The Book Thief

Unlike movies, which make me cry embarassingly easily, I can count on one hand the number of books that have make me cry. The book that held the title for the most raw emotion it could derive from me used to be My Sister's Keeper. But a new book has come into town and My Sister's Keeper was no match.

Let me introduce you to The Book Thief. This is a book that sounds hard to recommend to your friends, as it is about Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and death. But it is also about friendship, the power of words and books, family, and courage. It is about compassion, love, and heroism. And these are the reasons I'm going to recommend this book to you and practically BEG you to read it. Definitely my favorite book read in 2010. Even with four months left in the year, I'll be surprised if any other book I read this year comes close.

The main character is Leisel, and death is fascinated by her. While death is afraid of humans due to their capacity for destruction and evil, he finds a glimmer of hope in humans when he comes across Leisel. Due to curiosity, he follows her throughout her life. While death is intrigued by Leisel, Leisel is intrigued by books. At first she didn't even know how to read, yet she was still drawn to them. Words will eventually lead her to a vastly different fate than her family and her world as she knows it.

I know I recommend a lot of books, but if you're going to read one book I suggest, please pick this one! While it takes some time getting used to the different style of writing, it will be worth it in the end.

My rating: 5/5 stars.