Angel Thieves has many stories of several characters happening across time, and it did take me more than a minute to sink into the many different pieces woven together.
Appelt does not wrap things up neatly at the end. But to me this makes sense given that many of the characters were enslaved and their stories are so often fragmented.
I learned some Texan history while growing to care deeply for the characters–grave robbers, a teenaged father who gives up everything for his son, a mother trying to save her children from slavery, and marble carvers among others.
Although Appelt does not wrap it up neatly, she does come through for the ocelot and others like good kit lit authors so often do. It’s a read that will touch your heart if you like bayous and love that stretches across time even when all feels lost.
