The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Published March 14th 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genres: Historical Fiction, Ya, World War II
Pages: 550
Goodreads

The Book Thief is a historical fiction written by Markus Zusak. The story follows Liesel Meminger, a 9-year-old German girl who is going to live with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans teaches Liesel to read and write. Liesel becomes obsessed with reading and shares her stolen books with her neighbors and the Jewish man hidden in her basement during bombing raids. She quickly befriends the neighbor boy Rudy, who has a crush on her. But is her life going to stay the same after these dark times?

Well, there are already many reviews for this book, so I know that there are people who hate and people who love this book. I just loved every piece of it! It's actually one of my favorite books and I don't easily say that. Zusak's writing-style was really special but beautiful. The Book Thief is narrated by Death. At first I found it a little strange but when I read further it made perfect sense.

Characters: I did not always agree with Liesel, but that does not mean that I didn't love her. I loved that little girl with all my heart! The way Liesel was always busy with 'words' was fascinating, like she loves how words can fill her up, but she realizes that words can be ugly things at the same time. I also loved the other characters like Max, the Jewish man that was hidden in her basement. Max became a good friend of Liesel. I loved the way they had taken care of each other and when Max was ill, Liesel searched for gifts for him. I just found that so cute. They were like brother and sister. And then you have Rudy. I adore that boy. He was my favorite character of this book. The way he always looked for opportunities to get a kiss from Liesel was heartwarming and he often made me laugh. Every character in this book was unique and you get attached to the them so easily.

Ending: This was such a heart wrenching end, but it was so BRILLIANT! I can't explain it... . It was really sad but so realistic and that makes it marvelous. It's a story that really left me speechless. I'm not going to tell you more about it, because if you haven't read it yet I would ruin the whole story for you.

I recommend the Book Thief not only to teenagers but to adults as well. It is a book for anyone who loves a beautiful heart-breaking novel.

           "I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."