The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had actually heard very little about this book before I read it, except for a few mentions about the fact that it was a good one.
Initially, before I picked it up, I was a little bit apprehensive, knowing that it was supposed to be young adult fiction but I am ever so glad that I picked it up. Because I would have been missing out on something in not having read this.
The way it is written, with Death himself as the narrator of the book is something that captured my attention immediately. Where some might have found it too out there, I felt welcomed by the way in which it was written.
Liesel, the main character, or one of two, is a refreshing change from the normal. Sometimes selfish, she is almost always an honest character even in her thievery. Her best friend Rudy, is a delight as well and the innocence of children even when effected by loss is present here.
Hans for me is one of the true heroes of the story, a fully fleshed out character with his own fears concerning his family, but his own convictions, refusing to fall to Nazi Germany’s regime. This book is something that I never could have expected, and while the end did make me sob it was perfect.