Trinkets by Kirsten Smith

I wasn't planning on reading Trinkets this month (or ever), but one of my students recently read it and offered to loan it to me. It's my general policy to always say yes when that happens, so here we are. This young adult novel about a trio of teenage shoplifters was originally published in 2013, but a Netflix series based on the novel that premiered last year has revived interest in it. I hadn't heard of either the series or the novel before last week, so I went into my reading with no expectations.

The story revolves around three high school students that meet at a Shoplifter's Anonymous meeting. Each of the girls were caught stealing in separate incidents and are required to attend these meetings as a consequence for their actions. They are from very different groups in their school, and would not associate with each other under normal circumstances. Moe is your typical "tough girl," Tabitha runs with the popular crowd, and Elodie is the new girl in town. Despite these differences, however, the crucible of the SA meetings pushes them together and they grudgingly start to become friends.

Rather than attempt to reform their ways, the girls decide to set a challenge for themselves. They start competing to see who can steal the best items. Throughout their competition, they start to become closer and support each other though their various troubles at home. Eventually, they start to learn that the social divisions holding them apart at school don't mean very much, and the thrill of the steal is ultimately a hollow, and temporary, feeling that can't fix the pain they are feeling in their personal lives.

Trinkets was an entirely okay book. It was a very fast paced and quick read, taking me about three hours to make my way through the whole thing. The narration alternates between Moe, Tabitha, and Elodie, and each girl does maintain a unique voice throughout the story. The plot is fairly straightforward, with one pretty neat twist thrown in that I enjoyed.

Where the book falls short is in its brevity. Nothing is explored in very much detail, so the story feels shallow. When I read young adult contemporary novels, I like to see a little more character development and intricacy in the plot. The quick pace made everything go too fast. The girls became friends too fast, competed to steal items too fast, and solved their problems too fast. The shoplifting isn't even described thoroughly. With the exception of one or two instances, the girls just show up with stolen merchandise at their meeting place. To be fair though, maybe Kirsten Smith was trying to avoid writing a "how to steal" guide for teens. That wouldn't be a good look for her.

Despite the speed of the story, Trinkets was still an entertaining read. It's a good novel for a younger audience. It will keep teen readers engaged and give them the joy of finishing a novel they like quickly. That's the kind of experience that keeps kids reading, so I don't have any big problems with this novel's shortcomings. It was inoffensive and fairly interesting, and now I have something I can recommend to my students. I'd call that a mild success.

Challenge Tally

Total Books Read in 2020: 5