Book Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak

I heard a lot about this book before I actually read it and a couple of years ago I was going to pick it up, but  I didn't think that I was ready to read it. I am glad that I read it now since I am older and can fully appreciate it more. This book was absolutely amazing! It was better than amazing. Definitly one of the best books that I have read this year.

Narrated by Death, it is a story about Liesel Meminger, a girl that is taken in by foster parents, who is illiterate and cannot read. The setting is in Nazi Germany during World War II.

This book had some amazing characters. You see Death in a different life. Death has feelings and is not out to get everyone. Liesel is a wonderful main character who grows tremendously throughout the book. Rudy, her best friend, made me laugh! You don't see many books that have the relationship that Liesel and Rudy have. Mama and Papa were total opposites in personalites, but they complimented each other very well. Even minor characters had a big role in the book.

One of the major points in this book is not only about books and Liesel interaction with them but the war. The discrimination against Jews and the concentration of them was a major role in the book. The Holocaust scares the heck out of me, but reading about it in the book just made me want to sob. There are a few scenes when there are Jewish people walking to the concentraion camp and all the people on the street are watching them. It was just heart- breaking. It still amazes me that how people in Germany knew about what was happening to Jewish people, but the world didn't find out until after the war. I do not know how the word didn't get out.

This book did make me laugh at times, but it is a very emotional book. The ending especially.

Also, the writing was absolutely beautiful. One of the best written books I have ever read. The way Zusak uses words and creates the story is beautiful.

Overall, I cried. The writing was phenomonal, the story was great, and the book really was life changing. The ending will make you cry. :(

Overall rating:

9.8/10

*For mature readers. Contains swearing and is emotionally heavy