The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a heartbreaking story about 9-year-old Liesel Meminger, a girl who is given up in adoption with her brother during the time when Adolf Hitler is pushing Germany into World War II. On her way to her new home, her brother dies all of the sudden, and Liesel is flooded with grief. During the burial she finds The Grave Digger's Handbook, half buried in the snow, sparking her interest in reading.

Death narrates the story, and he tells us about how Liesel's foster father, Hans Hubbermann, helps her conquer her nightmares and teaches her how to read. Liesel's life isn't too bad, and her friend Rudy Steiner is always there to play and annoy her. But everything changes when one night a mysterious man named Max, a Jew, comes knocking on their door in the need of a refuge.

With the war, everything changes. Liesel becomes close friends with Max. The Jews start parading through the street, their eyes sunken with hunger. Hans Hubbermann gets sent to war. Bomb threats are heard everywhere. And Liesel's life threatens to change drastically for the worst.

Written in a slightly cynical yet enlightening prose, Markus Zusak delivers a life-changing story that will easily become your favorite book.

"The youthful sensibility of 'The Book Thief' also contributes to a wider innocence. While it is set in Germany during World War II and is not immune to bloodshed, most of this story is figurative: it unfolds as symbolic or metaphorical abstraction... It will be widely read and admired because it tells a story in which books become treasures. And because there's no arguing with a sentiment like that." - New York Times