Reviews

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

alghesny's review against another edition

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4.0

It's 3.5/5 for me .. I hated some parts and cherished others, It's brilliant tho .. it is, I guess I'll have to wait and see how I'll look back to it

rogljicek's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.75

palapeli's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

soapsoapsoap's review against another edition

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4.0

So I cried, and if I show any emotion a book is automatically a 4* or higher, no matter the content or substantiality of said book. Not only is this an emotional book, it’s a book about normal civilian lives of WWII and the daily horrors inflicted. Despite my tears, this book did have some flaws, notably: the writing style was jilted at points (something noted heavily throughout my annotations), Death spoiled everything for us, and sometimes I just didn’t feel connected to anything, I mean I even forgot there was a war going on for AT LEAST 50% of this book.

I truly don’t think I can dedicate a whole paragraph to summarize this book, so I’ll just settle for a sentence or two. Orphaned Liesel goes to stay with a poor German family (the Hubermanns) when they take in a Jew as well. Thus begins a saga of survival, theft, and living in Nazi Germany as an ostracized family with an ostracized person living in your basement.

I have SO MANY conflicting thoughts about this. On one hand, it’s like… can we get to the point please? Some of the characters I felt super connected to (Rudy, Mama, Ilsa) and some of them just… fell flat. And yes, Death spoiled everything. On the other hand… this book is hauntingly beautiful, masterfully crafted (at points), and a stark reminder of the atrocities committed by everyday citizens and the government, that the Nazi party needed a foothold to reach where it went, and that the citizens provided that foothold.


Bottom line: I honestly don’t know what I think about this book, but the good outweighs the bad so… yay?

starrywonder's review against another edition

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4.0

Such a Unique Story, Love the Dual Narration

If you like historical fiction this book is for you. I always find it fascinating to read stories about what life could be like during different parts of history.

Switching between Liesel and Death as narrators made for a really compelling story. Death is so honest in his unfortunate task, you feel bad for what he must endure.

Liesel, while she had such a hard life makes you want to keep reading. And everyone should want a papa like Hans.

drusmilford's review against another edition

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4.0

Combination of the book and movie are great. I normally do not like movies after reading a book but this one was fabulous. (Actually read 2/3 of book before seeing movie.) Small differences but mostly just had to cut out parts of the book. Movie made me understand Rosa better.

thestephspeaks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

summercole_'s review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jstaton's review against another edition

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4.0

Another book I'd never heard of and I'm so glad my niece mentioned she had read it which encouraged me to pick it up. Beautiful story!

angelayn's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

A beautifully written solemn story of a girl narrated by Death. I couldn’t put the book down and was crying at the end.