The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was so cool and different. The use of figurative language is stunning. He describes things using words I’ve never heard in that context, but once I read it, it makes perfect sense. Brilliant is the word that kept coming to mind. The author said he likes the thought of little gems on every page, and I definitely found that to be true in The Book Thief. Death as a narrator–perfect. It should be noted that Death the Narrator likes to spoil things for his reader occasionally, so if you are hypersensitive about being spoiled, you may be offended.
In everything I’ve ever read and watched about the Holocaust, I never thought about it from the perspective of the good, decent, (in this case, working class) Germans who were not in agreement with Hitler’s beliefs but didn’t dare voice it out of fear for their lives or livelihoods. They too were trapped in this horrific situation without the resources to escape or oppose the Nazi regime. It’s so easy to picture every German of that time period as a monster, but obviously that’s naive. It was a very interesting and revealing perspective.
One of the themes of the book that I loved is the role of chance and fate. How one tiny decision or action can change everything.
One of my favorite things about this book was that it lasted so long. It is beautifully and brilliantly written, so it would be a shame if it was such a page turner that I sped through it in two days. I think I read it for about 2 weeks, maybe a little less. I was definitely interested in what was going on, but I guess the narration of the book always kept you guessing about what you were going to find out next, so you didn’t necessarily know if you read 30 more pages that you’d find out what you were dying to know. The suspense was never the point of this book, and that was a nice change.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Hunger Games is one of those books you know you should ration, but you just can’t help it. Then when you’re done after only two days you’re mad at yourself. I loved this book! I want more! The good news is, I think it’s a series, or is going to be.
What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a really cool book, and kind of different. It starts off in the 80s with this little girl, Kate, who is totally Harriet the Spy. Then it fast forwards 20 years to try to kind of figure out her disappearance. It’s a mystery, but it’s also a study in human nature and character. And it’s actually quite funny during the first part of the book when it’s following Kate, because she is a very self-assured and determined detective. She’s precocious but never obnoxious, and she’s a very enjoyable character to follow.
I really liked this book. I guess the only reason I didn’t give it five stars is that the explanation to the mystery didn’t totally click for me. It wasn’t like I thought it was dumb or a cop-out, I just felt that I needed a little more. Of what, I don’t know, but something.
I will definitely look for future books from this author.