Historical Fiction

 

Zusak, Markus.  The Book Thief.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. 9780375831003; hardcover;  $17.99 USD.  

 Awards  

• 2006 - Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific)
• 2006 - Horn Book Fanfare
• 2006 - Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award
• 2006 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• 2006 - Daniel Elliott Peace Award
• 2006 - Publishers Weekly Best Children Book of the Year
• 2006 - Booklist Children Editors' Choice
• 2006 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
• 2007 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
• 2007 - Michael L. Printz Honor Book
• 2007 - Book Sense Book of the Year
• 2009 - Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Master List

Annotation 

The story is narrated by Death and set in the middle of the WW II and the Holocaust. Leisel Meminger is taken at the age of 9 with her brother to live with foster parents;Hans her foster father teaches her to read and she learns the power of words.

Book Review

The Book Thief is set in WWII Germany and narrated by Death. Death tells the gripping story of Liesel Meminger. She is taken at the age of nine along with her younger brother to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Huberman. Death first meets Liesel when her brother dies on the trip to meet her foster parents. Rosa is very strict and harsh while Hans is kind and soft. She finds refuge in the father figure Hans as he teaches her to read and introduces her to the world of books. The first book Liesel steals is The Gravediggers Handbook. She does so before she even knows how to read. Liesel discovers a passion for books and for words which she shares with Max the Jew in hiding at her foster parents. Liesel faces many challenges the loss of her brother and the reality of the present dangers of growing up in Germany during the rise of Hitler.Zusak writes a riveting novel in a style that is different from that of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel’s Night. He uses such imagery and description through the use of the narrator to tell Liesel’s story. The story surrounds themes of calamity and horror of the human condition to the love and power of words and reading. The book leaves readers turning the pages and makes them ache for the horrors of the Holocaust while also relishing in the power and passion of writing and reading. This book is highly recommended for advanced readers in High School and beyond.  

 An interview with Markus Zusak about his book, The Book Thief.....