The Book Thief is the story of a little girl living outside Munich, Germany during World War II. Nazi Germany. She can't resist books, so she steals them. Her foster father teaches her to read. He plays the accordion. They hide a Jewish man in their basement. People die.

I felt like this book tore my heart out. And that's all I can ever think to say when it comes to this book. That it tore out my heart and stomped on it. I can't explain what it is about this book that affected me so much. Maybe because it's so raw and true. Maybe because it's about a little girl. Maybe because it's told from Death's point of view. Whatever it was, it sucked me in and kept me turning pages until I'd read all 550 of them. And I cried. I just had so many conflicting emotions in this book.

The way it was written, you knew what was going to happen, you just didn't know when. Death would mention something that was going to happen, but then say it comes later and leave it at that. I always felt like I was tensing for the impact that I knew was coming, but after a little while I started to loosen up, and then BAM! Markus Zusak would just hit me with the reality of it all. Whether it was Rudy or Max or Hans or even Liesel who was affected, it hit me just as hard each and every single time.

The Book Thief is about a young girl, Liesel, and her journey through Nazi Germany. Along the way, she makes the greatest of friends and the deepest of loves. She ties a little piece of her heart to all the characters she meets, from her papa Hans and her mama Rosa, to Jewish fist-fighting Max, to the mayor's wife and to her best friend Rudy. She blooms with each relationship, opening up her past, writing her story, and moving forward. Each book she steals is a memory, each book a reminder, each book an escape from a reality far from what she wanted. Her last book an escape for Death.

I loved this book. This may not be one of my very favourites, but it was a wonderful read nonetheless. It took a while to get going in the beginning, but at the same time, it kept me reading. Zusak has a way with words in this novel that left me breathless and nodding my head in agreement. It has so many passages worth quoting and loving. I really liked how Death seemed to not enjoy his job a great deal. It is very different from other portrayals of Death. Made dying a little more light, I guess.

I can only say so much about how well written the story is, however it did have its lows.

One thing that particularly annoyed me (which was why this didn't get a perfect 5) is the interruptions by Death. They are literally little interruptions and side notes that could have just been written normally along with the text. A little here and there would have all been well and good, but they constantly appear and after a while - when I was really into the story - they became annoying. Maybe it's not the interruptions themselves but the way they were written, or organized that bothered me.

A second thing I was not fond of was that Death told me who died. Death told me, and the suspense was killed off. I really don't know if it was a good move or not, but it bothered me a little bit. However, I can see it as being something that added to the sadness in the book because by knowing, the reader lost all hope that maybe it will turn out differently. The closer I got to the end, the more heartbreaking every sentence seemed to be. Maybe, yes, it's knowing the inevitable, and having no hope that it might turn out otherwise.

I loved Liesel, Hans, and Rosa, but Rudy stole my heart. His outgoing personality, his friendliness, his resistance to bullies like Victor Chemell and Franz Deutscher. His completely stupid way of copying Jesse Owens. Even the way he always asks a kiss from Liesel. His unconditional love for her was beautiful to read about. And her clueless love for him was devastating. Rudy was a child, growing into a man, and I loved his character.

Even though this book had its lows, it was still a book worth reading for me.

I chose this book as my selection for my bookclub and it was a huge hit with the whole group - not a bad review among the bunch!

The characters were so beautifully developed - there was room in my heart for even those who were "the enemy". This book offered yet another perspective to an issue that many of us have been moved by.

This book is now without a doubt among my top ten reads of all time. I highly recommend it - and not just to the young adult set, but to anyone.

I don't remember how I found this book, but I am extremely glad I did. I absolutely adooored this book. It really changed my perspective of everything, and when I had finished it, I found myself completely speechless with tears in my eyes. Really a great novel!

3.5 stars

This story is narrated by Death and is set during World War II in Germany. Liesel is a young girl, living with Hans and Rosa, who are her foster parents. She has a best friend, Rudy, and a new friend in Max, a Jew who comes to hide in Hans and Rosa's basement. Liesel learns that she loves books, and along with Rudy, they steal books from the mayor's wife's library.

I liked it, but it didn't blow me away like it did for most people. I don't know if it was because I listened to the audio or because my expectations were too high, or for some other reason, but the story didn't grip me. I did enjoy a lot of the characters in the book, in particular, Hans and Max, with Rosa coming in close behind. I thought it was clever to be narrated by Death. The ending did surprise me.

I chose The Book Thief by Markus Zusak as my non-American author pick for my YA Summer Challenge because my son had read it for school and it had really affected him. He asked me to read it so we could discuss it together. How could I say no?

This book started out very slow. I was tempted to stop reading it a few chapters in because it dragged quite a bit. The opening is confusing and the story is rushed as the narrator, who happens to be death (and how cool is that?), tells the reader the three times he met the book thief. I found it very jumbled and unsure what the author was trying to get from this. Luckily things smoothed out more as death backtracked and went through each event with more detail that he has learned from reading the book thief's journal which he picked up during one event.

Ignoring the opening sequences of the book, I can safely say Markus Zusak is an extraordinary writer. His language and writing style far surpass many authors I have read. His grasp on characters is amazing. Zusak just doesn't write out the standard characters and fill their story, and back story, etc...he breathes life into them and let's them jump off the pages in leaps and bounds. I don't know if I have ever read such realistic characters. Every single character is easily distinguishable from each other...Rosa with her cardboard face, Papa with his silver eyes, Rudy with his yellow hair...no one character is muddled in with another.

The personalization of the characters is also very well done. We have a story set Germany in the the early years of WWII, thus the characters predominantly are German. Some readers might expect to be reading about the cruelness of the military presence that is known to have occurred during those years, and although we do see some of it (the story wouldn't be realistic without it) the majority of the story is based on a poor German family and how even though they are German and expected to hate the Jews and support everything their country tells them to support, they see how everything they are told is wrong. They go so far as to hide a Jew in their basement, even at great personal risk to themselves.

Parts of the story are so heartbreaking I thought I would be unable to continue reading past the tears that flowed from my eyes. The tragedies were often expected, people die during wars, but it didn't stop it from affecting me deeply when I read those sections. I can see now why my son cried while reading this book.

I think my favorite parts of the book are the chapter openings. Each one gives you a little brief peek into what the chapter will cover. It was a very unique way of introducing each chapter.

I really wanted to give this book a perfect 5 rating, but due to the slow and confusing start I just couldn't.

I have never read a book where I felt so connected to the characters. Every aspect of the book was so deep and had so much thought put in to it. When the book ended it felt like losing a best friend. Many authors have attempted to do a similar writing style using the double perspective that is presented here, but none have succeeded to the extent that Markus Zusak did.

I went through this book in under three days. Very rarely have I cried while reading a book as I did during 'The Book Thief.' So far, it's my favourite publication from this author.

--

1939 in Nazi Germany: Liesel Meminger was dropped off my her mother at the house of two strangers, her new foster parents. A couple days after her little brother passed away, Liesel thinks that nothing could be worse. But with her first book already stolen, she is on her way into her new life. A life growing up on Himmel street, and the life of living in Nazi Germany with a Jew hiding in your basement. In love with words, Liesel takes to book stealing, whether in the mayor's wife's library, Nazi book burnings, or wherever there are books to be found. With the war and Hitler constantly at the back of everybody's minds, it's a dangerous time - especially for Liesel and the Hubermman's, and anybody else that is hiding in their house.

--

After reading the prologue to this book, I was extremely confused. I started to doubt whether this book was at my level or not because I was having a hard time understanding the beginning part. But when I flipped to the first page of Liesel's story, I knew that this book was going to be impossible to forget. The writing is beautiful from the very first page, and as I continued on my eyes grew wider because it just keeps getting better.

I absolutely loved how Death was the narrator throughout the story. The pieces of writing where Death put in what it was thinking and stuff, I was blow away. I thought it was such an interesting way to tell the story, and in this story in particular it worked perfectly with the subject. I loved how the story was told, instead of making a climax or creating mystery, it was just said like it was, if somebody died in the future of the book, Death just told you right away. No big deal. It happens.

Another thing I really appreciated about this story was the seriousness combined with just a story of a little girl's life growing up. This book was a nice break from all the repetitive teen fiction that just piles up and up and up. I have to admit, this is one of the first books that I actually wanted to read again right after I finished it. I folded down the pages that I thought had amazing writing, and I do plan on reading this book over and over and over and over again. I LOVE THIS BOOK. The first book that I have actually loved.

So there you have it. I don't care if you think this book is overrated or whatever, because I think it's amazing, and I recommend it to anybody, even if you usually don't like historic fiction like me.

THIS IS A 6 OUT OF 5. So yeah, no graph thing sorry. :P I don't know if this is his website exactly, but you can get some info on Markus Zusak from here. http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

This book is unbelievably well written. Even without using a complex story the author manages to continually keep the reader engaged and you never want to put it down. The way that he writes from the perspective of a soul stealer and from the perspective of the girl takes a while to get used to but continually intrigues the reader. I would recommend this book to anyone.

It's rare to find a book that can make you stop for a moment and marvel at such beautiful use of language. This is certainly one of them. Zusak has a way with words that wraps you up in the character's world so profoundly. I was expecting this to be a harsh story about concentration camps or the like, but it turned out to be a story simply about love. It left me speechless for days after turning the last page. Zusak's writing is haunting and his characters feel like old friends. One of the best reads I've had in a long time.

There are only a handful of books that I've come across wherein I stop dead in my tracks and marvel at the authors' astounding use of language. This book definitely is being added to that handful.
It may seem a bit tedious upon first glance -- another WWII book about oppression and Jews in hiding -- but it is full of so much vigour and life, that I can't say enough about it.
The characters are amazingly life-like, and the language which Zusak chooses to employ perfectly echoes the novel's themes of loneliness and loss in a way that makes a depressing topic seem less devastating.

What a beautiful book for anyone of all ages to read. I cried as I finished it. My parents grew up during the German occupation of Denmark. My father never spoke of it, my mother did but has been unable to forget or to forgive. I would love to have her read this book for her to see the beauty and kindness during that ugly period in history. Highly recommend this.

I'm glad my sister recommended me this book. It has a very moving and touching story that goes on during the war while teaching readers about life and the relationships we create with the people we meet along the way.

I was uncertain about getting this book at first as I'm not a fan of WWII books but it had good reviews and so I decided to take a chance. It wasn't so much the story as the way it was written that I absolutely loved. Very entertaining, original and moving.

I am in love with this book. I'm fourteen and my bookshelf is literally filled with books, and this is definitely one of the most astounding pieces of literature I've ever read.

I can't even explain how many times I cried during this book, how many times I've laughed, smiled, held my breath.

From reading this book, I see death in a whole new perspective.

I can't even thank Markus Zusak enough for writing this story. The characters were so real, like they were there in flesh.

This book changed my life.

Written beautifully from start to finish this book has left me speechless.

If you want to read an amazing story about a young girl that perserveres through every misfortune that you can imagine, this is the one for you. A very moving novel about World War 2 Germany, it touches on all the aspects of this period. The author is never heavy-handed in this respect but treats everything with a sensitive and captivating touch. This novel is very engaging and its length (500+ pages) will prove to be no obstacle at all - you will blow right through the book as you become enthralled by the characters and story herein. A definite must-read.

I was so skeptical when I picked up The Book Thief at Chapters. I heard so many magnificent things about this book, but I always wondered if it was one of those books you would either love or you hate. Maybe it is, and I'm just on the "Love it" side, but I was truly blown away by Zusak's ability to portray so much depth and beauty in 500+ pages.


After watching her little brother die on a train ride to Munich, Germany, Liesel Meminger's life changes when she reaches for a half buried book in the snow: The Grave Digger's Handbook. Thus begins a journey of book thieving in the nine-year-old's life as she is dropped off by her mother at her new foster parent's house: the Hubermanns.

The year is 1939 and the war is just beginning. Life in Nazi Germany isn't easy, and Liesel discovers the power of words as she learns to read with her new father, steals apples and books with her best friend, and forms a beautiful friendship with Max, the Jew her family is hiding in their basement.

Liesel faces many challenges in her new life including bullies, first love, bombing, guilt, regret, loss and family. The people she meet along the way are each so uniquely different and as you read on, you grow to love each of them, no matter how small their part.

Rudy Steiner, Liesel's best friend, saves her plenty of times. From simple things like retrieving a lost book from a lake, or pulling her out of a whipping from the Nazi soldiers.
Hans Hubermann, Liesel's foster father, soothes her back to sleep every night after her nightmare and teaches her to read her stolen books.
Rosa Hubermann, her foster mother, is a prune at most times, but her love and affection for Liesel does not go unnoticed.
Max is the Jew the Hubermanns are hiding in their basement, and his journey and past he shares with Liesel brings the two closer than ever.


I am not a fan of history books. At all. I hate learning about the past and the effects of it and all of that. Absolutely hate it. But this one book I couldn't put down. The story is narrated by Death, which is so different and perfect because the story is set during the war. We see that the narrator is not what we always think of (black robe and scythe), but just another being that is surprised by the human race. Many parts were so touching and beautifully written that I couldn't hold back some silent tears. Zusak is like a poet with his words; in the back of the book in the questionnaire, he states that he wanted to put a gem on each page, and he did exactly that. Not one page was left out with something quotable.
In this unforgiving time, Zusak leads us through the life of a Jew and his suffering, a family who doesn't believe in their ruler, and a small German child who brings out the best in us as she learns about the power of words in this brilliant, stunning and beautifully written story of The Book Thief.

The Book Thief is an amazing read. It is one of those gems you stumble upon, and then wish the whole world knew about. I think it is a real mistake that Chapters lists it as a 10-12 year old book, because it is timeless, and ageless. I would list it as teen to adult myself.

There is what I would call an unfortunate editorial choice made in this book. The prologue is very obscure, and even an adult might be tempted to put the book down because of this opening 15 pages. Please continue reading!! It is a fascinating, compelling journey to the last page of the book. Everyone I have recommended this book to has loved it.