From the Bookshelf of Mineola Library's 2012 FALL Reading Challenge…

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

Start date: June 1, 2010

Finish date: August 31, 2010

Discussion: FALL 2011 TASKS

Why we're reading this: This book was selected as the "Book About Books" for the Summer 2010 Challenge.…more
[close] This book was selected as the "Book About Books" for the Summer 2010 Challenge.

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FALL 2011 TASKS

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* OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES
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10 POINT TASKS
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What Members Thought

Jun 03, 2009 Suzanne Moore rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teen-reads, east-texas-library-friends, ya-historical-fiction, books-about-books, spring-challenge-picks, summer-challenge-picks, ultimate-teen-reading-list, ashe-winter-challenge, brouhaha

This is a very beautiful book that shows a perspective of WWII from the eyes of Death. Yes, Death narrates the tale of The Book Thief. The thief is Liesel, a young girl. She becomes a book thief by stealing a Gravedigger's Manuel when her little brother dies and is buried. She is on her way to a foster home where her mother is placing her with a family for her safety. Thus begins the book with terrible sadness and loneliness. Zusak develops the characters on all levels … descriptive and emotiona This is a very beautiful book that shows a perspective of WWII from the eyes of Death. Yes, Death narrates the tale of The Book Thief. The thief is Liesel, a young girl. She becomes a book thief by stealing a Gravedigger's Manuel when her little brother dies and is buried. She is on her way to a foster home where her mother is placing her with a family for her safety. Thus begins the book with terrible sadness and loneliness. Zusak develops the characters on all levels … descriptive and emotional. I understood each one's actions, yet was surprised at the same time.

When Max appears on the scene as a harbored Jew in the basement of Liesel's new home, she begins to learn how words can change things. Max and Liesel grow close during the year he stays in the basement. They read together and he writes a couple of stories to help her understand how words can hurt and heal … how words can confuse and bring clarity. She has begun to accumulate a collection of books dishonestly as the title eludes. She has also become quite a reader. When neighbors take refuge in a basement during a bomb raid, Liesel reads a loud from one of her books and calms everyone. Max eventually has to leave in order to keep from being discovered by Nazis and endangering the family's well-being.

Another major character that stole my heart was Rudy. Rudy was infatuated with Liesel from the start and repeatedly asked her for a kiss. At first it was unthinkable … they were children and he was only teasing her, but as they grew older she thought about it more … and he never stopped asking her. I have to stop myself before I give away too much of the story here. Their childhood / young adult friendship was magical, and they shared very special feelings without ever kissing.

In the end Liesel is the sole survivor on her street when one day bombs drop without warning. She was saved because she was in the basement writing her own book about her life. The agony of her loss was terrible, but as Death reports life continues. When the war ends, she is reunited with Max after he sees her in a tailor's shop. Though details of the reunion are sparse, I wondered did they make a life together. ...more

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May 10, 2011 Kathy rated it it was amazing

What a reading adventure! Was captivated with story line of characters. A new twist on the Nazi war stories narrated by Death herself. Death has been given a personality that has thoughts and emotions. What a rich colorful palette of wording, personification,description to relate the good doing bad things and the bad doing good things. On the same page one can feel happy, elated for their character, only to be tossed cruelly against a sword in the next paragraph. This is not a quick read or for ...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Mitzi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Had it not been a book club choice I would probably not have read this book. However, I enjoyed it very much. The book took place in Germany during WWII. It was unusual to me that the narrator was "death". It told the story of Liesel Meminger who was forced to live with a foster family, the Hubermans. Liesel was the book thief and stealing books was her way of getting back at life because she had lost so much. She began to love Hans Huberman, her accordion playing foster father. It was he who ta ...more

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