During the winter of 1939, 11 year old Liesel Meminger is shipped to the outskirts of Munich, Germany to move in with her new family, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Even though Liesel is devastated by the loss of her mother and brother, she is able to find a home with her new parents and best friend, Rudy Steiner. Liesel is just settled in when Max Vandenburg, a Jew, turns up at the Hubermanns house and begs for a place to hide. Liesel can’t tell anyone, but develops a close bond with Max, and is able to learn valuable lessons from him. The novel, as told by Death, follows Liesel and Rudy in their early teen years, as they navigate life surrounded by a Nazi- occupied world (and steal lots of books). This book left me completely stunned and wanting to read it all over again. It was different from any book I had ever read and so much was said through the book that if you didn’t read it extremely carefully, you could miss major details. The novel provided wise and sharp-witted insight on our world, along with honest and relatable characters that you felt could jump off the page. The author put so much detail and description to these characters that you were able to understand their thoughts and feelings that connected you to the novel in a way that a lot of other books aren’t able to do. As told by The Guardian, Zusak’s bestseller is “triumphant and tragic”. For future readers of this novel, the beginning of the story starts out slow and a little confusing, for it is told from the viewpoint of Death and is separated into “parts”. It also jumps around the timeline a few times. After a few chapters, the book starts to move quickly and new characters are introduced. Take your time reading to completely grasp the messages of the story, and dive deeper into each character's perspective. The whole story is so interesting and empowering in a way you would never expect it to be. You won’t be able to put it down!
- Moira L.
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