The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak
Cina's, paperback, 550 pages
genre: Holocaust fiction

Told from death's point of view, this story is about Liesl, a little girl in the outskirts of Munich, Germany, during WWII. People recommended this to me for ages and I finally decided to get-r-done this summer. (Labor Day weekend still counts as summer, right?) It was powerful and painful. Liesl sees her little brother die right in front of her eyes as her mother is bringing them to be raised by foster parents. Rosa and Hans Hubermann have an odd mixture of love and abuse for the frightened little girl (mostly abuse from Rosa and gentle love from Hans). I didn't like when death's narration gave away key parts of the story (like Rudy's kiss). I will almost certainly re-read this book. It is quite good and has a lot to think about contained in it. But WWII books always make me so sad.