Details
Synopsis
Books, war, love, and mind-blowing sadness spin together in this compelling and complex young-adult novel set during WWII in Germany. Death, a dour, sarcastic figure, chronicles the distressing, tumultuous life of young Liesel Meminger, a foster child in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. At the age of nine, the practically orphaned Liesel is sent to the Hubbermans just outside of Munich, where she is taught to read by her kindly foster father and given tough love by Rosa, his wife. The little girl's obsession with books becomes a consuming passion fueled by some life-changing thievery. Along with Liesel's joys and sorrows, and Death's observations on them, are the stories of Liesel's best friend, Rudy, and a young Jewish man hidden by the family. This stunning novel is a testament to the never-ending horrors of war in a gripping, highly original story. A 2007 Printz Honor recipient, 2006 Publishers Weekly Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Best Children's Book of 2006., Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, 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.
| Details | | Series: | BOOK SENSE BOOK OF THE YEAR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE (AWARDS) |
| Size | | Length: | 552 pages | | Height: | 8.8 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 26.4 oz |
Industry Reviews
"This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide. The writing is elegant, philosophical and moving. Even at its length, it's a work to read slowly and savor. Beautiful and important."
Kirkus (01/15/2006)
"This hefty volume is an achievement...It's a measure of how successfully Zusak has humanized these characters that even though we know they are doomed, it's no less devastating when Death finally reaches them."
Publishers Weekly (01/30/2006)
"[B]rilliant and hugely ambitious...[T]he kind of book that can be life-changing, because without ever denying the essential amorality and randomness of the natural order, THE BOOK THIEF offers us a believable, hard-won hope. That hope is embodied in Liesel, who grows into a good and generous person despite the suffering all around her...."
(05/14/2006)
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