The Peach Thief
The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith, published by Candlewick Press on March 4, 2025, is a middle-grade debut that immerses readers in the world of 1850s Lancashire, England. This 384-page novel explores themes of longing, belonging, and the courage required to find one’s place in the world. The story follows Scilla Brown, a workhouse orphan who, in a moment of desperation, climbs the Earl of Havermore’s garden wall to steal a peach. Her encounter with the earl’s head gardener leads to an unexpected opportunity that changes her life.
Readers will find a richly atmospheric narrative that delves into Scilla’s journey as she navigates her new life while maintaining her disguise. As she develops a bond with Phin, a garden apprentice, and learns from the head gardener, Scilla cultivates not only plants but also hope for a better future. The book presents classic middle-grade themes such as identity, ambition, and personal responsibility, all woven into a story that highlights the transformative power of nurturing both gardens and relationships.
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“Nuanced, richly atmospheric, and exquisitely written.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This shimmering middle-grade debut set in 1850s Lancashire, England, explores longing, belonging, and the courage it takes to find your place–and bloom.
The night that workhouse orphan Scilla Brown dares to climb the Earl of Havermore’s garden wall, she wants only to steal a peach–the best thing she’s ever tasted in her hard, hungry life. But when she’s caught by the earl’s head gardener and mistaken for a boy, she grabs on to something more: a temporary job scrubbing flowerpots. If she can just keep up her deception, she’ll have a soft bed and food beyond her wildest dreams . . . maybe even peaches. She soon falls in with Phin, a garden apprentice who sneaks her into the steamy, fruit-filled greenhouses, calls her “Brownie,” and makes her skin prickle. At the same time, the gruff head gardener himself is teaching lowly Scilla to make things grow, and she’s cultivating hope with every seed she plants. But as the seasons unfurl, her loyalties become divided, and her secret grows harder to keep. How far will she go to have a home at last? Beautifully crafted with classic middle-grade themes of fate and ambition, identity and personal responsibility, this stunning debut features brisk pacing, crackling dialogue, and deep insight into what makes a garden thrive–and a heart and mind flourish.
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