The School for Thieves, page 28
“Yeah,” said Tom. “We’re doing fine.”
There was a pause. “You’re not coming with us, are you?” asked Bernie.
There was a lump in Tom’s throat, which he hadn’t expected. “No. Maxine and I are on a different journey. This is as far as we can go with you.”
Bernie nodded. “I don’t understand,” he said. “But I also do, I think. If that makes sense?” Tom was about to say something when Bernie pulled him into an embrace. “Thank you,” he said softly. “Thanks for not leaving us behind.”
“Hey, you know the rule,” said Tom, tightening his arms around Bernie. “We look after each other. We have each other’s backs.”
A message came down from the captain informing them that it was time for the ship to depart. Tom and Maxine said their final farewells and headed for the gangplank.
At the last moment Tom caught Bernie’s eye and tugged down the collar of his shirt. Hanging on a shoelace around his neck was a little green stone.
“Can’t hurt, can it?” called Bernie when he realized what it was.
Tom grinned and tucked the stone away again. “No, it can’t hurt. And do you know, maybe there’s some truth to those stories I used to tell after all.”
On the dock, he and Maxine waved as the steamship turned out into the river. The warehouse kids stood on the upper deck and waved back until, a short time later, they disappeared from sight amid the mist.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wanted to be a writer before I could even write. I remember drawing pictures of Transformers and Puss in Boots and Superman next to squiggled lines instead of text and stapling them all together to create my first books. So much of my childhood was spent reading and writing stories, listening to audiobooks, and dreaming that one day I might write my own novel.
How can you ever express your gratitude to the people who helped make your lifelong dream come true? It’ll be impossible to ever fully articulate, so this will have to suffice.
Firstly, I would like to thank my incredible wife, Julie, who is also my incredible agent. Not only did she do a mountain of work on the first version of this book, particularly in helping to cut down its monstrous initial length, but she then found it the most perfect home with the team at Farshore. We were both blown away by the enthusiasm shown by the wonderful Lucy Courtney and Sarah Levison. They just got it.
It has been the most fantastic journey ever since. The editorial input from Lucy and Aleena Hasan has been amazing. They helped reshape and refine the text and have been such a joy to work with—as have all the team at Farshore. I want to say the most enormous thank you to Lucy, Sarah, and Aleena, as well as the amazing Cally Poplak, Lindsey Heaven, Chris Wells, Rory Codd, Sophie Porteous, Olivia Carson, Lila Nicholson, Hannah Penny, and all the other members of the team who have worked so hard on this book. Your efforts and enthusiasm have blown my mind. Thank you also to the hugely talented Vivienne To for her gorgeous cover work on Shadow Thieves. It’s everything I’d hoped for—and so much more.
Furthermore, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the team at Aladdin, who published this book in the USA. Anna Parsons and Penina Lopez made their own marvelous contributions to the manuscript, and I’m humbled by all the work they put in. I’m so grateful to the team at Aladdin, who have shown so much faith in the series, and I’d like to extend my thanks to Valerie Garfield, Anna Jarzab, Heather Palisi, Mike Rosamilia, Luke Lucas (another gorgeous cover!), Nicole Tai, Sara Berko, and Katie Boni.
Finally, thank you to Julie and my four wild and wonderful children. I’ve realized a dream, but I’ve only managed to do it because of the way you make me feel. I love you all so much.
* * *
Peter Burns
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PETER BURNS is the author of ten critically acclaimed nonfiction sports books and has been nominated for numerous awards, including twice for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The truth, however, is that he’s always wanted to write children’s books, so The School for Thieves is a dream come true.
Peter studied English at the University of St Andrews before gaining a masters in publishing at Edinburgh Napier University. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, his four kids, and a slightly nervous cocker spaniel. He isn’t a thief, a spy, an assassin, or a politico. Or is he?
ALADDIN
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Peter-Burns
IMAGE DESCRIPTION
Description 1: A grayscale map titled “The Three Empires,” depicting a fictional world divided into three territories: the Grand Republic of France, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Japanese Empire. Each empire is shaded differently for distinction. The map includes a legend on the right, listing notable locations with corresponding icons: Rugersburg Castle, Shadow Cup location and an image of a cup; Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts and an image of a building on the top of a mountain; the Palace of Versailles, Throne of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte IV and an image of a crown; The Rawlock, Deterrent institution and an image of double doors and a stone arch; the School of Assassins and an image of a poison bottle; the School of Spies and an image of a key; the Culper Intelligence Station and an image of an eye mask; and the Lorenzo de Medici Institute of Politico Science with an image of two hands shaking. A compass rose is positioned in the bottom-left corner with four symbols inside: the key at North, the poison bottle at East, the eye mask at South, and the shaking hands at West. BACK.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
For more than 100 years, Simon & Schuster has championed authors and the stories they create. By respecting the copyright of an author’s intellectual property, you enable Simon & Schuster and the author to continue publishing exceptional books for years to come. We thank you for supporting the author’s copyright by purchasing an authorized edition of this book.
No amount of this book may be reproduced or stored in any format, nor may it be uploaded to any website, database, language-learning model, or other repository, retrieval, or artificial intelligence system without express permission. All rights reserved. Inquiries may be directed to Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 or permissions@simonandschuster.com.
First Aladdin hardcover edition August 2025
Text © 2025 by Peter Burns
Jacket illustration © 2025 by Luke Lucas
Map illustration © 2025 by Vivienne To
Originally published in Great Britain in 2025 by Farshore, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, as Shadow Thieves
Jacket design by Heather Palisi
Interior design by Mike Rosamilia based on series design of Shadow Thieves
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.
Simon & Schuster strongly believes in freedom of expression and stands against censorship
in all its forms. For more information, visit BooksBelong.com.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event.
For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Burns, Peter, 1957– author.
Title: The school for thieves / Peter Burns.
Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2025. | Audience term: Preteens | Summary: In order to rescue his friends back in London, thirteen-year-old Tom accepts an offer to attend an elite, international school for thieves run by the most powerful criminals in the world.
Identifiers: LCCN 2024444458 (print) | LCCN 2024059609 (ebook) | ISBN 9781665982283 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781665982306 (ebook)
Subjects: CYAC: Robbers and outlaws—Fiction. | Boarding schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Secret societies—Fiction. | LCGFT: Novels.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B8854 Sc 2025 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.B8854 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024444458
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024059609
Peter Burns, The School for Thieves
