The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak
Pages: 552
Genre: Historical Fiction
First Published: 2005
Book description (from Good Reads): Trying to make sense of the horrors of WWII, Death relates the story of Liesel- a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Note: This story has been reread several times, it is very difficult to know if the opinions are for sentimental value or if they are indeed because of the result of an objective analysis.

Things to consider:

• Characters: 10.0 
• Death is a kind gentle force of nature in this case. He is a good narrator indeed. 
• Liesel is a young girl, very likable, she is strong-willed, defiant, loving, caring, brave. As you get to know her and discover more about her you end up loving her. 
• The foster parents shown here are every kid's dream come true. Not unkind, not lenient just stern enough like you would expect a real parent to be and just as loving and permissive like one. 
• The friendships developed here are noteworthy as well. Not only Liesel befriends an adult in extreme need of human comfort, she does so in a way that traps you in their world. She befriends her neighbors, the small ones she plays with, the ones she fights with, the older people her mother doesn't truly like…. She shines a nice change in plenty of people's hearts even Death's. 
• Max is not a Jew who hates Germans, he represents what I imagine most Jews were like before they were taken to concentration camps. He was grateful, he was sorry to endanger the nice German family that was lending a hand to him. He felt in the core of his being he deserved what was happening. 
• There are other characters but well they each had their own life story, they each had a nice part to play. But mainly the important part is that they were there, they were very realistic and their lives mattered. 
• Plot: 9.0 
• The story begins in an interesting note, the introduction of the narrator captures your attention right away and yet the story takes off in a rather slow note. It is full of sad moments, touching moments, angering moments, it’s a nice roller coaster. Get set for the ride. 
• Logic: 9.0 
• The way people behave makes perfect sense. If you try to picture yourself in their situations its hard to imagine a better way to do things, the tantrums, the attitude, the regret some actions cause, even the accidental bed wetting incidents, it makes perfect sense. I would like to think that several decisions I would have made different, especially regarding Max, the decisions Max himself took and well you already know the end of the story and with that in mind you wish the decisions taken were a bit different… But that does not mean that they were wrong. 
• Writing Style: 10.0 
• The very fact that it was written from Death's perspective, the way the story can touch one of the most gruesome situations on our history be so full of emotions, sad and yet it was such a beautiful thing. The way it was presented was amazing, even if you do not like historical fiction I think this is a book you can totally enjoy. 
• Enjoyment: 10.0 
• Intrigue: 8.0 
• Intention: 10.0 
• It teaches us the value of friendship, that it can be formed with the most obvious of the individuals and with the least likely. 
• Family is extremely important but can form your own. 
• Even in the worst of situations, there is kindness in people's hearts. 

Total Score: 66.0
Average: 9.4 

Star Rating: 5.0
Used to accomplish Challenges:

• Strange a thon. Deathly time: A book where death plays a big part.
• Spookathon. Read a book not set in the current time period.
• MateAthon. We all eat Vegemite for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Read a book with black in the cover.