The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

For me this book was just an absolutely stunning piece of writing. Right from the very first page I was so intrigued by the premise of it, being narrated by “death” and following a girl who never knows he is there. It was such a unique way of storytelling and had me instantly gripped.

The story was very different from what I imagined it to be about when I bought the book, however I mean that in a good way. Underneath it all is a simple story of the trials and tribulations of a young girls life, but due to the nature of the subject matter I found it fascinating.

Markus Zusak has a poetic way of using words and I found myself devouring the last chapter, becoming increasingly engrossed in his words and imagery and symbolism. It was just stunning. I was desperate for it to finish to find out where the story would go, but on the other hand I put off finishing it for quite a while as I just didn’t want to leave this girl and her story. I wanted to know if Liesel would be ok, where her own story would take her and how her experiences would shape her.

This book will stay with me for a long while. It was so different to what I have read before but I genuinely think it is up there with one of my favourite ever books.