Operation Superhuman Reader: Another YA Lit Recommendation

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Printz book/coming-of-age/Holocaust

I've heard so much about this book and was excited to add this to my list. Initially I was trying not to be too excited about it in case it was overhyped, but I was not disappointed. I love this book. Love it. I thought that I'd fly through this book--despite its length--because it's so good, but I found myself wanting to take my time and soak in the words and images. The writing was just mind-blowing. The way Zusak combines words and sentences is an art form--incredible.

After a million and one Holocaust/WWII units in grade school I've felt a little burned out on the topic. However, The Book Thief greatly touched me. The characters had so much depth, and the Nazi ideologies, while I've studied them so many times, became horrifically real to me, more so than at any other time in my education. I've read countless books that touch me emotionally, but The Book Thief reached me on a deeper level. Liesel's relationship with Max was beautiful and poignant and tender. The Book Thief showed me that while evil exists in the world--even such intense evil like Nazism--the individual can triumph and effect change, however small, because small change is still change and proves that good can and will persist.

While technically a young-adult book, this book can touch readers beyond adolescence. I'm confident in saying that The Book Thief will continue to affect readers for many years to come. The Book Thief merits a place on the bookshelves with the classics, with the books that effect change within the reader, with the literature that endures.

View all my reviews >>