The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf, 2006)
Narrated by Death and set in a small town outside Munich during World War II, this is the story of nine-year- old Liesel Meminger, a German girl taken into Hans Huberman’s household as a foster child. As likeable as she is well-developed, it is amazing to watch a young girl remain so strong in the face of human tragedy, impossible hatred, and adolescent love. This story pays tribute to the simple power of words, to their ability to change our minds, destroy our lives, move our souls, recount our memories, and yes, heal our world.
When Death starts telling stories, teens are likely to listen. When the story is about a nine-year-old girl in World War II Germany, teens might stop. Death often interrupts the narrative to insert his own factoids and commentary, the last of which will chill readers to the bone. The center pages of the book feature an illustrated booklet designed over the torn-out pages of a copy of Mein Kampf. The frequent fragmented sentences give the language a structure geared for teens that conveys a much older voice, something Death cannot help but bring to his story about this pre-adolescent girl. First published in Australia as a Grownup novel, The Book Thief does not embody very many Young Adult elements, which does not mean that it is not a powerfully-crafted novel. It only means that Liesel is perhaps too young, the narrative too grand, and the voice too somber to fit with the rest of the expanding genre.
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