The Book Thief Review

Happy Monday Everyone!

I just want to say I hope you all have a fabulous week this week! Today I am going to be reviewing a book, that enthralled me, took me to another time, and made me cry. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak, is a story about a young girl, who is trying to survive and understand Hitler’s Germany. This book is such an amazing story that it will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride.

The book description came from the Goodreads website:

“It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.”

When Liesel loses her brother, she feels like she will forever be alone in the world, but when she discovers a book hidden in the snow, she takes it and gets her foster father to help her read it. The reader follows Liesel on this dangerous adventure, as she saves books from fires, and steals them where she can, although once she is done she returns them to their rightful owner. When her foster family decides to hide a Jew in the Basement, Liesel doesn’t know what to expect, and as she gets closer to him, she realizes that maybe everything being said about the Jews is not true. Liesel learns a lot of life lessons but will she be alive to see the end of the war?

This book is told from the narrator’s point of view, and I am not telling you who the narrator is because that is something you will have to find out when you read the book. Mark takes the reader on Liesel’s journey of self-discovery, and makes the reader feel all the emotions that Liesel is going through. You will feel her loss, sadness, happiness, and you will feel scared. Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down and needed to know how it ended. You not only fall in love with the character of Liesel, but some of the other characters you are introduced to you will fall in love with as well. Mark gives the reader a glimpse of how it was living in Hitler’s Germany, through the journey of one young girl, who must find her own strength in a time of war.

Yes, there was a movie made based off this book, however even if you have seen the movie, you still need to read the book, because the book gives you a more in depth story, although the movie was pretty good too. You will find yourself rooting for Liesel, and wanting to reach through the pages to hug her pain away. This is one book that you should not miss!

Go on one young girls journey to discover the truth of who she really is!