Theo Decker begins this story as a thirteen-year-old boy from New York. He survives an accident that kills his mother and is abandoned by his father, ultimately being taken in by the family of his friend. His new surroundings of wealth and privilege displace him, and his own schoolmates don't know how to talk to him. Longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her - a small, mysteriously captivating painting that brings Theo into an inclusive art community and causes him to obsess after this object. As an adult, Theo moves between the worlds of the rich and the antique store where he works, making him an outsider and causing his feelings of alienation, pushing him into the center of a more dangerous circle. The story is modern and old-fashioned as it swirls around the streets of New York to the dark areas of the art underworld. It is addictive, suspenseful, vivid, and beautiful - making it a literary triumph.

A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this "extraordinary" and beloved Pulitzer Prize winner that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, "New York Times Book Review").

The movie had flaws, major flaws; however, there is always a discrepancy between the screen adaptation and the book. The book is complicated because it takes a panoramic view of life and time and includes a lot of major events that Theo faced when growing up. The creators of the movie had to cut back on a lot of these events in order to make a realistic film time. It does have a great cast, including actors and actresses such as Ansel Elgort, Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Nicole Kidman, Luke Wilson, and Jeffrey Wright. In this case, not watching the film adaption for this story is understandable, but either way, experiencing this story is worth it.