The Book Thief

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY

The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times.


When Death has a story to tell, you listen.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

“The kind of book that can be life-changing.” —The New York Times

“Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” —USA Today

DON’T MISS BRIDGE OF CLAY, MARKUS ZUSAK’S FIRST NOVEL SINCE THE BOOK THIEF.

BUY THE BOOK

Published Sep 11, 2007

Average rating: 8.57

1,132 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

MrsCarlson21
Apr 29, 2025
8/10 stars
Amazingly written. A book I could read over and over again.
KikiStoneCreek
Jun 03, 2023
4/10 stars
I was quite bored with this book so it will be interesting to see how they made it into a movie.
CharetteC
Jul 01, 2025
9/10 stars
No skimming this book for me. Many thought provoking comments and an interesting perspective in terms of the writer.
MWJ52000
Jun 30, 2025
10/10 stars
Excellent book! Interesting, captivating writing style! Highly recommend!
Zach23Weiss
Jun 24, 2025
10/10 stars
And it was very sad

Yes obviously very sad... liesel lived a long life but without everything that mattered dear to her. It was magnificent and the interaction she has with death brings it all into perspective at the end with the “i am haunted by humans” line. It was extremely heartwarming to see max made it out and to be reunited with liesel

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