A mysterious narrator gives an account of a young girl who has an unusual vice: she steals books. Death comes for the girl’s brother as she and her mother wait for a train to take them to a foster home where the children will be safe. It is he, the collector of souls, who is the only witness to the girl’s first thievery, and he begins to follow her story.
Life in Liesel’s new home is a difficult adjustment, plagued with nightmares, but through them, she and her foster father form a bond through reading the book Liesel has stolen: a grave-digger’s manual. As Liesel grows, over and over written words touch her life: abook stolen from the embers of a Nazi bonfire, from the mayor’s library, written to her by a man in hiding.
Death follows her story as a foreigner in her world, relaying the sequences of events with raw imagery and striking language, often creating the feel of a black-and-white picture with one color highlighted through it. Liesel’s journey is both joyful and heart-rending, harsh and beautiful. This is the most unusual World War II story I’ve ever read.
Watch the trailer that won the 2006 Teen Book Video Award below…
Language Content
Mild to moderate.
Sexual Content
Very mild.
Spiritual Content
The story is told from the viewpoint of a spirit-being who collects the souls of the dead.
Violence
Some war violence – not hugely graphic or explicit.
Drug Content
none
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Eldest
Eragon
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