Pickpocket

Jean-Luc has been making many mistakes since his younger sister, Lena, died. Covering for his trauma, this 17-year-old has turned away from his good friends and has fallen in with a new group of friends who are less than considerate. When his parents go out of town, Jean-Luc is faced with an unplanned party that leaves his house in shambles. Jean-Luc’s parents are at their wits end and decide it’s best to send their son to spend the summer with his uncle, Henri, in Old Nice, France. Once there, Jean-Luc will work with his uncle at his socca shop and earn money to pay back his parents for all of the damages from the party while, hopefully, gaining a new perspective on life. Though Jean-Luc knows he needs to change, what he experiences in Old Nice is far more than he bargained for.

As Jean-Luc tries to acclimatize to being in Old Nice, Henri sends him to do some sightseeing with his young assistant, Marcel, who is about the same age as Jean-Luc. Marcel drives them down to the beach on his Vespa so that Jean-Luc can see his surroundings. The beach is busy and, while Jean-Luc is looking around, he bumps into a young woman. They speak briefly, and he learns that her name is Selina. After they part ways, Jean-Luc discovers that his wallet, containing his favourite picture of his sister, is missing. It doesn’t take him long to realize that Selina is a pickpocket, has stolen his wallet, and now he wants it back!

Between making socca (Wiktionary definition: a French dish popular in Nice; a kind of chickpea pancake seasoned and eaten hot) with his uncle and delivering it to the market, Jean-Luc decides to continue to look for Selina. He thinks of places to find pickpockets and finally spots her just outside of the market. Jean-Luc walks over to speak with her, and he finds out that Selina is waiting for Le Patron, a mean and controlling man who forces her to pickpocket and give him a set amount of money each week. If Selina doesn’t meet her quota, Le Patron punishes her. When Selina sees Le Patron rolling up, she quickly says goodbye because she can’t be seen talking with Jean-Luc.

Jean-Luc keeps looking for Selina as it is his plan to help her and do something good since he was so awful at home. He wants to give her money to help her make her quota, but he also realizes that he can’t help her forever. Jean-Luc devises a plan to smuggle Selina out of town, but he’ll need Henri and Marcel to help execute the plan and Selina to trust all of them.

Jean-Luc shares his plan with Henri and Marcel, but he has to get the plan to Selina. In order to do that, he has to find her first! Again, he thinks about where pickpockets might be and decides that the train station is a good start. After looking desperately for some time, he finally spots her. He moves by her and speaks quietly, not looking at her, but the schedule. He tells her he has a plan to get her away to her aunt’s place in Toulouse. Jean-Luc has a note in his pocket with the plan and tells Selina to pick his pocket as they cannot be seen together by Le Patron nor his followers. Jean-Luc knows she has the note from his pocket, but will she trust him enough to follow the plan?

An exhibition is to take place in the town, and Henri’s socca will be a top bakery treat. When the day of the exhibition arrives, the large amount of socca must be transported from the bakery to the exhibition using a truck as well as Marcel on the Vespa. The Vespa does trailer a drum for the socca, and, although it is quite large (large enough to fit a person), it is not large enough for an exhibition. The plan is in play, and everyone is moving as though Le Patron is always watching. Marcel takes his last load, but he is not loading socca - instead, he’s secretly loading Selina!

Marcel was to transport Selina in the Vespa drum to the exhibition and then switch to a truck that they borrowed and drive her to her aunt’s. However, Marcel reports to Jean-Luc later that they just drove past Cannes and Selina asked to stop for a washroom break. It was there that Selina took off and Marcel had to return home. No one knows where she is or if she’s safe.

Time goes by, and Jean-Luc is preparing to return to Canada. He’s been on edge about Selina because he doesn’t know if she made it to her aunt’s or if she was caught by Le Patron. However, a letter arrives and inside is the picture of Jean-Luc and Lena that Selina stole. She made it! With the weight lifted off Jean-Luc’s shoulder and a new outlook on the person he wants to be, Jean-Luc returns home, but he plans to visit his uncle next summer.

Spafford-Fitz’s Pickpocket is an engaging story that combines adventure, action, and an interesting destination. With the book’s being written from the first person point of view, readers get some insight into the emotional roller coaster that some young people experience. Although it is exciting to visit another country,Pickpocket also shows the darker side by exploring pickpocketing and the serious crimes associated with it, including extortion. The narrative takes on a quick and page-turning pace that adds to the interest level, but this does not distract from the more serious notes that the novel explores. Pickpocket would be an excellent text for readers who are looking for a destination read that balances questions of growing up, family, friendship, and next steps.

As an aside, if Pickpocket were to be used as a high school text, many lesson plans could be developed to explore the social and family issues. As well, it would be interesting to try and make socca. Perhaps including a recipe in the end pages would be interesting.