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wlrqp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
I have hated the words and I have loved them,and I hope I have made them right.
It's a beautifully written.It does make me cry.I don't know how to explain how much i love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and War
Moderate: Genocide and Suicide
Minor: Bullying
sandra_ristic's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Antisemitism, Grief, and War
Minor: Suicide
lunazeia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
im taking that .25 from the perfect rating only because by personal preference, it was hard for me to dive in to it given that it's a historical book
but nevertheless i love this book especially the way it's written in death's perspective
i also love unconventional stuff in books (aka the book within the book) and adds to the enjoyment factor lol
also definitely did NOT bawl my eyes out once i knew max was alive
but nevertheless i love this book especially the way it's written in death's perspective
i also love unconventional stuff in books (aka the book within the book) and adds to the enjoyment factor lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and War
Moderate: Bullying
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- 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
An amazing book. I can’t quite put into words how incredible this book is. I am in love with it. Every time I feel sad I think of Liesel and how strong she is, and I strive to be like her. Her willingness to grow and work hard, and to protect her family is incredible. Inspiring but I needed so many tissues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Hate crime, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Violence
naomirulzok's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide
Minor: Bullying, Child death, and Abandonment
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Suicide, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Sexism, and Blood
sfbookgirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Book Thief is an incredibly moving story about World War II in Nazi Germany. Geared towards young adult readers, The Book Thief is an excellent introduction to the Holocaust and is narrated by Death itself. Like all Holocaust books I have read over the years, The Book Thief is one that will stay with me for a while. It is important that we remember the inhumane actions of society that resulted in complete and utter destruction. Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Day of Remembrance, is occurring this year beginning on the evening of April 7th. Let us observe this day and remind ourselves of the 12 million people who perished as a result of Nazi Germany.
While its subject matter is heartbreaking, The Book Thief is amongst many of the important books to read about the Holocaust. The one element that made this book unsettling (besides its tough subject matter) is the use of blackface in the novel. A young boy is seen in blackface to appear like his hero, Jesse Owens. I found this completely unnecessary and inappropriate and I am surprised that this issue isn’t more widely discussed amongst reviews of this book. Like many books we may have enjoyed during our childhood, it’s important that we think critically about what underlying concepts these classics contain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Violence, and Antisemitism
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Grief
birdbrainbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This one is tough, because I know this book is beloved by many and I fully expected to love it. I didn’t dislike it—but I also didn’t connect to it the way I hoped and anticipated.
.
The choice of having the character of Death serve as narrator is *chef’s kiss* and much of the writing is breathtakingly poetic. But all in all, the story itself wasn’t what I expected—it really consisted of a very long series of vignettes during protagonist Liesel’s childhood in her German town.
.
And then, after so much time spent in detail on childhood antics and thievery, the ending was just so....sudden, sad, and bleak. I don’t like when I feel emotionally manipulated by books (looking at you, Kristen Hannah) and I feel like this one took the devastation a bit too far, too close to the end.
.
The characters were memorable, but the story overall didn’t accomplish anything particularly new or interesting for me. Perhaps it’s because I grew up reading/watching so many World War 2 and Holocaust stories, and feel that time period is over saturated.
.
I wondered if I didn’t fully connect because I listened on audio, but I don’t think that’s it—the narrator was great and I’ve connected with other books on audio. There were certain phrases that were so overused that it started to grate on my nerves. Maybe I just wasn’t the target audience, since it’s YA. But whatever the reason, it was without a doubt a good book but didn’t totally work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Cursing
brookey8888's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
Hi yes I did spend the last 70 pages of this book bawling my eyes out. I could hardly see that’s how bad I was crying. My heart was ripped out of my chest.
Reread
I think I enjoyed this more this time around. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the story while I was reading so it was nice to be reminded of everything. I just love how this is told. It’s so beautiful but haunting. I did cry again which isn’t shocking. My favorite part of this is honestly the characters and their strength and love and friendship. As I was reading this I couldn’t help but think how some of the characters and events in this novel were reminding me of how people and events are happening now.
Reread
I think I enjoyed this more this time around. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the story while I was reading so it was nice to be reminded of everything. I just love how this is told. It’s so beautiful but haunting. I did cry again which isn’t shocking. My favorite part of this is honestly the characters and their strength and love and friendship. As I was reading this I couldn’t help but think how some of the characters and events in this novel were reminding me of how people and events are happening now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail