Reading wasn’t something that interested me until third grade and since then a book was always in my hands. I love to read and even if I didn't have time for it, I would sneak in a few pages because I just had to know what happens next. Fictional books are my favorite type, but the ones I really enjoy are the fictional stories set in a historical era. For example, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, is a fictional historical novel about a girl with a love of books during World War 2. Adopted by an aged couple, Liesel learns to make friends, read, and gain a love for books where she finds comfort in the words.
From hiding a Jewish friend from the Nazis to just living her life, Death narrates her story never once letting go of my attention. I remember people were talking about it because a movie adaptation was being made, that I have yet to see, making me want to see what made this book so interesting. I then found a copy in a thrift store and was excited to read it. Though I tried to read the book around sixth grade, I didn’t understand the point of view, or what was the first chapter for that matter, so I dropped the book.
Two or three years later, after I picked it up again and understood how to read it, I ended up enchanted by the characters and intrigued by the story. This book was so interesting to me because I love books: the feeling of holding an amazing story, the familiar scent of paper and ink, it would make me excited to turn the page and see what was going to happen next. I would feel like Liesel, excited to find a new story to read. There is this one part of the story that pains me every time I read it; where Nazis create a bonfire using books as fuel. This to me, physically hurts to see a damaged book to the point that it’s unreadable. There are good moments like when Max, the Jewish friend, creates a book for Liesel the author not just tells us the story, but shows exactly how his book looks like with the illustrations helping to heighten the feelings of his words. I would recommend this book because it gave me a new appreciation of books we take for granted especially now since there are E-books becoming popular for being just a swipe and a tap away.