The Book Thief, A Review

The Book Thief
By: Markus Zusak
My Rating: 5/5

Full disclaimer about this book, it sat on my shelf for a good four years, yes years, before I got around to reading it.  Once I finally cracked it open, I was mad a myself for not picking it up sooner.

To get the first thing out of the way, this is a book about the Holocaust.  That was the biggest thing that kept me from picking up the book in the first place.  I could not bring myself to start reading it, I did not know how the author would handle such a dark time in history.  To my surprise, he handled it very well, and kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole book.

The narrator of this story is Death.  There is no way to sugar coat it, but it is very well thought out and done.  He talks about how busy he was during that time in human history, which is hurtful to think about but makes the story so good.

This book kept me pulled into the story from the begining.  I laughed, I cried (a lot) and I just fell in love with it. It quickly became one of my all time favorite books.

I loved the characters and grew attached quickly, which is not a good idea considering the time period this book is sat in.  I was completely invested in what I was reading because I needed to know what happened next.

Thanks for reading!!
Love, Stephanie

Have you read The Book Thief?  If so, what are your thoughts? 

These Broken Stars
By: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
My Rating: 4/5

I have to say I loved this book.  I went into it with an open mind and without much knowledge of what happens other than the main girl has red hair and is wearing a pretty dress on the cover.  (I know, how dare I be sucked in by a pretty cover, again)

I had heard a few people mention it was a good science fiction, young adult, fantasy novel, so of course I was intrigued and picked it up.  The whole book is written from two different and switching points of view.  At first that caught me off guard, but I loved the differing views on what was happening around them.  I can only assume the co authors did these in turn, each writing a chapter then the other writing the next from the other view.  They blended well and it never seemed to be disjointed at all.

**I may get a little spoilery here so you've been warned**

Lilac and Tarver find themselves on a seemingly abandoned but terraformed planet.  They each are the last person they would want to be stuck with alone, but they have no other choice.  Lilac is the daughter of the wealthiest and most powerful man in the universe.  Tarver is a lowly country boy turned war hero.

They are traveling across the galaxy on the Icarus which is the largest ship of its kind which struck some people as too Titanic-like but I didn't quite get that.  I was more afraid of the mythology behind Icarus and how he flew too close to the sun.  Just as I was about to look up about Icarus, my fears were confirmed.  Suddenly they are pulled out of hyperspace and in the panic, Lilac and Traver end up in the same escape pod.

As they travel across this (mostly) abandoned planet they must learn to work with each other to survive.

I loved how their relationship grew.  It felt so natural to me and I couldn't stop reading to find out what happened to them. Need this book in your life? Amazon is pretty great for that, and if you buy through my link I get a small commission, so its a win-win!