“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is definitely one of the greatest novels I have read in my fourteen years. I fear that I will not be able to do it justice in only a few paragraphs because I lack words to describe the way it latched onto my soul as I hungrily turned its pages. “The Book Thief” is unlike any other story I have ever had the pleasure to read.

This story follows the life of a young German girl called Liesel, and is narrated by none other than Death himself. Liesel watches her brother die shortly before she is abandoned by her mother. She moves in with foster parents in a poor neighborhood, and learns to love her new home despite all she has endured. Liesel has a hunger for words which she satisfies by stealing books whenever she needs them. She reads the books with her foster father and her Jewish friend who is hiding in the basement. Through Zusak’s powerful writing, we watch Liesel learn lessons of love, friendship, and trust. The reader witnesses her grow as a person throughout the entire course of the novel.

In “The Book Thief”, Markus Zusak’s unique writing style brings life to the story of an average girl. The novel is completely honest, and the author’s reluctance to make any character appear “perfect” makes each one seem even more realistic and relatable. No hardship is sugarcoated, but he makes this gloomy subject more bearable with grim humor. USA Today raves that it is “poised to become a classic”, and The Florida Times-Union calls it “the book to pick up for people who love to read.”

So I DARE YOU. Read this book. It just might change your life.