The book thief was the best book by far
579992
I thought the book thief was a great book, even though  my favorite character: Rudy, never got his kiss from Ms. Memigner until a tragic event occurred.
2573029
That was the best book ever YOU SHOULD READ IT AND DON'T PURCHASE UNTIL YOU ARE DONE WITH THE BOOK YOU ARE READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2676954
The Book Thief is a very sad story but also it's about the triumph of the human spirit even when so much pain and death was experienced during WWII and what life was like in Nazi Germany at that time.  I also thought the narrative parts of the story told from the perspective of the empathetic character of death was very clever and heart wrenching.  This book was so good!  Now I want to see the movie more than ever currently in theaters.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading. You will not be disappointed.
2005549
Picture yourself in this position:  Mom is going wacko. People, that you do not even know, are coming into your house.  They are looking for a little green case. Then you are hiding for your life.  Then once it is  clear, you start to get out of your hiding place and a guy walks in. You  scurry back into your hiding place.  This all happened in the sequel of the  stunning book The Golden Compass. In this book, Will, a curious, little  boy, wants to know more about life. This book is impossible to put down.  It is the best sequal ever.  It has the ability to become more popular than  any of the Harry Potter books.  There is no comparing this book to any  others.  This book sticks out like a sore thumb.  I recommend this book to  all age groups.  This is one book you can judge by the cover.
2049007
I absolutly LOVED IT!!!!! This is THE best book of like, all time. read it, and you won't regret it. the charecters rock, (especially Will), the plot is SO cool, (especialy the part about the world of the dead), and over all this book rocks, so read it.
4928078
THE BOOK THIEF is on of the most memorable books I've read in a long time. It takes place during World War II in Molching, Germany. It's the writing, the unusual narrator (death), and the characters sketched in vivid colors that make this novel so difficult to put down.

Meet Leisel, the book thief, whose first encounter with death occurs on a train with her mama and brother - on their way to meet her foster parents.

Meet Rosa Hubermann, Leisel's new mama, whose rough, crude exterior can't hide the heart inside.

Meet Hans Hubermann, Leisel's firm foundation. The man who stays up with her after her nightmares, who teaches her to read her first stolen book, who finds empathy in a slice of stale bread.

Meet Max, a Jew, the shadow in the basement, a skeleton later seen marching, or more aptly, stumbling, down the road.

Meet Rudy, the lemon-haired Jesse Owens, Leisel's partner in crime and best friend, the one who yearns for Leisel's kiss.

Meet the Fhrer, the invisible, potent master of words.

Meet death, in a metal cockpit, on a snow-covered field mottled in red, hanging from a rafter at the end of a rope, sitting at a simple kitchen table, under a pile of rubble that used to be a home.

Markus Zusak fills the reader with vivid images of humans at war, humans led to the unthinkable by a force they cannot control. Some go willingly, others have no choice. Those left behind are merely attempting to survive each day as life crumbles around them. Leisel survives by stealing books.

As I read the final chapters of THE BOOK THIEF, I literally had to close the book to get my emotions under control before reading on to meet death. It was inevitable -- he would meet me at the end of the book. As I emerged from the story at the turning of the back cover, my reality felt so jarringly wrong. It was as though I went from a black and white silent movie to a new world: bright, free, and colorful. You cannot read this novel without feeling a resounding resolve that this should never, ever, happen again.

The writing is incredible. Mr. Zusak gave death such an unusual perspective. His descriptive phrases are nothing short of brilliant. THE BOOK THIEF is a powerful read that should not be missed by anyone, teen or adult!

Reviewed by:  Cana Rensberger
1899952
I think this book was the best book ever! It was cool funny, exciting, suspenseful, and you can even read it over and over again. It's great that there are six other books in the series to read. I for sure give this book five stars. My favorite part was when Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Ron ran into the three headed dog, Fluffy. It was really funny but at the same time it was scary. Go read!!
602556
The Runaway King  was everything I was hoping for going into this book and more. The False Prince was amazing, but it rang too close to The Thief (by Megan Whalen Turner) for me to call it one of my all-time favourites. However, The Runaway King was phenomenal in every way possible. The plot was twisting and suspenseful, Jaron went through the most amazing growth while still remaining true to his goals and learning from his flaws, and the ending was so so so crazy!!

Jaron initially struggles trying to control his kingdom and his court. The Council isn't on his side due to his age and his reputation as a reckless trickster, and Jaron suffers an assassination attempt by Roden, who has joined the Arvenian pirates in order to depose who he deems a fake king. Jaron is temporarily forced to go into hiding until the Council can vote on a steward, so he takes matters into his own hands and decides to infiltrate the pirates, which I was hoping for since I learned that Roden had joined the pirates himself.

Everything from there turned into this amazing rollercoaster ride. Jaron has to become Sage, the talented and cunning thief, once more in order to destroy the men who tried to kill him and are threatening Carthya. Everything is this slow build up. Jaron constantly gets inches away from being discovered, and has to make some tough choices in order to keep his identity and save his kingdom.

Jaron still acts like the Sage we know and love from The False Prince, but he's less sure of himself. While in the first book we are thrown for a loop and are constantly in the dark about his intentions, Jaron's goals in The Runaway King were more straightforward (with a few twists). Instead, the author focusses on Jaron surpassing his reputation while using his cunning and thieving to his advantage in trying to win over the pirates, and gaining the loyalty of his people. He isn't as sure of himself, but he knows what his country needs to survive and he's willing to get it, and simultaneously prove to the Council that even though he is a young king, he doesn't need their help to attain peace and security.

Because this is a middle grade book, there isn't a focus on romance, but you do see the strengthening of Jaron and Imogen's friendship and Jaron's growing trust towards Ammarinda (who I thought was pretty fishy when I first started reading these books). The lack of romance doesn't detract from Jaron's relationship with these girls and other characters in this book. Jennifer A. Nielsen's shining ability in both books is to create these beautiful friendships between characters that are sometimes marred by conflict, but eventually become stronger for it.

I love everything that happens in this book, from page one to the very end. The final page was INTENSE! I don't even know how the author could do that to her readers, but beware of the cliffhanger. It will make you tear your hair out. I can't wait for the next book. Middle Grade Fiction, represent! It doesn't matter how old you are, you need to read this amazing series!
89405
Just finished reading this book... Words, as powerful as they are, can not explain how beautiful this book is.
The Book Thief is a young girl, adopted by foster parents in the poor area in Germany, who learns to trust, live, love, and survive. The first book she stole was a Gravedigger's book, found in the snow in a cemetery where her little brother was buried. From then on, she tries learning to read, and eventually, with help from her papa, masters the art of reading and understands the manipulating and wonderful power of words. She makes best friends along the way that help her grow. The story speeds up when they let a Jew hide in their basement, and the rest, you must read for yourself.
This book is smartly executed, too, with Death as the narrator. Death has a weird, dry, and entertaining type of humor, that's great with teen or young adult readers. Zusak introduces the thought-provoking possibility that Death may be just as afraid of us as we are afraid of death. That maybe this fear should not be directed at Death, but at the many circumstances and sequence of events that lead to death. The way the story is narrated is a little hard to understand at first, but worry not, because you'll get accustomed to it, and the story speeds up fairly quickly. This book is also very emotional... left me in a mess of snot and tears. I feel that it has changed the way I see things with its symbolism and artful execution.
This book is a must read, and will definitely leave you asking questions that usually do not have solid, black and white answers.
805433
This is by far the best book that I have ever read!!! It is absolutely amazing! I have never ever EVER read a book as amazing as this one! It is just so great!! It starts out with these four siblings. They have the perfect life. Everything is happy. Then the father is killed in an accident and that is when everything takes a turn for the worse!! The mother takes her children to live at her mother's house. The are forced to live in the attic for certain reasons. From here on, the web of lies and betrayal begins. Have you ever seen the movie "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment? This book reminded me of it a little, because after you finish reading it, you look back and you understand why everything happened in the story. You understand why the characters did what they did, because they did everything for a reason. When I finished reading it I was "Damn!". It has a very intricate story. Yes, I know that some think that it drags in the middle, but it is very interesting. And you have to pay attention, because that is when a lot of the things that makes the story so great occur. This is by far the best book that I have ever read. I read the next book "Petals in the Wind" and that one was also very amazing, but nothing can top the first one. I will be extremely happy if I ever read a book that was half as good as this one. Some people may think that it is not realistic, but I disagree. They may think that it would be unreal for a mother to leave her children in that attic so long and starve. But if you think of what is at stake, then hell yeah it is realistic. As sad as it may seem, but this book made me realize that although we really wish that love makes the world go 'round, it isn't necessarily true. It made me realize that greed and money makes the world go 'round. I know that it is a little depressing, but this is an absolutely amazing book. Order it! It is totally awesome!! You will like it! Some may not like certain parts of it and decide that they hate the book because of some parts of immorality, but it is still a great story. The characters who commited to immoral act weren't exposed to that sort of thing, because their lives were wated away in that lowly attic. You will see when you get there. You have to read this book. It is the greatest!! I just hope that VC Andrews other books are as good as this one. But once again, I would be very impressed if any were half as amazing as this one. I also started her other series "Melody". It wasn't as good as "Flowers". It is a good book, and I do often think about Melody and her situation from time to time, but the Dollanganger series is the best so far. Another thing that you must remember is that VC Andrews herself didn't write that series. She died, and they got someone else to continue writing books of her style in her name so her legacy could go on, but it ust isn't the same. I am going to read some of her other books that she did write to see if they are as good. Well, I better shut my mouth. I'll let you read it and find out for yourself how great it is. Order now! You'll dig it!
3039995
As an English teacher, I read at least 100 novels a year. The Book Thief ranks among the top ten I have read in the past ten years.  The prose style is marvelously creative, so completely captivating that word by word, moment by moment, the story is nearly impossible to stop reading.  Each and every character becomes real, but most memorable may be the father, Hans, whose kindness and courage are inseparable.  The voice of Death, the narrator, is different from any other voice that I have heard speaking of the horrors of WWII. In the midst of tragedy, compassion remains, even in the most unexpected places.  The publisher should be marketing The Book Thief as fiction for general readers (rather than "young adults")because it deserves the widest possible audience.
3258522
I am a very latecomer to the party, but I finally read The Book Thief and am so glad I did.  I purchased this book in 2010, after many friends told me I should.  I started to read it back then and remember that it just didn't click with me.  The voice of the narrator (which I won't tell you who it is) was just "off" to me.  It didn't sit well.  I wasn't interested.  So I put it down.

In 2014, I picked it up again.  I don't know if I was in a different place or just ready to read it.  This time, from the first page, the narrator was haunting and wonderful to me.  The words were beautiful prose.  The story was compelling.  Now, that's not to say I breezed through the book quickly; it actually took me a long time to read, but it was the eloquent beauty of the words that kept me intrigued and kept me coming back.  It wasn't a story I wanted to rush- it was something I wanted to savor.

The story of Liesel and Himmel street is one of immense sorrow, angst, agony, confusion, and ultimately of the human spirit.  I found Liesel to be a compelling young lady, her friends (and enemies) all so real, and the narrator so interesting.  I loved the spin on the story, the tales of hardship, and the stories of love in various forms- from a harsh stepmother, to a doting stepfather, the crazy boy next door, an angry and broken neighbor, the man in the basement, and even the narrator himself.  I didn't really expect to cry in the end, but I did.  This book was so worth the read and I highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't read it yet.  Again, I'm late to the party, but glad I finally came.
2705219
This is the best book I have EVER read. The plot is a twisting and twirling roller coaster ride. Characters that someone can actually believe in. Lyra and Pan have all the adventures every kid would dream of having. It has all the magic one can imagine to be in Rowling's "Harry Potter" and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings",  I seriously excepted Harry Potter to come flying out on his Firebolt with Serafina at his side, well, not really. Pullman sets a high standard for himself to make the rest of "His Dark Materials" just as good, which he does wonderfully, just like he does with the Sally Lockhart books. "The Golden Compass" has a wonderfully crafted ending that makes you run out of your chair, go to the nearest bookstore, empty your coffee money to buy the "Subtle Knife" Which is exactly what I did.
4644989
im 12 and abolsutely loved this book! it was by far the best book I've ever read. I could read this book over and over again and not get sick of it...honestly! it was THAT good. tons of kids who i know have read this book and they all said its their new favorite. im guarentee you'll love this book whether your into sports or not. im honestly so surprised their isn't more people who have reviewed this book...Its a MUST read!
4776376
My 9 year old insisted I read this book.  He said it was the best book ever.  I have to agree that it is one of the top ten I have ever read in my life.  I won't say more.  Anything else I say is a spoiler, because the author has done the most wonderful job of revealing the story of her hero to us.  This book is imaginative, profound, heartwarming, well-written, a pleasure to read (out loud was great--my son and I taking turns).  I am buying copies of this to send to friends, young and old.  Thank you R.J. Palacio.  Please write us another...
P.S.  I NEVER write reviews--but I couldn't help but proclaim how worthy this book is of being read by everyone and anyone.
4370362
I think that this was the best book that i have ever read.  I am a seventh grader with a College reading level and i loved this book.  I am into books like the Narnia Cronicles and The Brethren but they don't even compare to this.  I have recently teac all thriteen books in the Redwall Series and they, too, were great books.  Right after i read the Hobbit, i read the Lord of the Rings and i could not take my eyes off of the book.  I read all 1100 pages in about four days and i was still captivated to read more.  I would highly reccomond this book to people of all ages.
2284036
A Little Something Different is the best book by far that I have read. It is so unique in so many different ways. For instance, I've never read a book with fourteen view points. I loved the squirrel and bus driver and waitress. The plot is just so wonderful! I found myself screaming at Gabe and Lea to get together. There is lots of comedy in this book it is very good. I would recommend it to anyone. (read and reviewed by a middle school daughter)