Bike Thief by Rita Feutl (review)

Katie’s innate clumsiness has resulted in some domestic damage, and her brother, narrator Nick, is afraid that their foster parents—one of the rare families willing to take on a pair of siblings—will ask for the siblings’ reassignment. Therefore, Nick makes a quick deal with a shady dealer, Dwayne, to replace a broken TV, on the condition that Nick pays him back in service. The favor, it turns out, is to recruit and direct “runts,” underage kids with no criminal record, to steal high-end bicycles and help rebuild them at the chop shop Dwayne supervises. Naïve and desperate, Nick complies, using his love of fixed-up bikes to spot prime merchandise. It quickly becomes evident, though, that the chop shop is merely a front for a serious drug ring, and when another recruiter like Nick is beaten and kidnapped, Nick must decide whether to expose his own crimes to save the boy’s life. The compressed time frame of the episode fits well into the Orca Soundings hi-lo format, and the plot boasts notable authenticity in taking inspiration from a real-life Edmonton workspace that, according to the acknowledgments, helps kids “build and maintain their own bikes.” Details of the thieves’ m.o. are less likely to serve as instructions in larceny than as a warning to protect your own property from crimes of opportunity. This title will serve not only the hi-lo crowd but any YA reader looking for a lightning-paced super-quick pick.