I really enjoyed this book. Someone in my book club picked it but then left the book club before we got to it. Thanks anyway - sorry you decided not to come back!
The book is about a young girl who is sent to live with a foster family at the beginning of WWII in Germany because her mother is a Communist. Her new mother is harsh but cares for her well; her new father is very kind and helps her adjust to her new life by teaching her how to read. Soon after, she develops a lifelong love of books, but finds herself often stealing books she has no other way of acquiring.
Her life gets even more complicated when her best friend is an outcast in Hitler Youth and then her parents secretly hide a Jewish man in their basement for several months during the war.
While this book was told through the eyes of a young girl, it was not exclusively a children's book. Zusak managed to keep the writing simple and the story lively while still describing very adult situations and emotions. His style was reminiscent of Vonnegut - Death (yes, as in 'Death himself') narrated the story and often broke from the action to point out a strange word or frame a story or remind the reader of something. Several times, Zusak has Death reveal a major 'spoiler' from later in the story so as the reader I was forced to pay attention to things other than just the plot.
This might have been the best thing I've read so far this year.
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