Humor with a touch of the bittersweet is the hallmark of Welcome Thieves, the adult fiction debut of acclaimed young adult author Sean Beaudoin. Edgy and profane, angry, bemused, and sardonic, these stories offer the reader a gallery of unforgettable characters¿misfits, losers, fighters, dreamers¿all of them variations on a central theme: laughing at the absurdity of life.

There is a distinct surreal quality to some (including "Exposure" and "And Now Let's Have Some Fun"), a strong sense of irony (as in "You Too Can Graduate in Three Years with an Advanced Degree in Contextual Semiotics"), and moments of awkward and therefore very real grapplings with sex and romance (most especially in "The Rescues" and the title story, "Welcome Thieves").