Conn is a thief who lives in Twilight. One night, he picks the pocket of an old man who turns out to be a wizard. When the "locus magicalicus" stone he stole doesn't immediately kill him, the wizard takes an interest in Conn and takes him on as an apprentice.

Sarah Prineas has a great voice for youth fantasy. Unlike some children's fantasy novels, there is no modern slang - her characters speak as if they lived centuries ago. At first, I thought Conn's narrative voice was too simple and straightforward; it made the book sound like it was aimed at a younger audience. The wizard Nevery's journal entries give a great contrast, though - he is sharp and insensitive, but a few of his observations made me laugh out loud.

Conn himself doesn't know his own age and I originally thought he was around ten or so. By the end, he acts much more mature than I would have expected. He knows what he believes in and he does what needs doing, even when no one else believes in him.

The book may be over 400 pages, but the type is fairly large and the pages are smaller than the average youth novel. In fact, there are only about 200 words per page and each chapter begins with an illustration. This would be a great read for Guides (9-11), but older Pathfinders and Rangers (12-17) may find it a bit too easy. This would be a good book for Brownie-aged girls (7-8) who read at an advanced level.