Additional Reviews:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Recommended by: Harmony L.
Plot: The plot is set in Nazi Germany from a German perspective with Death as the narrator. The story begins as Death collects the soul of a young boy who has just died. As he does this, he catches the eyes of the young boy's sister, who is perceptive and immediately knows that her brother is dead. After the burial of her brother, she picks up a book named "The Grave Digger's Handbook" that was left there by accident. This is her first act of thievery, and the start of string of crimes that result from her love for books and words. Whether it be from the Nazi book burnings or the mayor's library, Death recounts the tale of this book thief Liesel, her acts of crime and her life in Nazi Germany as her family hides a Jew in their basement.
Why Read? Unlike other books written about this particular time period, the main character is a young German girl living in Nazi Germany who is disillusioned about her society. Death's unique narration make it an interesting read that gives a different but thought-provoking perspective on the entire issue of the Holocaust, death and relationships.
Reviewed by: Ms. Kiefer
Plot: This novel tells the story of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, during World War II. However, it differs from every Holocaust and World War II book that I have read because of its narrator�the detached but somewhat likeable Death. This story is about more than Liesel's love of books and her need to save or steal them; it is about more than the horrors of censorship and oppression during the Second World War; it is about love, family, freedom, morality, and humanity, told from Death's unique, and sometimes unsettling, perspective.
Why Read? There are many great books about World War II and its effect on individuals. However, this novel�s unusual narrator (Death) and Zusak's deceptively simple style invites reflection about what it means to be human, involved but detached, powerless yet powerful.
Reviewed by: ?
Plot: German orphan Liesel Meminger,
daughter of a condemned communist, given by her mother to a foster family called
the Hubermanns, begins stealing food and books as rationing intensifies and
Liesel becomes unable to garner adequate food supplies. Hans Hubermann fought
for Germany in World War 1. On the day that his entire company went to battle
and died, a Jew named Erik Vandenburg excused him from battle and he lived. In
November 1940, his son arrives on the doorstep of the Hubermann family. The
Hubermann family hides him in the basement of their dwelling, despite its status
as a capital offense. The Book Thief philosophically analyzes World War Two
Germany. During an Allied bombing raid, the narrator asks if the people in the
shelter deserve their fate: to be bombed to rubble and potentially die. The
narrator then asks the reader to factor in people like the Hubermanns, willing
to commit capital crimes in order to undermine an evil regime. Mentally
competent adult citizens of a nation are wholly responsible for the conduct of
their government. When a national government exists for the express purpose of
killing off an entire nation of people, unfortunately, its citizens deserve
death.