From the Bookshelf of Modern Good Reads…

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

Start date: January 1, 2015

Finish date: January 31, 2015

Discussion: MGR Events (BOTM, etc.)

Discussion leader: Kirstin Pulioff

Why we're reading this: Recommended & BOTM September 2014 & BOTM January 2015!
[close] Recommended & BOTM September 2014 & BOTM January 2015!

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Group Discussions About This Book

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MGR Events (BOTM, etc.)

* May BOTM Discussion - First Night of Summer & Season of the Witch
By Kirstin , Moderator · 3 posts · 43 views

last updated May 11, 2015 08:44AM

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June BOtm Discussion - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore & Under by Treaty
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last updated Jun 01, 2015 10:17AM

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What Members Thought

Sep 09, 2013 Susan Meissner rated it it was amazing

For quite awhile I'd been hearing buzz about Markus Zusak's The Book Thief and how amazingly good it was, and that I should move it to the top of my TBR pillar-to-the-sky. Since I've been reading a lot these days about World War 2 for the novel I'm writing, I figured I had two reasons to move it up the pillar, one being the acclaim I kept hearing, and the second being I could classify it as research.

I hadn't read the back cover copy or any reviews. I didn't know who would be telling the story no ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

May 04, 2010 Maureen Lang rated it really liked it

I loved this book! The characters really came alive for me, and will no doubt stay with me for quite a while. The story is told through the eyes of Death, and since it's a Holocaust story I guess that's most appropriate. The characters grow so much, and have so many memorable attributes that this is a book I'd highly recommend. It's been marketed as a YA, but I think my nearly 13-year-old son is a bit young for it (language issues, mainly). It would be great for any high school age person on up. ...more

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Nov 06, 2008 Susie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, favorites, historical-fiction

Wow, what an amazing book. I saw this on the best-seller book lists, so I ordered a copy from my library. I was surprised to see that is a Young Adult book and after reading it, I have to wonder if it should be classified that way. Death is the narrator of the book, and also one of the reoccurring themes. Rather heavy for a book for children. Then again, highschoolers read Eli Weisel's Night, so perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised.

My only criticism of this book is the foreshadowing. We are told ...more

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Sep 21, 2013 Darlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lending-enabled, kindle, kindle-books-i-own, young-adult, audio-overdrive, library-overdrive, death, no-tts, world-war-1, world-war-ii

Death narrates this wonderful story about a young girl in Hitler's Germany. That is a sentence I never would have thought of writing. But that is part of the many surprises in this story. If you've read Terry Pratchett's Discworld, you have a vision of Death. Though this book is covering more serious matters, the author brings in wit and wisdom, and shows us all how to care, how to love.

Early baby-boomers and their parents know deeply what happened pre and during World War II. Most books coveri ...more

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Mar 02, 2008 Sara rated it it was amazing

This is my new favorite book. Unlike some other reviewers, I thought it was a wonderfully quick read. The characters were very well developed... I had favorites, but I could even feel something for the villains.
This book does leave me with unanswered questions at the end... but that somehow makes me want to read it again.
It's WWII, Nazi Germany.
Death is the narrator, but certainly not what I would have expected.
Leisel is a girl who keeps surviving despite the odds against her.
Her foster parents ...more

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Jan 22, 2009 Breanne rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! I highly recommend reading it if you already haven't. ...more

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Nov 24, 2013 Carolyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Initially the book was difficult to maintain interest. As characters were introduced it became more interesting. Book thief is unique in that the narrator is death.

UG 5.1 - AR Pts: 18.0

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