The+Book+Thief+(ABS)


 * //Please do not grade, Mr. Mertz. I'm not done yet.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak//** Review by Anja Beth S.

//The Book Thief// is narrated by Death, recounting the three times he saw the Book Thief, a young girl living in Nazi Germany.

Liesel Meminger is on her way to Molching, where she is being sent to live with a new family. On the journey, she holds her younger brother as he dies. They are forced to bury him in a strange town along the way. When they are burying him, a small book falls out of the pocket of the grave digger. This book becomes invaluable to Liesel, it representing the last time she saw her brother. Her new family is loving, if somewhat harsh. She forms a special connection with her father because every night, she has nightmares of her brother. Her father comforts her and he patiently teaches her to read each and every night after she wakes up, screaming, from her terrifying nightmares. She paints new words on the basement walls until she understands them. Words become a special thing for her, so much so that she steals books from the book burnings. She adjusts nicely to her new life, fitting in well with her new family and gradually making friends with the neighborhood children, especially a boy named Rudy. Just when she has become comfortable, a surprise guest arrives. An echo of her father's past, the Jew begs them to hide him from the Nazis. Can they keep him a secret from everyone?

I would most definitely recommend this book. //The Book Thief// was a touching account of a young girl's life in Nazi Germany. It is amazingly real and poignant. It made me laugh and cry at turns, and the author has an incredible style. Written from the perspective of Death, with skilled foreshadowing and surprising twists, this book is one of the best I've ever read.

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