While you may think a story about the Plague may hit a little close to home after the last four years but you would be wrong. Plague Thieves by Caroline Fernandez is an engaging and interesting middle grade historical fiction novel.

The year is 1665 and London is being hit by a mysterious illness called the Plague. Rose and Lem are quickly orphaned leaving them out on the streets to fend for themselves any way they know how but are not left empty handed. Their father leaves them with a special oil blend to protect them against the Plague which ends up getting them into all kinds of trouble.

Caroline Fernandez has a knack for historical fiction stories that are fascinating and engaging. The pace of this story is quick making it one that is difficult to put down as there is action happening around every page turn. I appreciate that the story is hopeful in a sense but doesn't shield readers from the realities of the time. There was not proper sanitation, many people lost their entire families to the disease and children were left orphaned as Rose, Lem, Cinn, Cal, Amos and Clove were in the story.

I loved that the story has a bit of a Lord of the Flies element to it, with children banding together for their survival and helping each other when it was most needed.  There was also the interesting element of the Thieves Oil, a blend of essential oils that was purported to protect from the Plague. There is a lot of interesting folklore around this blend of oils and how it was used. I appreciate how Caroline Fernandez captured this interesting piece of history that is still relevant today as essential oils are used in many households for many different purposes.

I was fully immersed in this Plague sstory and loved following the character of Rose. Caroline Fernandez wrote and strong and very real character that leaves readers wondering if they could do the same a Rose in a similar situation and perhaps reflecting on their own experiences during the COVID 19 pandemic.