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beelzebub24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death and Religious bigotry
Moderate: War
Minor: Death of parent
lexilovesreadingandlaufey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Grief, Genocide, War, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Child abuse, and Suicide
raspberryjelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Cursing, War, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Racism, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Blood, Gun violence, and Hate crime
Minor: Suicide, Deportation, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, and Alcohol
bookishchristiana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
&
“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.”
&
“It kills me sometimes, how people die.” - Markus Zusak, The Book Thief.
To begin with, there are so many more quotes I could have put at the start of this post. This book is beautifully written, perhaps the most beautiful I've ever read. I know I'm extremely late to the party, but I absolutely loved The Book Thief. The premise, a story about Nazi Germany told from the perspective of death and a young girl, is so original and it is executed immaculately. It portrays the beauty but also evil of humanity so so well; how we were all pure young children once but we grow to love and hate so much. The horrors of Nazi Germany are not shied away from, they are front and centre. Despite this, I think the book is truly about a child's capacity to love those around them, despite the horrors. The main cast of characters are so loveable and human in the best way. That doesn't negate the terrible things happening around them, they continue throughout and are awful to read. Conversely to our main cast, we are also shown the true horrors humans inflict on one another. The hatred instilled in such a large population was and is terrifying, demonstrating how characters and real people are also human in the worst way. I think, considering the things occurring in our world today (the Palestinian genocide to name perhaps the most prominent one on our minds at the moment), this book continues to be painfully relevant. The lessons learned and the things considered in The Book Thief cannot and should not be forgotten. This literary masterpiece is so so important, I'm only sad I didn't read it sooner. To describe this book in a single sentence, I would say that this book is about humanity at its best and worst. I adored it and it devastated me (I cried so much at the end). This review may have been a bit of a ramble but I hope I got my main points across. If you haven't read this yet, please do, and if you have, read it again! - C x
Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Antisemitism, War, Genocide, and Slavery
inkdrinker2007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Death, War, Violence, Child death, and Blood
ashmak06's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Violence, Child death, Death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, War, Grief, and Suicide
_chloe_reads_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Grief, Genocide, and Hate crime
clareehebert's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Religious bigotry, War, and Death
bea2001's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Genocide, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Car accident and Suicide
epohlig's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Also, WWII material rarely has you feeling sorry for the Germans, because they’re all lumped into a Hitler-supporting mass, so I appreciated the different perspective here - not backing the bad people, but showing that not every German was like that then either.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, Genocide, and Hate crime
Minor: Child death and Suicide