In a book club and starting to plan your reads for next year? Check out our 2025 picks.

What readers think of The Book Thief, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Mar 14, 2006, 560 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2007, 576 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 5 of 10
There are currently 78 reader reviews for The Book Thief
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

montse

captivating and astoundingly well written
This book speaks to the young and old alike.
It reminds us that the most important things in life are friendship and love. Despite all the hardships that Liesel faces throughout her life she manages to keep her head up to learn. Her heartbreaking story captures our hearts and this book really speaks to all. sets the theme across and inspires us all!
gale messerman

A book I wish I had written
What can I say? I loved the book! It is touching, sad, happy, hopeful,hopeless, magical, mysterious, life affirming, clever, symplistic,complicated- in other words, I wish I had written it.

I agree with Zusak(death), I too "am haunted by humans''.
Gunta

A Treat !
Fabulous. Insightful. Heartbreaking. Full of hope for the future of that era. A testimonial for the indestructible human spirit. Quite truthful historically as well as in terms of human suffering during that war. I know this because I was there.



This well written, well researched book would be enjoyed by all ages.
book lover

I recommended this book to everyone!!
I completely loved this book. I saw it a few times in the book store but never picked it up until my teacher assigned it for summer reading. I finished it in a matter of a few hours and crying uncontrollably at the end. I recommended it to all my classmates and all my other friends and everyone who has taken me up on it hasn't been disappointed and some have even thanked me for recommending it to them. I think my teacher is going to be in for a big surprise when she reads this summer's reading essays because even the guys in my class loved it!!
Ashton

Term Paper
I recently just graduated from High School and chose to use The Book Thief for my 12th grade term paper. What an amazing book! My English teacher recommended it to me and teared up while telling me what it was about. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, no matter what age. Absolutely the best book I have read in a long time!
Cathy

People Keep Thanking Me
The Book Thief is the best book I read in 2007 and so far the best book I've read (reread) in 2008. My book club chose this book based on my recommendation and I am now a hero. They have all emailed and said thank you. "Now that I'm done I'm lost, I don't know what I will do." "Thank you so much. I never would have picked this book on my own." and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." are just a few messages I've received. A super book!
ace

The Book Thief
This book is by far one of the best books i have ever read. This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry!It makes you think about all the things you do and don't do. You think of all those times you've seen someone that needed help and you walked right past them. Reading this book makes you want to go back and help. It is an amazing story of a little girl turned into a young woman. It tells you of her struggles. You practically feel like you are in the book. You want to just reach out and help. I started reading this amazing book and i couldn't put it down! You must read this book!
Nancy

Sad, Sad, Wonderful Book
It’s hard to believe this book was written for young adults. Everyone should read it.
It’s not just the plot that will draw you into this book. It’s the way it’s written that will hold you just as enthralled. Narrated by Death, colors are used to describe the surroundings as souls are taken up. Within the beautiful words is an ugly world of Nazi Germany during World War 2.

The main character, Leisel, goes through more tragedy in her young life (not short life, for she lives longer than almost every other character in the book) than we can imagine. The theme of the book, while touching on the fate of German Jews, is centered around poor non-Jewish Germans of that awful time. Leisel’s most precious possessions are books she first finds, then begins stealing. She uses them to comfort her neighbors while they are hiding in a basement during the air raids.

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    The House of Doors
    by Tan Twan Eng
    Every July, I take on the overly ambitious goal of reading all of the novels chosen as longlist ...
  • Book Jacket: The Puzzle Box
    The Puzzle Box
    by Danielle Trussoni
    During the tumultuous last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, a 17-year-old emperor known as Meiji ...
  • Book Jacket
    Something, Not Nothing
    by Sarah Leavitt
    In 2020, after a lifetime of struggling with increasingly ill health, Sarah Leavitt's partner, ...
  • Book Jacket
    A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens
    by Raul Palma
    Raul Palma's debut novel A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens introduces Hugo Contreras, who came to the ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

H I O the G

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.