning of the name of Racine and see if that fits in with the alternate worlds and could perhaps also learn about the dramatist Racine.

An imaginative and vivid adventure of 12-year-old Elsbeth and travelling through the multiverse - a host of Somewheres and Nowheres. Elsbeth learns a lot about herself throughout the places she visits and the people she meets, including the mysterious Idris and Norbert Persimmon. As trouble seems to come with every visit she makes, Elsbeth is forced to risk everything she knows and loves if she is to discover the truth about her family past and who she is. An excellently written story!

I mostly enjoyed this book, there were a few times where I got a bit bored, i think mainly because I didn't find the main character all that exciting. She didn't have much of a personality, just a kind of generic heroine (also, i have this dislike for the name elspeth, and her name was elsbeth, which was close enough to just make me feel less sympathetic towards her, but this is not the fault of the author at all, this is my own personal trauma, so i am trying not to hold it against the book).Overall, this was an exciting story. Well thought out and put together. The world building was good, it wasn't too complicated or hard to understand, and was explained really well. I definitely enjoyed the 2nd half of the book much more, as it became much more exciting. I think until that point, although stuff was happening, it was a bit slow and wasn't always clear what it was building towards, but once the second half came around, it was much more exciting, things were happening, things were being revealed and it became very hard to put down.so overall, I recommend this book. It was a good read with a very interesting and satisfying conclusion.

Elsbeth is a 12 year old with an unusual power: the ability to move between different worlds or spheres, what she calls Somewheres. However, her gift leads to her being in a position that tests her loyalties and forces her to make difficult choices.This multiverse novel is a great example of the science fiction genre for 8-14 year olds. Elsbeth and Idris are wonderfully relatable and likeable characters. I found it very refreshing that all the main protagonists were strong females. Unlike many fantasy novels, there are no thoroughly good or thoroughly bad characters. They all are faced with difficult decisions and must weigh up the rewards of their actions against the consequences. This novel would be perfect for exploring character motivation and to spark discussions about personal responsibility and self-advocacy. There are links to environmental issues, global economy and world relations which could all be explored through using the novel as a catalyst.