From the Bookshelf of The Reading Challenge Group…

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

Start date: January 1, 2015

Finish date: January 31, 2015

Discussion: Group Read Archive 2014-16

Why we're reading this: Young Adult Group Read - January 2015
[close] Young Adult Group Read - January 2015

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Showing 2 of 139 topics — 2,834 comments total

Group Read Archive 2014-16

Genre Group Read (Humour) - December 2016 - You Are Not So Smart
By Allison , Quest Hound · 11 posts · 30 views

last updated Dec 28, 2016 04:05PM

Alternate Group Read (Classics) - December 2016 - Mansfield Park
By Allison , Quest Hound · 5 posts · 18 views

last updated Dec 04, 2016 09:34AM

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What Members Thought

Mar 15, 2011 Elise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books, ya-books-worth-reading

This book was powerful, disturbing, and triumphant with sympathetic and well rounded characters and a vivid sense of time and place. Book burning Nazi Germany came alive in its pages. I couldn't put it down--read the whole thing in the middle of a busy semester in only 3 days! ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2014 Lucy Mason rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, ya-and-children, 2014

This book really grew on me, it is just a shame that an undeniably beautiful, powerful, moving story was overshadowed by silly self-conscious language, weird symbolism, and a dull middle section. I did cry, though, and a book hasn't done that to me for ages. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2014 Jenna Melberg rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-reading-challenge

Absolutely fabulous! So glad it's off my tbr pile! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2014 Candy Tiley rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, setting-in-a-foreign-culture, young-adult-books, 2014-book-list, award-winning, special-books, great-american-read, 2001-2010, my-favorites

I have heard a great deal of positive admiration for this novel and it has won so many awards I decided it was worth reading even though I was not really excited about the main topic. But as is often true there is a good reason for the hype. While this book is not an entertaining read it is most definitely a book worth reading and it is very well-written.
The center of the book is a young girl and her experiences with life during the early 1940's in Germany. As the Third Reich gains power and be ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Anki rated it it was amazing

This was just such a well written book. I cried and it left me thinking!

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Oct 16, 2012 Don rated it really liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, historical-fiction, literary-fiction

The Book Thief is the story of a young girl in Nazi Germany during World War II. She develops a love of reading and a vehement disdain for many of the Nazi practices, including but not limited to book burning ans antisemitism.

The story is moving and powerful, following the heroine as she begins to understand just what her countrymen are capable of - both the persecuted and the persecutors.

I highly recommend this book.

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Aug 16, 2011 Mickey rated it it was ok

I really tried with this one, but the writing really irked me. The bad metaphors, the overuse of adjectives, and poor use of personification really distracted me from what seemed like an interesting story. I'm just not invested in the story enough to continue dealing with the irritation. Two stars since I can see why other people like it. It just isn't for me. ...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Miranda Moberg Diaz rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, nytimes-bestsellers, romance, dark-and-twisty, historical-fiction

"The only thing worse than a boy that hates you; a boy that loves you."

The Book Thief is beautifully written, just a little longer than it needed to be. On the NY Times Bestseller book with good reason, the book explores the central theme of love in the face of war and suffering in an innocent yet vividly painful way.

...more

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