Sam is a thief. But a rather strange sort of one. What he does, you see, is steal houses. Going from place to place, breaking in and spending nights – for one reason and one alone. You see, all Sam wants... is to find home.

But every few nights, the real owners of his stolen home will return – and he is forced to leave again, never settling, constantly searching for his own bubble of safety and life. And all the while, his father is in prison, his brother is falling deeper and deeper into the wrong crowd, and Sam... Sam is wanted by the police. So he never stops moving, never stops running. Never... stops.

Until one day, he breaks into a house that isn't really empty. And wakes in the midst of a family.

I read this entire book in one go, unable to stop – to leave Sam alone in his story, even for a moment. And by the time I finished, I had EIGHTY-FOUR places in it marked (I read it on Kindle). My legs went weak, my heart was tearing apart – and I loved every moment of it!

I was fortunate enough to be approved on NetGalley for 'The Boy Who Steals Houses' – aghhhh! I'm so, so thankful for the opportunity! And actually, when I got the approval email, I was going to just ignore it, thinking it was a rejection – and then I clicked on it, and I was SOOOO excited! I just danced around the room, lost in utter joy!

“Forget stealing a bed, a key, a home for the night. He's stealing families and their Sunday lunches.”

This book was so full of sweetness – of characters pulling together to help one another, forgiving each other, and all acting like one lovely big found family. One moment that really pulled at my heartstrings was when the older brother of one character tells Sam (the main character) that if he ever needs something to eat, he should come to them – without question. They're also constantly trying to feed Sam up, and are just so lovely to him! And the dad of this family – the DeLaineys – is doing the best he can in a difficult, tight on money situation – and still has the time to care about Sam and his situation. Also, I really admired how this dad managed his family – holding things together by the skin of his teeth, but in the most loving, kind way possible. Overall, all the family in this book was so, so sweet!

“A frazzled girl who's melting into the bliss of sweets.”

And, on the subject of family, Sam and his older brother, Avery, are the SWEETEST boys, and together, will break your heart and stitch it back together again. They have most definitely not had an easy life so far, in any way, but they really are doing their best – leaning on each other and trying their best to pull through. Avery has autism, and so, in a lot of ways, even though Sam is the younger of the pair, he is the one trying to pull them both along. He's trying to protect Avery, find himself home, and avoid getting caught by the police – all whilst Avery is falling in with the wrong crowd and going head-over-heels into a very problematic situation. But even though the two brothers argue, they can never stay away from one another for long, and always seem to pull back together – never able to be away from each other for any significant length of time.

“Sam turns out his pockets and discovers there are words in the bottom.”

Now, this is a goldilocks retelling of sorts, featuring breaking into houses and stealing them for a night or two – but there are a few large differences from the original tale...

First – food. Porridge in the DeLainey house? Ha! More like pancakes, brownies (caramel brownies, may I add), and a whole host of other delicious foods that are willingly shared, not stolen. The DeLainey family willingly share everything they have, and that leads to some lovely scenes of a hubbub around the table. (and then A LOT of washing up)

Then – comparing the DeLainey family to bears would be one of the most inaccurate comparisons I have ever seen – unless they're teddy bears. They welcome Sam with open arms, pulling him into their family and totally accepting him. And it's SO lovely! This big, busy family – which is totally able to welcome Sam into their bundle of crazy – and notice the things he needs – it's just so sweet!

“He holds Sam like he knows how to keep boys who are slipping.”

Another overarching theme in 'The Boy Who Steals Houses' is that of making the right choices. Sam obviously hasn't done that in his past – even without the stealing of houses (and other things), he's got a criminal record and the police after him. And when that eventually catches up with him, he'll have a very big decision to make – does he face up to his mistakes? Or will he just keep running from house to house, never finding home?

One thing's for sure – it will be the hardest decision he's ever made – and he'll need to make the right one. And finding the DeLainey family's house might just be the best thing he's done.

“All his people are here. Everything he loves.”

I've just realised that I've barely mentioned Moxie – which is crazy, because Moxie is a fantastic whirlwind of scissors and brownies and love. After the death of her mum, she's had to step into the role of mother for the younger children. It's sort of breaking her heart, for they don't understand, and two of them keep calling her their mum – and of course, that's tearing her to pieces and hurting her inexplicably. But she still has a heart stuffed full of forgiveness and welcome, which she turns on Sam – and he is swiftly pulled into her world. When Moxie decides to do something, refusal is not an option – and so she ends up cutting his hair, coercing him into acting as a model for her sewing projects, and making him wash up. Moxie is the one of the kindest story-girls I've ever had the privilege of meeting – and I just wanted to give her the biggest hug and tell her that everything would be ok. Really – she's fantastic!

“She is the sun, and her eyes burn stars.”

When I read C.G. Drews' debut, 'A Thousand Perfect Notes', I fell in love with her writing. 'The Boy Who Steals Houses' has served to solidify that even further! Every moment of this book felt precious. I loved it all, and want to read it again like...now. I spent a wonderful evening deep in it's beauty. And just... wow. It was sweet and heart-wrenching and so, so, lovely. Congratulations, C.G. Drews, this book of yours was incredible! (so... go and read it, everybody!!!)

I so wanted to love this book, and from what I read, the characters and plot have some great potential, but I just could not get into the writing. Third person present tense is a little jarring to read as it is, mostly just because it's not often used, but with all the added side remarks and thoughts, it just got very confusing to read. I didn't like it at all. It's a shame because this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

I keep trying to write a review that does this book justice, and I keep failing, because I find it so hard to review books I love. But I’m going to try again and just do my best!

Because this book is worth reading. And I *need* you all to read it too so you can discuss and fangirl ad FEEL TRAUMATIZED with me!

Let’s talk about:

THE CHARACTERS!
There are a LOT of characters in TBWSH. And they’re wonderfully distinct! Each character feels like a real person, with hopes and dreams and goals and a full-blown personality. I’m usually awful at remembering character names, but I had no trouble in this book, because they’re all so different.

Sam is somehow both majorly flawed and also very, very lovable. I just wanted him to be safe! And happy! His background really informs his actions and struggles and I loved that, even while my heart broke for him.

Moxie is amazing! She’s reliable, taking on family responsibilities even while feeling understandably resentful at times of the burdens placed on her. She’s also SUCH a badass and so genuine, I just love her. Plus she designs the COOLEST outfits! (I need her to be real so I can buy them plz)

Avery, Sam’s brother, is written so, so well. This is an own voices story and while I can’t speak to the accuracy from personal experience, I can say that the portrayal of Avery’s autism and how it affected both his and Sam’s lives felt very realistic to my knowledge of autism. The way Avery is treated by others — who don’t understand and/or don’t want to understand him — was reminiscent of Nobody Nowhere, Donna Williams’s autobiography detailing her experiences as an autistic girl (and later, woman).

The rest of the characters each play more minor roles, and yet somehow they’re just as vivacious in each scene they’re a part of.

THE THEMES!
CG manages to pack in a lot of important themes without their inclusion feeling heavy handed. I won’t go into all of them because spoilers, but I think it’s pretty safe to talk about homelessness, since it’s in the title of the book. This is a theme I haven’t seen explored often in novels and especially not with such depth.

I think this was so well done. I don’t know much about homelessness in Australia (where the author lives), so I can only speak to it as a US resident. There are a lot of homeless kids and adults here and it’s a problem that’s not often addressed, and even more rarely in a sympathetic, humanizing way.

I absolutely love how we slowly uncover all of the pieces of Sam and Avery’s past, that we understand how and why they are in their current position. And most powerfully of all, we feel for them. We experience their hopes, their dreams, their terrors, their pain and sacrifices.

It made me think about homelessness - REALLY think about it. And I’m still thinking about it, several weeks after finishing the book.

That’s the kind of power TBWSH holds.

Um, so this accidentally became my longest review ever? And I feel like I’ve only addressed about 20% of why I love this book, but there’s also power in discovering the story for yourself. So I’ll cut myself off soon.

I would like to add that TBWSH is full of humor and heartwarming scenes and many kinds of love and family, just as much as it is a tale that goes dark and explores some of the worst parts of human nature. I highlighted a ton of passages in the story - ones that made me laugh, were interesting in how they were written, or just felt really powerful.

So go forth now and preorder/order/read this book! I’ll just leave you with a warning-suggestion: have some serious snacks on hand because TBWSH will make you HUNGRY.

Thank you to Hachette UK and Netgalley UK for providing me with an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

SO MANY EMOTIONSSSSSSSS

wow what the actual heck, this was so beautiful but I cried literal buckets worth of tears, no joke.

I can barely order my thoughts right now, but here goes my attempt at a review:

🗝 Sammy and Avery are such precious disasters, I would literally die for them. These poor lil traumatised cinnamon rolls, I LOVE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤

Thankyou to Hachette Australia for providing me a copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses in exchange for an honest review.



The Boy Who Steals Houses is a gender bent goldilocks retelling and it was one of those books where I didn't want to stop reading, but I didn't want to get to the end either, because I was NOT READY to say goodbye to the these characters!  They were amazing and flawed and REAL.  Sam's sense of responsibility for his brother, even though it often caused him pain was beautiful and I loved the way both sides of it were shown.  He wasn't a hero, he didn't pretend it was all roses, it was HARD but he did it anyway because he loved him.     Sam and Moxie (and Mr De Lainey!) are some of my new favourite characters ever.  I loved the way no-one was perfect, they all had challenges and had been shaped by their life experiences to react in different ways.  They make mistakes, they want, they're afraid, they feel like people you would actually meet.  I became so immersed in this story that I kind of had to remind myself it wasn't real.

This one had me going through all the emotions - it was sad and anxious but gave me feel good laughs in parts too.  I loved the way the De Lainey's family was so chaotic, and just how I imagine a huge family would be   It also made me eat a lot of food.  You've been warned.  There was a lot of eating and talk about delicious food and I wanted to JOIN IN, so I did. At every opportunity.  

The Boy Who Steals Houses will be sitting firmly at the top of my list as one of my favourite contemporary reads of all time!

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m gonna start off by saying this book was one of my most anticipated read this year.
I honestly cannot put into words how much I loved this book.
SO MANY EMOTIONS OMG

Okay first of all Sam is such an adaptable character I cried so much reading about his past.
Moxie is so kind and yet such a bass as and I loved her for it.

The de Lainey family dynamic is everything! I wanted to be a part of the family too.
I also found that even though there was a lot of different characters I didn’t have a problem telling them all apart. So well written!
They have a tragic past and still have invisible scars but stand together no matter what and I loved them even more for it.

Overall this book totally rocked I could Fangirl all day about everything that I loved.

All the stars! Fully deserved.

This book tore me apart in the best way possible. It's amazing, it's terrifying, it's painful. Poor Sam and Avery, doing their best in a world that seems totally against them. And balanced against that, the de Laineys, who give me hope. If there are people like that in the world, we can't be doing too badly.

This book will stay with me for a long time, and CG Drews has just shot to the top of my must-buy list.




I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sam has been let down by every adult in his life. None of them know, or are willing to learn, how to deal with Avery, Sam's autistic older brother. So Sam keeps them safe. He survives by breaking into empty houses when the owners are away. One day, sick with flu, he misjudges and finds himself in the middle of a large, rowdy family. Everyone assumes he's someone else's friend, and for a little while he feels safe and warm, as though this life - this crazy, chaotic life - can really be his.

Until his past catches up with him in the worst way possible.


I thought I was ready for this. I've read - wait, not read. What's the word? - destroyed. I've been destroyed by A Thousand Perfect Notes a few times now, so I thought I was ready to read this one. But nope. This book is heartbreaking in all the best ways. Poor Sam has everything taken from him again and again and again. Yes, he makes some stupid decisions, but he's fifteen and trying to protect a brother who, though no fault of his own, doesn't make it easy.

The characters are brilliant, the setting is fantastic, and I would love to meet these characters again. Perhaps with a cameo from the famous composer Beck? :D

A fantastic read.

I read this book in one day as I struggled to put it down. The main character is written with such empathy that you couldn't help but like him despite his faults. This is a story ultimately about hope, that no matter what has happened in your past, no matter what bad things you have done, there is a chance of happiness. An important story for the modern world written beautifully and with compassion.