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

Told by Death - tough reading in the beginning, but I guarantee you will not be able to put it down after the first 100 pages. Characters vivid and very real, setting so well portrayed I felt the cold and the snow and the wetness when the characters experienced them. I don't feel it was trite in the least, as that other reviewer did. I have recommended Book Thief to friends, who have loved it. I am also glad I didn't know it was for YAs.

I was surprised to see this book rated as Young Adult Lit. I picked it up before I saw that and I'm so glad I did. The setting is a frightening time for adults and unimaginable for a child. It's like looking through the glass from the other side of the mirror, only to find that everyone's reality has melted together into the same sickening, and insecure 'present' of WWII in Nazi Germany. I kept sensing that I "know" these people - that we are all in this together regardless of our nationality or ethnicity. A great read and I recommend it to all. This is not a child's book.

Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" is without a doubt one of the best books I've read in quite some time. Didn't even notice it was tagged for "Young Adults" until I read the back cover after finishing it. I sure wish Markus Zusak had been writing when I was a kid.

This book is narrated by Death and describes the heartbreaking story of a young German girl forced to live with a family in Munich during Hitler's rise to power. She learns to read from her foster father and steals books with those around her. The book spans the emotions of loss, friendship, sorrow and joy during this turbulent time and explores the relationships that people form and change during extreme stress.
My 14 yr old granddaughter read it last year in 8th grade, and I read it in a book group. I can honestly say that we both gained a lot from the book, in spite of our different perspectives and knowledge. This speaks well to the book, although I do not feel that it is only a young adult or teen book.

This book. What can i say.
I'm thirteen years old and have been through a lots already, and i have the unfortunate gift of remembering practically everything. I have been able to since the age of 4 and i hate it. Why? Well because i remember everything bad as well.
Many people describe books as eye openers.
But for me, this book closed my eyes. And for that i want to thank you Markus.
This book showed me another side of things, it made me laugh and cry, it had a softness like no other, yet bought you down so hard with a flick of a page.
It closed my eyes to things i knew i should not see, and let me dream of what should be there. As a young teen that is what i need. I am very mature for my age, but i still know i am not ready for the full reality of the world.

Your writing gave me the chance for that.
This review may come as a shock, as it is not really a proper review, but you see i have been spending months trying to find a way to contact you, in order to thank you.
But this is the best i have been able to do.
Thank you Markus Kusak, you are my idol, at thirteen years of age. I myself have started to write a book, Thirteen Year-Old Tears. You are the reason i have started.
Thank you.
Yours truly
Paige

I agree with noelle, this is a great book. It also made me cry the many times I read it. It is filled with friendship, loyalty, hardship, crushes, prejudice, humor and some swearing in German. Over all this is a book that is a great page turner. I would stay up with a flashlight just to read a few more chapters.

I saw this book at the library. I am 15, so I was looking in the young adult section by the new books shelf. I saw this book and liked the cover so I took it home to read. On the way home, I read the inside cover. It seemed enjoyable so i began to read. After the first couple of pages I was confused with how the story was going. It is narrated by Death, and after a while you begin to feel for Death. The story went along nicely, I loved the characters of Rudy and Rosa. Then you meet Max, and the story begins to grow darker. From then on, it is no longer a story of a girl who steals books, during WWII, it is a story of prejuduce, survival, cruelty, friendship, loyalty, secrets, accordians, and a girl who steals books during WWII. [review edited to remove plot spoiler] If you are not afraid of crying in front of people, read this with your friends and loved ones. This was so perfect. I will read The Book Thief again and again. And you can bet, after 15 times, I will still cry.

The Book Thief tells the story of Leisel Meminger, a young German girl. At the age of eleven, she is sent to live with the Hubermanns. Hans, the kind-hearted accordion player/painter, and Rosa, the wardrobe-shaped housewife, become her family. She spends her days in school, attending Hitler Youth meetings, and playing soccer in the street with her best friend, Rudy Steiner, the boy with the lemon-colored hair. She also steals books. The books themselves and the act of stealing them bring her life in the midst of a world full of death. The words give her hope, and she both loves them and hates them for it. Death is the narrator of The Book Thief. He pauses in the midst of his ever-increasing duties to observe Leisel Meminger, and then to tell her story and the story of the war.