Customer Reviews

Stealing Heaven

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I read the back of this book, I thought it was going to be about a young girl growing up in a lifestyle that her mother chose for her, and meets new friends accidentally that change her views about her life. It wasn't quite what I thought. I felt that Scott took too long to get to the plot, then rushed through the ending. There was no real conversation with her mother in the end. The end was wrapped up in the last three chapters, with no real resolution. Dani spent too much time thinking about how mad her mom would be if she found out about who she was hanging out with and the information she was giving out, and in the end it really didn't matter. The story seemed to go in circles, and every chapter ended with a paragraph of Dani explaining why she couldn't tell her mom what was going on. It was very disappointing, because Scott had a great story but fell flat on the execution.

Stealing Heaven is about 18 year old Danielle who secretly wishes she could be called Dani. But she can't even use her own name since she lives a life of crime along with her mother. They bounce from place to place robbing peoples houses. But they don't steal cash or jewelry or your DVD players. They steal only silver. I know, weird right?

They end up in this small town called Heaven and suddenly, Dani's entire life changes. She finds out what it feels like to have a friend, a real friend who cares about you. To have a guy like you. And she hates her life of crime. Her mom fills her with empty promises, manipulates her (in my opinion) as well as everyone else around her. The messed up things her mom does really starts to show while they're in Heaven. How selfish and greedy she is. But yet, Dani clings on to her because she believes her mother is the only person who wants her around (were in the world did she get this idea from?!).

Dani wants to stop, but she doesn't want to disappoint her mom. The worst part? The guy she likes is a cop. A rather sweet and understanding cop. I enjoyed reading about him and it made me miss having crushes. So what will Dani do? Will she continue to be controlled by her mother or will she finally take a stand and branch off and do her own thing?

I have to admit, this book started off slow and boring (maybe because I'm not really into the whole robbing someone thing, did that statement sound stupid? Sorry, blame it on the place I grew up) but once they get into Heaven and the one day that Dani's life changes, everything is just a surprising roller coaster from there. I love Elizabeth Scott's writing as well. I highly recommend this book!

This book brought me out of a slump of poorly written books. The writing style of Elizabeth Scott is simple but captivating. The characters in this novel are interesting and the plot line has its own unique little twists.

Dani is a teenager who has grown up living a life of crime, never staying in one place long enough to have a home. In the small beach town of Heaven she starts to make connections with people. Connections that help her see past the stereotypes she's built up for her self to justify the life she lives. In a sweet and wonderful romance plot that has all of the best qualities of first love Dani starts to open herself up for the first time. It's a sweet and wonderful coming of age story.

If your looking for a complex or serious book, I don't recommend this one for you, but if you want to delve into a small adventure and make some new friends who live in the form of the written word, definitely add this one to your list.

I loved this book! I had heard tons of good things about it, and it definitely did not disappoint. I think that Elizabeth Scott's novels just keep getting better and better. I've read all of them so far I think and I've liked all of them a ton so I'm really glad that Stealing Heaven was able to keep up that good-ness streak for me. I really liked how all of the characters were really in depth and relatable. The story put a girl whom we could all think of ourselves as being into a situation that none of us could imagine being in. I think the author portrayed the most normal and sincere teen girl in a beautiful way. You could see all the things that she was feeling and going through as she was put into many different situations. I also adored the character of Greg. Seriously though, what's with all of the perfect and utterly unreal guy characters?! It just makes me ache whenever I read about these flawless guys, the likes of which I believe do not exist in the real world. Even though Greg's character was realisticly unattainable, you can't help but love guys like him anyways. I think the thing I liked the best about the book though was the whole flow of the writing. Nothing was rushed and the story moved at a perfect pace. I loved being able to read about the events through Dani's eyes and I think that if the book hadn't been narrated by her it wouldn't have been as good just because she had such a fluid and relatable voice. I think the only teeny thing that bothered me was that in the end, the issue that Dani and Allison had with each other wasn't wrapped up like I would have liked it to have been. Other than that, Stealing Heaven was perfect; from the beginning sentences to the adorable ending. It's a perfect summer read.

Elizabeth Scott's STEALING HEAVEN is a lukewarm novel about a young woman's struggle to let go of the complicated, dangerous life her thoughtless mother has created for her.

Danielle was a likable, if not totally interesting, main character. What she longs for most in the world is family, freedom, love -- things any 18-year-old would hope to have. A practiced and talented thief, Dani isn't accustomed to anyone paying much attention to her. That's the name of their game: invisibility. But Greg takes notice of her immediately and won't let her slip away.

Sadly, for me, Dani was a bit of a Bella Swan. Nondescript; simple; quiet; uninteresting. Guys might say "mysterious," but I think that's a stretch. Basically, Dani's way of life has been shaped by the fact that she must, at all times, protect her identity . . . but she finds herself opening up to Greg in a way she never has with anyone. That's all fine and good, but what I didn't get was why Greg was interested in her. He makes frequent mention of the fact that she answers his every question with a question, and I'll tell you now: that would annoy the tar out of me. I just didn't get much personality from her.

Still, I finished this book quickly and never thought about abandoning it. As Dani's web became more and more tangled and the stakes grew higher, I had to know what was going to happen to she and her mom -- and how they were going to get out of this one. And despite his bad habit of falling for boring chicks, Greg was pretty swoonworthy.

I might have gone with a 3.5-star rating for STEALING HEAVEN, but I have to deduct for the weak ending. I wasn't at all happy with the resolution, and I think so much of the story relies heavily on pure coincidence -- always frustrating for me as a reader. Still, a pleasant enough read for teens. Just be aware of some sexual content and language. The story is darker than the colorful, lighthearted cover might suggest.

Sarah Jones
Mr. Slater
English 9
7 December 2010

Stealing Heaven is an amazing book that follows a girl and her mom through a life of crime, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a non-cheesy love story. The plot and the conflict in this book are interesting and there is an important lesson to be learned.

The plot of stealing heaven is interesting and over all well written. The exposition introduces a girl, Danielle, and her mother who travel from town to town living off of fake names and stolen possessions. when they a town named heaven they found it had a different feel and atmosphere and Danielle finds herself making a couple true friends, but that might be the problem. While researching the house she plans to rob, Dani falls into an accidental love with a guy named Greg who is definitely not her type. When meeting new people she finds the life she's always known might not be the best for her but she wouldn't dare tell her mom. The climax holds an unexpected twist that changes the lives of Dani and her mom for the worse and for the better.

Although the conflicts were interesting, I feel the characterization and the conflict were not the strong points of the authors abilities. The characters in this book are somewhat just thrown in the story. I feel the author could have described the characters with greater detail although she did a fantastic job with showing the characters personalities with dialogue. While reading the book I was unsure of the main conflict but the author incorporated the conflicts in the story very well and it kept my attention and I found myself not wanting to put the book down.

The main theme in stealing heaven is that no matter what, you always have a choice of what you do, who you are, and who you want to be. In the book Dani is forced into a life of cheating people out of their own possessions and she thinks that's all she will ever know but little does she know that she has all the power in the world to change who she is. Her mom has always told her to believe in things that can be held and sold but after a little while in heaven she realizes that if other people can believe in her she can believe in herself.

In conclusion, I found stealing heaven to be an amazing and unique story that kept my interest throughout.




Work Cited

Scott, Elizabeth. Stealing Heaven. New York: Elizabeth Spencer, 2008.

"The story of my life be told in silver - in chocolate mills, service spoons, and services for twelve. The story of my life has nothing to do with me. The story of my life is things. Things that aren't mine, that won't ever be mine. It's all I've ever known.

"I wish it wasn't."

Most girls Danielle's age are moving between high school and college, moving from one part of their lives to the next, moving on to a new school and a new job, moving away from their parents.

Danielle has never been to school. She has spent her life helping her mother steal and move from town to town. Even though her father was jailed for thievery, his remaining family members have made it their work and their lives. Danielle's mom specializes in stealing silver from homes and other establishments. Though she knows stealing is wrong and illegal, Danielle doesn't know how to get out of it. She has never known anything else, and she's never had a lasting relationship with anyone other than her mother.

When the ladies go to a breezy little town called Heaven, their attempts to take it all may split them apart. Two residents of Heaven quickly complicate Danielle's life: a rich girl named Allison who wants to be her friend, and a young man named Greg who wants to date her. Allison's family is Danielle's mother's next target, and Greg happens to be a cop.

For Danielle - or Dani, the nickname Greg gives her quickly and fits her completely - this isn't simply a moral tale. This is her life story. It's time for her to make it her own.

Stealing Heaven offers a unique premise, and the story grows when Dani's conscience really starts to kicks in. As in her previous novels (Bloom and Perfect You), Elizabeth Scott allows readers to truly get into the mind of the main character. Dani isn't your typical teenager, so her situation might provide escapism for some while giving others food for thought.

From the reviews on Amazon I decided that this could be a very good book. Once I began reading however, I was annoyed by it. First of all, the writing style. Some sentences were past and present tense at once. The dialogue was witty but, I didn't care for the writing outside of that.

I was also annoyed by how the main character, Danielle, lost her virginity when she was younger. Her mom's boyfriend rapes, or takes advantage of her. The guy gets kicked out; the mom and Dani don't seem bothered by the event at all. I didn't think that background info was necessary for the story. I also became annoyed by Dani's submissiveness to her mom. She never stood up for herself or her life until the very end. I would've liked to read more about her development.

Over all the book had a good plot but it was too rushed. I felt like the author was just jumping from one scene to the next. I was confused once the story ended. I was disappointed by the lack of development with Greg and Danielle. I didn't really get their connection except in their senses of humor; it wasn't deep enough for me. I thought there were a lot of good plot points that just happened too fast.

Stealing Heaven is a breezy summer read, taking place in a coastal resort town Presumably somewhere in New England. Danielle, who almost never can use her real name, was raised by her mother to be a thief and has been burglarizing homes since she can remember. She's never been to school or made any friends, but she and her mom are a brilliant thieving team. But in Heaven, a tiny town filled with wealthy people, their mansions, and - Mom's favorite - their silver, Danielle finds herself in a pinch when she makes friends with a local girl and finds herself attracted to the most dangerous man of all: a young, persistently flirty police officer. Stealing Heaven is a page-turner, and, while not a literary masterpiece, is a good read in its own right, confronting a lot of the questions of teenhood in a different light. The characters are well-developed and the voice is bright and witty. You can't help but cheer for Danielle, no matter which side you think she'll choose.

This has got to be one of the best young adult books of the year! I picked this up expecting one thing, but ended up with something completely different - and in a good way! It completely exceeded my expectations, and left me pleasantly surprised.

Dani is one of the most sincere, troubled yet loyal teens I have ever met. She is eighteen, so she isn't your typical younger teenage girl. She's mature, she's wise, and her experiences have taught her to be strong but guarded with her emotions. Dani, or Danielle, has never been able to just be herself. For as long as she could remember she has been skipping towns with the silver that her mum has stolen with her help. She has lived in towns with an alias, she has never had her own house, her own furniture, or her own identity. She has never been able to make friends, or have relationships, or even have a pet, but has always been on the sidelines as she watched her mum change boyfriends to suit her purposes.

Dani's mum comes off as extremely selfish and uncaring. She is irresponsible, greedy, and phony. Her main purpose and concern is stealing silver from as many houses as possible, and to hell with the consequences. But we come to realise that stealing for Dani's mum is more than just money, it has become an addiction - her thrill in life. It's the only thing she's ever known, and she doesn't want to give it up...for anyone.

But then Dani meets Allison, and Greg - and her whole life is turned upside down. Allison is a rich girl who is actually nice. Who wants to be Dani's friend. And Greg...Greg is a cop, who has fallen for the girl who steals things. Greg is the embodiment of everything Dani was taught to stay away from, but she likes him...she really likes him...and she cannot seem to stay away from him.

This is such a great story. A story with so much depth, so much sadness, but so much hope. It is a story about the conflict of loyalty, about doing the right thing and wanting to do the right thing. About standing up for what's right. About moving on, and starting new. It is a page-turner that will make you want to know what will happen next, a story that will keep you curious and satisfy you to the very end.

I would read this book all over again, and enjoy reading it just as much second time around. Elizabeth Scott has truly set a new standard for herself with this one, and I look forward to reading her other novels.