I read about The Readymade Thief, the debut novel from Augustus Rose, and was really excited: an “addictive literary puzzle” with a female teenage protagonist and a “secret society with a dark agenda” – sounded like just my thing. So when I received a copy from Penguin Group/Viking and NetGalley, I could hardly wait to dive in.

I am convinced that sometimes a book that seemingly everyone else on the planet thinks is GREAT gets a resounding “meh” from me because of my mental state. And that may be the case with The Readymade Thief. It just wasn’t the thing for me right now.

I did love the beginning! Lee’s angst and desire for acceptance were so well written, I just totally wanted her to find what she needed/wanted. But I never really cared about any of the other characters, particularly the teenagers/young adults, so it was hard for me to get into the literary puzzle. I just wanted to get through it. And I wasn’t enthralled by the whole “secret society” aspect. Maybe there were just too many things going on? Anyway, I will definitely read the next book from Augustus Rose, because this debut author can WRITE!. Three stars (two for the book, one for the author’s obvious talent.