The Book Thief

Why it's worth it

Markus Zusak's story of a foster girl in a small German town is narrated by Death, who turns out to be weary, wry and unexpectedly gentle. It's shelved for young adults, but it works as the sturdiest introduction to wartime fiction at any age.

A girl steals books she can barely read, a Jewish man hides in the basement, and a neighbor teaches her the alphabet on a painted wall. That's most of the plot. Zusak keeps the scope small — one street, one family, a handful of years — which is exactly why the book lands for readers who bounce off sprawling war novels.

The narrator is the whole trick, and it works. Death tells you what's coming, sometimes chapters ahead, so you read the good parts already grieving them. That should be unbearable and instead it's oddly comforting, because it takes the suspense out and leaves the people in. Readers who normally hate gimmicks tend to make an exception here.

From our review of 8 historical fiction books, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +A girl steals books she can barely read, a Jewish man hides in the basement, and a neighbor teaches her the alphabet on a…
• +The narrator is the whole trick, and it works
• +It's the easiest of these to find in paperback, and the easiest to replace after you lend it out and never see it again

What to know

• –Zusak's style is heavy on invented imagery and one-line paragraphs, and it can tip into preciousness
• –The young-adult packaging undersells the content