Grape Thief [Hardcover]

Kristine L. Franklin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

With refreshing honesty, heart, and humor - and a compelling young narrator - the author of the award-winning LONE WOLF takes readers back to 1925, and a place where a boy must become a man all too soon.


It’s 1925 in multiethnic Roslyn, Washington, and twelve-year-old Slava has earned the nickname "Cuss" because he can swear in fourteen languages. In fact, Cuss loves languages, period: unlike his older brothers, who left school after sixth grade to work in the coal mines, he likes reading about as much as he likes goofing around with his friends - or planning the great grape heist of Roslyn. But when bootleggers stir up trouble and force his big brothers to skip town, Cuss feels the weight of family responsibility dropping onto his shoulders. How can he hold on to his dream to stay in school - and still do the honorable thing by his ma and little brother?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Slava Petrovich, 12, also known as "Cuss" for his outstanding ability to curse in 14 languages, balances his life around friends, school, and his fatherless, Croatian-immigrant family struggling to make a living in the 1925 coal-mining town of Roslyn, WA. He and his best buddies, Perks and Skinny, plan to take part in the annual ritual of stealing grapes from the train that arrives from California. This boyhood prank transpires on a fateful night that marks the end of the protagonist's childhood and has long-lasting repercussions for the whole family. Slava's older brothers, who are both miners, become involved in the death of a man who worked for the mob, and are forced to leave town for their safety. Slava, intelligent and eager to profit from his education, is forced to make tough choices between staying in school and dropping out to support his younger brother and widowed mother. Franklin's intriguing adventure is full of suspense, drama, and good old-fashioned boyish shenanigans. The author's fine characterization of Slava and the struggles of his family are passionately portrayed as themes of hard work, deep religious faith, responsibility, and proud self-sufficiency are woven into the story.
Rita Soltan, Oakland University, Rochester, MI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-9. Growing up in the coal-mining town of Roslyn in Washington State in the 1920s, Slava Petrovick (nicknamed Cuss because he can swear in 14 languages) would love to stay in school; in fact, Latin is his favorite subject, and the kind Catholic priest is his mentor. But times are hard. His older brothers had to leave town to escape mobster violence, the mine is dismissing workers, and his widowed mother can barely feed the family. With his best friends, Italian ("wop") Skinny and black ("colored") Perks, 13-year-old Cuss decides to jump the grape train to California and find work. But where will he get money to bribe the trainman? Franklin has drawn on her Croatian father's stories to create a strong sense of the multiethnic community in that time and place. The happy ending seems patched on, but Cuss' fast, first-person narrative rings true: clear about prejudice and violence, funny about his pals, and also anguished about family sorrow, sacrifice, and love. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763613258
• ISBN-13: 978-0763613259
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and authentic, November 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Grape Thief (Hardcover)

Grape Thief is the story of a boy forced to grow up in a hurry. Cuss, an appealing although very human pre-teen, is one a large family of immigrants whose father's death has made their lives even more difficult than those of the other struggling people in their coal town. Still, it's a tight-knit community, and although barroom brawls and run-ins with moonshiners occasionally disrupt life, neighbors look out for each other and families pull together--as they must to survive.

I disagree with the Booklist reviewer who said that the "happy ending seems patched on." Books don't have to end in gloom and doom to be realistic--good things DO sometimes happen--and this is hardly a rosy ending. The family is still torn apart, the younger brother's situation is far from optimistic (I don't want to spoil anything so won't go into detail), the mother has a hard struggle ahead of her--as does Cuss. And all the events that go toward mitigating the tough situation were carefully laid out by the author ahead of time; hardly a patch job.

The details of life in this mining town ring absolutely true, as do the characters' inner lives. Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is Wonderful., January 14, 2007

By 

Vera Blue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grape Thief (Hardcover)

I read Grape Thief before giving it to my pre-teen to read and I was quietly blown away, if that's possible. Since then I've shared it with other adult readers who have loved it. This book is some kind of sleeper -- I think it's a classic, but it's flying below the radar. It's a beautiful story, written well and absolutely captures a moment in american history. Beautifully crafted.

4.0 out of 5 stars Grape thief, February 11, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Grape Thief (Hardcover)

Twelve-year old Slava Petrovich is also known as Cuss, because he can swear in fourteen different languages. He is stuck in a hard position when he hits seventh grade. He is destined to become a miner like his brothers, until a problem comes to his town and his brothers are part of it. Trying to stay in school and out of work soon becomes the least of Slava's worries.
This book is a great read and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Some of the suspenseful parts in this book contain an accidental killing, thievery on a grape train, and running from the law. If you like suspenseful historical fiction books I would definitely recommend this book to you.