Description: It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel 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 before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

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Children's Literature Review: This extraordinary book defies summary or categorization. Usually when we review YA fiction, we know the perimeters that define the genre. The Book Thief doesn't fit within any of those perimeters, yet I'm quite sure there are YA readers who will consider it one of the most amazing books they have ever read. For starters, the narrator is a Being who is with humans at the moment of death, who carries their souls away. This narrator has a detached view of human nature, but he is captivated by a young girl, Liesel, who is trying to wend her way in the madness that is Nazi Germany. It's a busy time for the narrator, of course, in the middle of a world war, with bombing, the concentration camps, and all the death and destruction. But he sees Liesel steal a book from the gravesite of her younger brother at the beginning of this story, and from then on, he watches her with interest. Why would she steal a book when she can't even read? She continues to steal books, and eventually does learn to...

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