Stephanie Krausert The Book Thief Newspaper Critic 1/22/2012 The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is a very good

book about a girl who has to make sense of World War II while living in Nazi Germany. After the death of her brother and being given up by her mother, Liesel Meminger goes to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann at 33 Himmel Street in Molching, Germany. There, she befriends her neighbor Rudy Steiner later followed by Jewish Max Vandenburg who is seeking shelter in the Hubermanns basement. Pretty much the whole book is leading you up to the climax at the end. I would rate The Book Thief on a scale from 1 to 10 as a 9 because Zusak uses realistic and lovable characters, a pretty good plot, and does a good job of keeping a setting that feels like home while you read. Zusak develops very believable characters, so I would give him a 10 on the characters. For each important character, the reader is given a background story so you know where theyre coming from. For example, Max Vandenburgs story is told on page 185 to page 195. His story is kind of sad so you start to feel sympathetic towards him. The characters are also built up to the point where you really feel for them and get to know them well. Zusak gives the characters qualities of actual people, which makes them seem even more real. The Book Thief has very real and believable characters that you cant help but love. For the plot and story line, I would give The Book Thief an 8.5. You get a better understanding of the book with the flashbacks and foreshadowing Zusak uses, but sometimes he gives away too much. For example, the ending was given away pretty much right at the beginning, but he still managed to make it work because when the climax actually occurs, youre shocked and stunned. At some points, it was a little hard to follow when the story leapt form one scene or place to another with almost no warning. An example is when Liesel was standing outside of the mayors house, and then we all of a sudden, the next chapter started and we were in Stuttgart where Max was. The whole book was pretty much rising action until the climax, which didnt last for very long. It would have been nice to have more of the falling action and see how Liesel recovered from the climax event. Zusak did a fairly good job of creating a good story line. I would give the setting development in The Book Thief an 8.5. What was nice about Zusaks setting is that he told us exactly where everything in the book was going on. Knowing where events took place all the time really helped with comprehension. The setting was also pretty much consistent through the whole book, which makes it easier to keep track of whats going on. Almost the whole book is in Molching, but there is the occasional visit to other places in Germany or the surrounding countries. The one thing that wasnt so great about the setting is that you are never really told what the setting looks like. I would have liked to know what Liesel was seeing every day. The Book Thief has a vague but realistic and consistent setting. Everything from the characters to the plot to the setting was very good in The Book Thief. I would definitely recommend this book because it is very moving, well written, and it teaches the life lesson of staying strong through even the hardest of times. I would recommend The Book Thief specifically to people who want to know about life during World War II, and to people who like realistic and occasionally sad books. The Book Thief is the perfect book for anyone who wants a fantastic read.

Stephanie Krausert The Book Thief Newspaper Critic 1/22/2012