What readers think of The Book Thief, plus links to write your own review.

The Book Thief is the best book I read in 2007 and so far the best book I've read (reread) in 2008. My book club chose this book based on my recommendation and I am now a hero. They have all emailed and said thank you. "Now that I'm done I'm lost, I don't know what I will do." "Thank you so much. I never would have picked this book on my own." and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." are just a few messages I've received. A super book!

This book is by far one of the best books i have ever read. This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry!It makes you think about all the things you do and don't do. You think of all those times you've seen someone that needed help and you walked right past them. Reading this book makes you want to go back and help. It is an amazing story of a little girl turned into a young woman. It tells you of her struggles. You practically feel like you are in the book. You want to just reach out and help. I started reading this amazing book and i couldn't put it down! You must read this book!

It’s hard to believe this book was written for young adults. Everyone should read it.
It’s not just the plot that will draw you into this book. It’s the way it’s written that will hold you just as enthralled. Narrated by Death, colors are used to describe the surroundings as souls are taken up. Within the beautiful words is an ugly world of Nazi Germany during World War 2.

The main character, Leisel, goes through more tragedy in her young life (not short life, for she lives longer than almost every other character in the book) than we can imagine. The theme of the book, while touching on the fate of German Jews, is centered around poor non-Jewish Germans of that awful time. Leisel’s most precious possessions are books she first finds, then begins stealing. She uses them to comfort her neighbors while they are hiding in a basement during the air raids.

This book was captivating and extremely well-written. I loved all of it and I am a very picky reader. I usually have a hard time finding books that I really enjoy but this was a very nice choice. Even the point of view of the book is interesting. I love the small comments inserted here and there to help you understand the setting and the characters. My two favorite characters in this book are "Death" and Hans Hubermann. They are both witty yet slightly mysterious characters which sometimes seem to take the most thought to write about. Some parts of the book that I really enjoyed were the very beginning and the end and even other aspects of 'The Book Thief' that don't have a name to me. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quality book to read. It was the best of the best.

I needed a break for the obvious endings of fairy-tales, and unsatisfying closes in other books, and then a subtle xmas present turns into a HUGE find

This book is so unexpected, and written in an ambitious form I've never seen. This book is so so so...refreshing. the grim humor, just-so details, and totally completely perfectly imperfect characters, its just plain wonderful

This is one of the most haunting and memorable books I have ever read. I was extremely impressed with the writer's fluid use of simple words and imagery to evoke dramatic impact on the reader. My book club was almost turned away from the book because of the choice to categorize it as "Juvenile" literature - which I think is a huge disservice to the book and the author. The story is very rich and anything but juvenile.

Since I concur with all the reviews of this book, I wanted to focus on Zusak's use of several literary devices. Rather than chopping at the primary narration of Liesel's and Death's stories, the interjection of these devices made the book read ever so smoothly. First there are the narrator's "sidenotes" - explanations of words or explanations of another character's thoughts. And most importantly there is the inclusion of two stories written by Max for Liesel. I thought "The Standover Man" and "The Word Shaker" best illustrated the human compassion which haunted Death. Absolutely remarkable book.

This book isn't for everyone, but its premise is. It is a tale of redemption - of why, and how, people are redeemed. In modern time there isn't a better setting than Nazi Germany.

It is mostly for young people, as it is a gentle, almost tender, insertion into the horror that was Nazism and the second world war. Most of the German characters are treated kindly, with full focus on their humaness. It is a measured introduction to the harshness of the stark history of the time for those who are not yet students of it, but is also a balm for those who are steeped in its facts, and who may have forgotten that the predominant stereotype of any group or era reflects only a majority - not an entirety.

Books tie her to almost every character as she moves through her days, and Liesel, the central character, is redeemed many times, by her relationship to the books and the other characters. In life, there is her delivery to responsible step-parents, her relationship to the mayor's wife, Rudy's guidance and companionship through childhood and puberty; in destruction there is her memory of her parents, her acknowledgment of Rudy, her discovery by the LSE, her adoption by the mayor's wife, and even a reunion with Max. In death, she is served well by her history, and by Death.

Almost every other character is an additional example of redemption: Mama, Mrs. Holtzapfel, Max, in the basement, and after the war, Papa, and Ilsa Hermann, who got back her own life helping Liesel.

The book says much more than the obvious, and can be enjoyed by a wide audience, but it is definitely a book best for the audience for whom it was written - the young.