Rosa Coelho has spent her whole life hunting monstros, wandering the city streets with her best friend Tiago, and dreaming of a better life for herself and her grandmother. And in a society that favors the rich and educated, every piece of knowledge comes with a hefty price, even the most basic books Rosa's family needs to trap monstrous.
So when the powerful Ministério dos Monstros threatens her family's struggling Encantadora shop, Rosa only has two weeks to scrape together the money for their debts. It seems like an impossible task…until Rosa tricks her way onto an infamous thief crew as their magical safecracker.
Thrust into the world of high class luxury and betrayal, Rosa is pulled into a scheme with the highest possible stakes: stealing from the Ministry itself. She must learn to trust her magical abilities and her crew-for if the heist goes wrong, everything she loves is forfeit.
"Accustomed to narrating Spanish-inflected audiobooks, narrator Frankie Corzo adds hints of Portuguese to this middle-grade fantasy. Rosa, 12, is a lowly trapper who hunts magical pests with her av� (grandmother), but she's secretly practicing to become a master of charmed locks like her vanished pai (father). When she poses as a keeper in order to audition with her best friend for an epic heist, both her skills and her friendship are tested. Sarah J. Mendonca's complicated worldbuilding threatens to overwhelm the story, but Corzo's characterizations keep listeners focused. Her evocation of Rosa is particularly nuanced, allowing listeners to understand the character's flaws while maintaining their sympathy. The cliffhanger ending will leave listeners wanting more. V.S. � AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine"
