In its review, SLJ says that Robin Yao’s THIEF OF THE HEIGHTS “raises interesting questions about whether a better life is worth the price”

In the futuristic three-tiered city of Muqadas, residents of Saha, the bottom tier, aspire to move up by being scouted for talents valued by the upper levels. Mustafa, Basem, and Aarfah are mechanical engineers living in Saha. Aarfah lost her legs to Habar, an incurable infection stopped only by amputation. Mustafa and Basem are developing prosthetic legs for Aarfah, both to help her and to get scouted. The three plan to ascend and send resources back to Saha if they reach the upper ­levels. When they ascend, they learn the truth about upper classes and the systems keeping Saha in poverty. It slowly becomes clear the people in Saha aren’t passively accepting their situation. The story raises interesting questions about whether a better life is worth the price. Each friend ­responds differently, showing the complexity of the question. The art is solid, but color and ­design choices create difficulty with the visibility of some panels. Sometimes only eyes and teeth of dark-skinned characters are visible, and some panels are so dark that details of what is happening in the story are obscured. The setting appears to be influenced by the Middle East and some dialog is in ­Arabic. ­Characters range from dark brown-skinned with textured hair to fair-skinned with straight hair. VERDICT The dramatic narrative asks thought-provoking questions about class and mobility under repressive systems. The murkiness of the art sometimes gets in the way of engaging with the story, but the text carries it through.–Carla Riemer