The Book Thief is a powerful historical fiction that tells the story of an adopted girl during the peak wartime in Nazi Germany. The story is narrated by Death.

A mother is traveling towards Munich on a train to give up her two children to foster parents; a son and a daughter, Liesel. Unfortunately, the boy dies on the train. The guards stop the train to bury the boy. While digging, one of the grave diggers drops a black book in the snow near the burial site without his knowledge. Liesel while witnessing the burying of her brother notices the book lying in the snow. When she is taken to her new home in Himmel Street, she starts anew with her new parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann, and the first book she stole, The Grave Digger’s Handbook.

With the help of her father Hans who reads this book to her, Liesel starts learning and falls in love with the words. While the Nazi regime is gradually strengthening in power and the horrors start seeping into Himmel Street, Liesel is growing up failing in love with the books, gradually recovering from her brother’s death. When one day Hans brings a Jewish man to hide him in their house, Liesel’s world changes forever. 

How did it make me feel?

The Book Thief is an absolute gem of storytelling. The fact that it is narrated by Death makes the story extremely impactful. The beautiful relationships that are formed, that are taken away, the unuttered words of love, the heartwrenching gestures, and the ultimate truth of human life; this is a story you will remember for a long time. 

The style of narration in The Book Thief is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It took me a bit to get into it but once I was, it was an absolutely beautiful ride. The illustratons and the small descriptive sections made reading such a fun experience. My copy came with a bonus material in the back, where the authors process while writing The Book Thief is detailed. I was absolutely giddy when I got to read that!

Absolutely loved this book and it easily made it to the list of my favorite books. I cried, I smiled, had my heart broken and mended. So beautiful. 

If you haven’t read it yet, I highly ( HIGHLY! ) recommend it. You can use my link to buy it from Amazon. It has the bonus material. Believe me! You’d wanna read that! If you use my link to buy, I may get a small commission at NO additional cost to you! It will help me keep my blog running! 🙂 Thank you for your support!