Trinkets
Author: Kirsten Smith
Published by:Scholastic Ltd.
Pages:278
Format:Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
Friendship is priceless.
Everything else you can steal.
The shoplifters anonymous meetings that sixteen-year-old Moe is forced to attend are usually punctuated by the snores of an old man and the whining of the world’s unhappiest housewife. Until the day Tabitha and Elodie walk in. Tabitha has just about everything she wants: money, friends, popularity, a hot boyfriend who worships her… and clearly a yen for stealing. So does Elodie, who, despite her goody-two-shoes attitude, pretty much has klepto written across her forehead in indelible marker. But both of them are nothing compared to Moe, a bad girl with an even worse reputation.
Tabitha, Elodie, and Moe: a queen bee, a wallflower, and a burn-out. A more unlikely trio high school has rarely seen. And yet when Tabitha challenges them to a steal-off, they forge a strange alliance, linked by the thrill of stealing and the reasons that spawn it. Screenwriter of Legally Blonde and 10 Things I Hate About You, Kirsten Smith tells this story from multiple perspectives with humour and warmth as three very different girls who are supposed to be learning the steps to recovery end up learning the rules of friendship.
My thoughts
Trinkets is a multi-perspective book which follows the story of some unlikely friendships that develop through a Shoplifters Anonymous support group. It is a beautifully told story of friendship between three girls who, despite their outward differences, ultimately are able to help each other discover who they really are.
Kirsten Smith’s development of the characters was very believable and original. Moe, Elodie and Tabitha all have very different backstories, and would probably never have connected as friends had they not shared one thing in common: a compulsive need to shoplift. The characters were built up well, and there were definitely aspects of each character that I felt I was able to relate to in some way. The author’s depiction of the girls felt believable and made for a really interesting read. I enjoyed the dialogue between the three girls and the friendships between them felt natural and convincing.
It was especially interesting to read this shortly after watching the recently released Netflix adaptation of the book. Despite some major plot changes in the reimagining from book to screen, I truly felt that both portrayals of this story work really well. Arguably this is almost entirely due to the three central characters. The strong sense of personality, humour and friendship shines through in the pages of this book just as much as it does on screen in the TV series. I don’t want to go into too many details about the changes, but I will say that the book definitely seems to end with more of a final conclusion, in contrast to the show which has still very much left things open for a possible second season.
I really liked their individual personalities and their attitudes towards one another. I loved the plot and the strong focus on friendship throughout. It was a refreshing read that held my attention. I found the book touching, very funny, and entertaining from start to finish. The book is short at just 278 pages, and the writing style feels light enough to make this a nice easy read. This is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a very light read with fun subject matter. Trinkets was exactly the kind of fast-paced, easy read I needed on my liist this summer. I’m so glad I picked this one up!
Overall reaction:
Published by:Scholastic Ltd.
Pages:278
Format:Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
Friendship is priceless.
Everything else you can steal.
The shoplifters anonymous meetings that sixteen-year-old Moe is forced to attend are usually punctuated by the snores of an old man and the whining of the world’s unhappiest housewife. Until the day Tabitha and Elodie walk in. Tabitha has just about everything she wants: money, friends, popularity, a hot boyfriend who worships her… and clearly a yen for stealing. So does Elodie, who, despite her goody-two-shoes attitude, pretty much has klepto written across her forehead in indelible marker. But both of them are nothing compared to Moe, a bad girl with an even worse reputation.
Tabitha, Elodie, and Moe: a queen bee, a wallflower, and a burn-out. A more unlikely trio high school has rarely seen. And yet when Tabitha challenges them to a steal-off, they forge a strange alliance, linked by the thrill of stealing and the reasons that spawn it. Screenwriter of Legally Blonde and 10 Things I Hate About You, Kirsten Smith tells this story from multiple perspectives with humour and warmth as three very different girls who are supposed to be learning the steps to recovery end up learning the rules of friendship.
My thoughts
Trinkets is a multi-perspective book which follows the story of some unlikely friendships that develop through a Shoplifters Anonymous support group. It is a beautifully told story of friendship between three girls who, despite their outward differences, ultimately are able to help each other discover who they really are.
Kirsten Smith’s development of the characters was very believable and original. Moe, Elodie and Tabitha all have very different backstories, and would probably never have connected as friends had they not shared one thing in common: a compulsive need to shoplift. The characters were built up well, and there were definitely aspects of each character that I felt I was able to relate to in some way. The author’s depiction of the girls felt believable and made for a really interesting read. I enjoyed the dialogue between the three girls and the friendships between them felt natural and convincing.
It was especially interesting to read this shortly after watching the recently released Netflix adaptation of the book. Despite some major plot changes in the reimagining from book to screen, I truly felt that both portrayals of this story work really well. Arguably this is almost entirely due to the three central characters. The strong sense of personality, humour and friendship shines through in the pages of this book just as much as it does on screen in the TV series. I don’t want to go into too many details about the changes, but I will say that the book definitely seems to end with more of a final conclusion, in contrast to the show which has still very much left things open for a possible second season.
I really liked their individual personalities and their attitudes towards one another. I loved the plot and the strong focus on friendship throughout. It was a refreshing read that held my attention. I found the book touching, very funny, and entertaining from start to finish. The book is short at just 278 pages, and the writing style feels light enough to make this a nice easy read. This is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a very light read with fun subject matter. Trinkets was exactly the kind of fast-paced, easy read I needed on my liist this summer. I’m so glad I picked this one up!
Overall reaction: