Nicholle G's review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Liesel Meminger is sent to live with foster parents Rosa and Hans Hubermann in Molching, Germany during the Nazi reign of World War II. When she first arrives, she is leery to trust her new parents or anyone else in the neighborhood and has frequent nightmares that only Hans can soothe. After each nightmare, Hans stays up to teach Liesel how to read and they soon form a strong bond, both to each other and to the words they read.

In addition to their typical childhood activities of playing street soccer, being part of Hitler’s Youth, and getting in scuffles, she and friend Rudy also steal from the wealthier inhabitants of their poor town. They plunder food, trinkets, and, most important to Liesel, books. The books become Liesel’s salvation and connection to both her past and future throughout the difficult times of war.

Uniquely, the narrator of the book is Death. He foreshadows repeatedly, never hiding from the readers the horrors of war or the fact that several of the main characters do not live to see its end. Death describes the colors of the sky whenever he takes a soul, and unfortunately, there is not a scarcity of either Jewish or German souls throughout the telling of the story.

This touching book not only leaves the reader with an understanding for the power of words, but also of love, respect, and courage, most notably in times of war and destruction.

P.S. Don’t be fooled by its length – many of the pages have drawings and inserts that make the book seem much shorter than its heft may make it appear to be.