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

608 pages

Average rating: 8.56

1,121 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

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.
UglyTurtle
Jun 09, 2025
9/10 stars
Such a deep and emotional book. It has captivating narration and gives the reader a lot to reflect on.
MrsCarlson21
Apr 29, 2025
8/10 stars
Amazingly written. A book I could read over and over again.
Anonymous
Apr 29, 2025
10/10 stars
I read this a while back after author Libba Bray recommended it on her blog. I gave it a try, and I won't lie, it took a while to get into. It's a heavy (literally), long book. But once I got into it, I was hooked! I felt so connected the the characters. The story was interesting, with sparks of hope among a rather miserable backdrop of the second world war in Germany. In the end I cried and felt so much for the characters and this story. I was intrigued by the details.
Anonymous
Apr 19, 2025
10/10 stars
Most excellent book!!!!

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