The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is set in Germany before and during World War II. The story is told from the point of view of Death, who narrates the story and gives a whole new image to the "death" image we see. "Death" finds the story of the book thief, Liesel Meminger. Liesel's story begins when she and her brother are sent to a foster home by their Communist mother when she is interned in Dachau Concentration Camp. On the way to the foster home, Liesel's brother Werner dies. As the gravediggers are burying her brother, Liesel takes a book which she finds lying on the ground, The Gravedigger's Handbook, despite her inability to read. She later arrives at the home of foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, near Munich. They treat her well, although Rosa swears fiercely. Liesel then meets Rudy Steiner, a neighbour of her own age who later becomes her best friend. Rudy is well known in the neighbourhood for his romp around the Hubert Oval as Jesse Owens. Max, a 24 year old Jewish man that the Hubermann family helps to hide, composes his experiences with Liesel in a series of sketches, as well as two homemade books.

This book was borrowed from the library after a recommendation by a friend. A nice book, but a sad story of a young girls life at that time.