The Talent Thief

Starred review from January 9, 2023
A meteoric collision gives a beleaguered 12-year-old the ability to take on others’ talents in an uplifting contemporary fantasy from Thayer (The Double Life of Danny Day). Two years after being seemingly cursed by her grandmother’s deathbed wish (“Let the world see my Shining Star”), Tiffany Tudwell often finds herself thrust negatively into the spotlight, not to mention bullied by “evil popularity overlord” Candace Palmer. Attempting to avoid attention, Tiffany stops rocking her funky style and embraces life behind the scenes, successfully coordinating raids in online RPG Warcraft of Empires. She also worries about how her single father will keep both their mobile home and his passion project at the town’s struggling planetarium. But after witnessing two meteors’ collision, Tiffany finds she can inexplicably borrow others’ talents for a short time: she sings like a soloist after holding talented Candace’s microphone, and briefly becomes both an expert card shuffler and a “dodgeball ninja.” And when a campaign to save the planetarium launches, Tiffany must find a way to help while considering the consequences of her newfound powers. Vividly wrought characters—especially Tiffany’s gaming counterparts and her nonagenarian pals at Sunny Vistas Assisted Living—and the protagonist’s dryly comic voice contribute to this charming novel’s exploration of gifts and friendships. Protagonists read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Lauren Keller Galit, LKG Agency.