The Ship of Stolen Words

A group of goblins steal a boy’s ability to apologize in The Ship of Stolen Words, a lively middle-grade fantasy from Nebula Award–winning author Fran Wilde.

No matter how much trouble Sam gets in, he knows that he can always rely on his magic word, “sorry,” to get him out of a pinch. Teasing his little sister too much? Sorry! Hurt someone’s feelings in class? Sorry! Forgot to do his chores? So sorry! But when goblins come and steal his “sorry,” he can’t apologize for anything anymore. To get his “sorry” back and stop the goblins from stealing anyone else’s words, Sam will have to enter the goblins’ world and try and find the depository of stolen words.

There, he meets Tolver, a young goblin who’s always dreamed of adventure. Tolver longs to use the goblin technology—which can turn words into fuel to power ships—to set off and explore, but his grandma warns him that the goblin prospectors will only bring trouble.

Together, Tolver and Sam will have to outsmart the cruel prospectors and save the day before Sam’s parents ground him forever!

“This novel offers rich world-building; a wide cast of well-realized characters, both human and goblin; and all the piracy, mechanical flying pigs, and elaborate goblin traps a reader could hope for.” —School Library Journal