Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott - ESSENTIAL

Scott, Elizabeth Stealing Heaven, pgs.307 Harper Collins-Harper Teen.

Language~PG-13, Sexual Content~PG; Violence~G;

MS/HS –ESSENTIAL.

Before readers get to turn the first page, Scott grabs your interest with this sentence. “My name is Danielle. I’m eighteen. I’ve been stealing things for as long as I can remember.” Danielle’s mother became involved in burglary as a young woman and when her partner is arrested, she waits until Danielle is old enough and they become a team. They move from town to town, city to city. Leaving soon after a job is completed. Up next for the pair is Heaven. Heaven is a beach front community full of ‘old’ money. Danielle and her mother settle in a rental beach house and begin to scan Heaven for possible targets. What Danielle doesn’t expect to find in Heaven is a friend. She also finds herself involved with Greg, a cop no less! She knows that if people get too close, she will lose her ability to remain nameless and unknown. As the date for the job approaches Danielle begins to have second thoughts; is this really what she wants to do for the rest of her life?

Stealing Heaven is a wonderful novel about a young woman deciding what she wants from life. Deciding whether or not she can leave all she has ever known behind for a different kind of life. There are brief references to sex, but no descriptive passages. The ‘f’ word is used 2-3 times but other than that the swearing is almost non-existent.

Allison Madsen~Teen Librarian-SJO Public Library