2005
978-0-375-84220-7
Liesel meminger is the daughter of a communist - a precarious thing to be in 1939 Germany. She is given to a foster family in a new town, and she is taught to read from a gravedigger's manual - the first book she steals.
Words become her life, along with her new papa and Max, the Jewish fighter who is living in their basement. Max, who depends on Liesel to be his eyes in a terrifying, hateful world. There is also Rudy, the boy next door, her best friend and partner in crime, who can't understand why she steals books and not food.
Liesel is watched by the narrator, the busiest narrator during one of his busiest periods, and he shares her story in her own words.
Exquisitely crafted, this story lures you in to a life of everyday poverty, the spectre of war and of battles with bullies. There is humour to be found here, and love. And heartbreak.
This is a story that will stick with me for a long time to come. It is haunting and chilling, intense in dark moments and endearing in lighter ones.
This is a story that I'm immensely grateful to have found.
Finished 16/11/13.
Read for Online Book Club December group read
1 comment:
This is such a beautiful and complex book. One of the many I point to when I tell writers to "trust the reader" because there's no doubt the author fully believes that his young adult readers are capable of so much.
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