The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Release date: October 15, 2003
Pages: 552

It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

The Book Thief is the story of Liesl, a young German girl growing up in Germany during World War II.  The story, however, is not narrated by Liesl.  It is instead narrated by death.  Death tells the story of Liesl stealing books, learning to read, learning compassion, writing her own story, and finally, grieving.

The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel that focuses on some very heavy topics.  The Book Thief was published in Australia before it was published in the United States and it was classified as adult fiction in Australia.  The decision to make it YA in the US centers on Liesl's age but it's actually very controversial since the subject matter could be better suited to older readers.  I, personally, think the adult classification might be better suited for The Book Thief but I do think young adult readers with enough maturity can take away a lot from the story.

Themes:

• power of words
• kindness/cruelty of humans
• mortality
• war
• cowardice
• criminality

Extra content:

Cuddlebuggery's review: "Zusak is an adept writer who uses words to great effect, and I love what he has done here."

Novelicious' review: "When a book is described to you as one of the greatest novels ever written, it has a lot to live up to, but this incredible book certainly managed to live up to the hype."