The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Book:  The Book Thief

Author:  Markus Zusak 

Grade:  A 

Recommended To:  Everyone.  Could be a book for teenagers since I got it off the "Hot Reads for Teenagers" shelf at the library. 

I have been writing a lot of bad reviews lately.  And I started to wonder, am I reading bad books?  Or, am I reading an assortment of books and it is just much much more fun to write about the bad ones.  In the case of The Book Thief, the latter is true.  For the first time since 2011 when I began tracking my book read goals and progress on Goodreads, I am actually ahead of schedule to finish 65 books this year.  That's especially exciting because I am going on a week long cruise vacation where I expect to do a lot of reading and relaxing.  I might actually crush this goal.

So, since I only review the bad books and who wants to be told to stay away from things instead of what they should read, here is a good review:

The Book Thief  was excellent.  It is written from the perspective of death, which makes this book very unique and interesting and tell the story of Liesel whose mother and brother die and she is given to a German family for adoption or possibly foster care.  It isn't quite clear.  This book is about Liesel's life growing up as a German girl in a small town outside Munich during World War II.

I liked this book because I don't believe I've read a single book from the perspective of an average German family stranded in Germany during WWII.  They suffer bombings, food shortages, lack of work, and suffering at the hands of the Nazi Party members in their small town.  Much of the book was about small events in Liesel's life that made a big impact on her life and relationships.  These portions were very well done and the book didn't slow down because of seemingly small events.

The book is especially interesting because of the perspective of Death.  The theme that death is indiscriminate is very good, particularly because good and evil are so sterotypically portrayed in novels about World War II.

I cried at the end of this book and basically if I cry and it isn't from anger or frustration, then the book gets five stars.  I cry at commercials, television, movies, all the time (that makes me sound crazy, but there are some really powerful commercials out there!).  I read a lot and for some reason, I rarely cry over books.  This book was so beautiful and the writing was so good that I couldn't help but weep that it was over.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a powerful read but prepare yourself for a wide range of emotions while reading.  Happy Reading!!