A review by libraryhauntinglesbian
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-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

This book is outside of my usual genre, so I had no expectations going in, and ended up absolutely adoring it. It was much more accessibly written than I was expecting, with complex and loveable characters. WWII books are often a bit iffy for me but this one made me laugh and cry and I could have read so many more pages about these characters. I thought the choice to use death as a narrative was so interesting and worked really well to create a macabre but humorous tone. I also love when books incorporate images into the story, so I really enjoyed the depictions of Max's stories for Liesel.
I'm Australian, and this book is marked as adult over here, but apparently it's marketed as young adult in the US, and I would definitely say the writing style/prose leans more into young adult territory.