Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is one of my all-time favorite books, definitely a book everyone should read at least once. The story follows the life of Liesel, a precocious young girl who lives in WWII Germany. This is one of those moving stories that will remain with you long after it’s over. ( )

from Karen:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was recommended to me three different times and each time I thought “No way! That’s not my type of book!” However, I finally decided to give the audiobook a try and much to my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )

Very odd writing style - death is the narrator. Nowhere near as good as other similar books on WWWII. "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" is much better. ( )

This book is amazing, innovative, transformative. I am thankful for authors like Markus Zusak who push the envelope of what it means to write. Two words for this work: thank you. ( )

Ready only a few pages. Format was gimmicky and of-putting ( )

Review to come.
Probably when I've stopped bawling my eyes out. ( )

This is a fantastic book, all the reviews say everything I could say, but better. This is an amazing book, a story told by Death. A 5 star book in my library. ( )

Shockingly heartfelt and real, The Book Thief is a book I will remember for a long time. The unique perspective of Death narrating such a time of tragedy such as the Holocaust, adds greatly to the story, and the words suck you right in, to the very end, in which I sobbed. ( )

It took me twenty years, but this book's steady reputation over that period finally convinced me this might be worth my time. And it was. As others have said, it's a kind of mash-up between Anne Frank and Kurt Vonnegut. The narrator is no less a person than Death himself, who generally takes no notice of the living but does choose to notice one particular young girl whom he sees on three separate occasions, centered around World War II. Young adult fiction usually disappoints me with how shallow it is, but this is an exception rich enough to engage any adult. It virtually has to be, filled as it is with the heady topics of war, Nazi Germany, politics, racism and the Jewish Holocaust.

This book carries a lot of emotional weight, so much so that I actually found it heavy going. I didn't like to read more than a chapter or sometimes less before I wanted to put it down again. That of course made it take much longer than it should have and only prolonged the angst. Fortunately the hard parts are balanced by the hijinks that Liesel and her friend Rudy get up to - the stealing of books of course, and other incidents besides. And both of these elements are littered with the bizarre twists that fate often surprises us with.

I could not think of any book I've read that ever brought a tear to my eye, but I can now. The heaviest anvils of emotional weight strike in the final chapters, and Zusak was wise to foreshadow them. It's similar to the weight one feels when your pet dies and you wonder, why does anyone put themselves through this? Why read books like this? But these things hurt precisely because they capture beauty so well, and tragedy is only the other half of life. Even death itself can't make sense of this contrariness, so how can we expect to. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, but having finished it a week ago and with time to reflect. At 500+ pages, you would think Zusak had time to say what he needed to say. Yet, I felt once it hit the climax, the story wrapped up too quickly. Well-worth the read, but it should have been longer - not just because it would put off having to finally put it down, but because I wanted some more answers. Even a couple pages would have done the trick. ( )

Unique. Intriguing. Sad. Complex. Beautiful.

It took me a while to start this book and to get past the first few pages, but once I did, I could not put it down. I have never read a book like this and wish I could read for the first time again. A beautiful story of a young girl and the complexities that Nazi Germany brought her. Heartbreak, redemption, healing, clarity, connection, and grief are just a few of the roller coaster of emotions I experienced when reading this. This author used words in a way I have never seen before, and it was truly incredible. ( )

The Book Thief is likely the most intimate and human book I have read, and for that characteristic it stands elevated in my memory as one of the best novels I have come across. A lot of World War II historical fiction novels follow the elaborate schemes of spies and soldiers, and those books can certainly be engaging, but The Book Thief's greatest strength is that it does the opposite. It is about an ordinary girl attempting to adjust to life during World War II after suffering a personal loss. The Book Thief focuses heavily on the protagonist Liesel's relationships with the children in her neighborhood, her foster parents, and her connection with literature. Every character in the novel is believable and genuine and faces and overcomes challenges like anyone else. The Book Thief is refreshingly grounded and character-driven and can thus elicit feelings of joy, sorrow, anger, and hope in the reader naturally. The ending of the book is devastating because it greatly involves the characters, most of which the reader will have become extremely attached to. My point is that The Book Thief is deeply emotional and creates some of the most interesting and lifelike characters I have ever encountered, and for those reasons it is easy to recommend to everyone seeking a more understated and introspective story. ( )

I thought this was a good story, but it started very very slowly. And I thought Death's input a very tiring distraction. I felt like Death sighed with each comment he made and it kind of made me feel tired of the story, just like he was....

I almost stopped reading the book ~ the foreshadowing was ridiculous! It mentioned what was coming so many times, that by the time the event happened, I wanted to double check my book mark ~ was I rereading this part again? Oh, no, I've only heard about it 400 times before I got there!!!!

But, once I was done I was glad I'd made it to the end. ( )

This is easily one of the best books I've ever read. Simply amazing. ( )

This really took a lot to finish. I had to stop several times and basically catch my breath. I don't think we as humankind will ever have sense enough to not fight about something, and it seems like we never learn from the past.
Overall, a very good read.

2007 Printz Honor ( )

This book was spellbinding, and heartbreaking, and fantastic. ( )

The Book Thief failed to impress me as I felt the story did not live up to the hype that this book has got, I have read a lot of books on the subject and this one falls way short compared to others that I have read. I did not find myself drawn into the story although I liked the characters and thats the reason for my 3 stars ( )

I loved this book. I laughed a lot. I cried like a baby. Beautiful. ( )

Wow. Amazingly good. Cant wait to read more by this author. Melissa was right about The Book Thief -- there's a hole in my chest where my heart used to be. However, I'll probably read it again like Carrie because it was THAT good. ( )

I was not able to read this book but I did listen to it and I quite enjoyed it. Did not knock my socks off but not bad. ( )

impressive work. Easily consumed but almost went down too quickly. Upset it ended so soon.
I hope the upcoming movie does it justice. ( )

Took me awhile to get into this one, but once I did, I loved it. Such beautiful writing, and what a story! ( )

This book totally captivated me. And, like most others, made me cry. And not the kind of crying with quiet little tears. ( )

Wonderful book!! Very sad and uplifting at the same time. It will stay with me for a long time to come. Definite must read! ( )