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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.
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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.
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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.
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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, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Cursing
dune1984's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As someone who is Jewish, I generally avoid reading about the Holocaust, especially books centered around goyim, but this book is one of the few exceptions. What can I say? It's the Book Thief. If you haven't read it, it's a slice of life from the perspective a girl who's adoptive parents are illegally harboring a Jewish man in Nazi Germany. It allows the Jewish character agency, which is rare (Cough cough, the boy in striped pajamas), and ends somewhat happily. It makes no attempt to empathize with the Nazis, and tells a story that is unique.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Trafficking
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