The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, takes place in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger's life changed in one single day when her brother died, her mother left her, she stole a book, and her new faster parents adopted her. In her new alien world, the book she stole, The Grave Digger's Handbook, is her only line to her past family and her dead brother. Slowly, she gets used to her foster family, the Hubermanns, and learns to call them Mama and Papa. When things finally seem to settle down, there's another jarring incident in her life.
A Jew, Max Vandenburg, had come to her house, begging to let him hide in their house. It was not a very good time to hide a Jew in one's house, but Liesel's foster parents do so. With the new stranger in the house, Liesel's life is turned upside down. At the same time, her love of words grows, propelling her to acquire books anywhere she can. She shares some of the books with Max in the cold basement and Max fills the spot of her brother that had been empty for a long time. However, as the Allies get the upper hand, life gets harder, and reoccuring bombings make it almost impossible to hide Max. Will they manage to keep Max hidden? The Book Thief is narrated from an unusual perspective. The narrator is death, who is tired from gathering souls all over the world. From this one-of-a-kind perspective, there is unexpected humor and vivid descriptions. This book is the perfect match for someone who is tired of everyday boring narratives. -Reviewed by JunHyung, grade 7.
Comments
One of the most intriguing aspects of Zusak’s novel is that it is narrated from the point of view of Death, as bizarre as that may sound, who emotes throughout the tale like a physical character. Though the book is sad at times and almost always morbid (may I stress again what time period this takes place in), it weaves a tale of great courage and humanity in the face of evil (it sounds corny I know). This is not a light read, but every page turned will impact the reader. I recommend this novel for someone looking for this experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Reviewed by: Nelli, Grade: 11
Pacific Park Library
As soon as I watched the movie trailer last November, I told myself that I definitely needed to read the book first, because we all know books are always better than the screen adapted version. This book is just another beautifully written coming-of-age tale that takes place in the Holocaust, a time period we, as a society, reflect upon. I truly enjoyed the fact that such true bonds were made not only in the midst of the characters, but they were also conveyed to the reader. We can all identify with little issues and emotions the characters experience even though they are narrated by, we might infer, the Grim Reaper. I think any audience above 12 years of age that takes pleasure in reading historical-fiction will be utterly riveted by this book.
Reviewed by Alexis K., Grade 9
Montrose Library
This book is a great way to introduce a big part of history into a new perspective. You get to realize that what we have now was not even a privilege back then. People used to have no rights and if they disagreed they would be hurt. I would recommend this book to the one who loves learning new things about history. It does not matter who you are this book would have an impact on your life.
Reviewed by Marta R., Grade 12
Glendale Central Library
Liesel is a small girl who was separated from her family. The setting is Nazi Germany, World War 2. She meets her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Later on, she makes friends with a boy named Rudy, and together, they become small scale thieves. When the mayor fires Rosa from her cleaning job, Liesel and Rudy start stealing books from the mayors library, but are caught by the mayor's wife. Instead of punishing them, she gives Liesel a book to write her adventures in, and she has many adventures to fill it with.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Grandview Library
This book earns a recommendation from me. The book's narrator, Death, is very interesting and I have not seen it before in a book. Instead of painting him as a cold, mean spirit who wants people to die, he is a humorous entity that is sympathetic towards humans and does not understand many things about them. The book has an interesting plot, concerning a family as they hide a Jewish man and defy the Nazi government. This book is definitely a worthy read.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Grandview Library
To start off, this book was very intriguing from the start. It is comparable to To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee in the sense that the beginning of the book sets up the rest of the book, and it all comes back full circle. An interesting factor is that the author, narrating the story as Death, tells us events ahead of time. For example, he decides to tell us that Rudy Steiner, Liesel’s childhood friend and sweetheart, dies a few chapters before we find out how he actually dies. The author also throws in sarcasm and bitter humor throughout the story to keep things from being too heavy. Zusak made an interesting and surprising, not to mention refreshing, choice of narration. Although it could be figured out that it was Death who was narrating the story within the first few pages, it was a different perspective, a new pair of glasses that was very enthralling. The author has an excellent hand in describing the scenery and, especially colors. The scenes develop right before your eyes and play like a movie. The words and figurative language Zusak uses are amazing. Although Zusak is quite skilled at describing scenery, he is not that well developed in his defining of expletives. Random expletives are thrown in during the exposition of the story, and the definitions are lumped along with them in the succeeding sentence. There were a few scenes that did not seem necessary to the story and its plotline. An example of this would be where the group of girls in a neighboring town are playing outside and find a shell of a bomb floating downwards from the sky. It was only two pages long and did not seem to be linked with the other characters whatsoever. To be completely honest though, I believe that this book needs to be read multiple times (especially by young adults like myself) to be able to fully appreciate what it has to offer. Although, I do admit that Zusak is able to toy with emotions and I found myself bawling more than a couple of times.
Reviewed by Lilit, Grade 12
Glendale Central Library
I loved The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak because of the setting and the story that take place. The setting of World War II Germany is very inter sting and I have never read book like it. The main charcter Liesel is very interesting to learn about and how she copes with her stress by reading books is very different. I would recommend this book to anyone because of the interesting characters the story itself.
Reviewed by AB, Grade 9
Grandview Library
The Book Thief is one of my favorite books of all time. The masterful writing instantly establishes a connection between the reader and the characters. The characters are lovable and the plot is grabbing. I could reread this book for years and still make new connections and gain new takeaways. This book is a good read for anybody. Anyone who reads this book will gain compassion and perspective by living vicariously through Liesel Meminger.
Reviewed by Jean D., Grade 12
Casa Verdugo Library
This was a decent book. It’s kind of historical and it does include some talk about communism. This book is to those who find history and WWII interesting. The narrator of this book was my favorite part. The way death explains death is also interesting. This book is not a fantasy, or fairytale. It is quite true of what life probably looked like back then. Mainly a historical novel, and it ended with a twist. Overall, a decent book I would rate this a seven out of ten. This was more of a tragic story, but it was still pretty compelling.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 10
Library Connection/Adams Square Library
For me, I think the book is a really interesting and a really good book to read for a lot of different people and also reasonings. I recommend this book to people because it was a really interesting book to read for me and I really think that a lot of people could also enjoy it the way I did. I think that this book is really good because it is a really fun book to read. I loved this book so much and I really encourage a lot of people to read it. I also loved the topic of the book, because it was really interesting. I really recommend this book for a lot of people so they can read it and understand what and enjoy this really good book.
Reviewed by Suren A., Grade 9
Brand Library & Art Center
"The Book Thief" has received widespread acclaim and is considered a modern classic in young adult literature. Many readers have appreciated the unique narrative style, which is both poetic and haunting, and the powerful themes of love, loss, and the power of words. The book portrays the horrors of Nazi Germany through the eyes of a young girl, making it a moving and emotional read that stays with readers long after they finish it. Although the book is marketed as young adult fiction, it is a book that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages who appreciate literary fiction. Overall, if you're looking for a beautifully written, emotionally charged book that explores the human condition in the darkest of times, "The Book Thief" is definitely worth reading.
Reviewed by Abraham, Grade 9
Brand Library & Art Center