The Reading Bug

The recent death of Miep Gies - the Dutch woman who helped to hide Anne Frank's family from the Nazis - has resulted in a great deal of press about Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. If you or your teen-aged child has read Anne Frank, then The Book Thief is a must read novel. Zusak tells the story of Liesel, a 13-year old living in Molching, Germany, the books she stole, the foster parents she loved, and the Jew they hid in their basement. This book, narrated by Death, tells a story of small, heroic acts of kindness and love in the midst of one of the darkest and most horrific periods of recent history. As Death notes at the end of his story, "I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race—that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

I mentioned to a friend that I don't believe this book should be categorized as a Young Adult novel. Although it is completely appropriate for YA readers, the classification might keep grown-ups (like me) from discovering this very special book. I highly recommend this NY Times bestseller for young adults and for grown-ups!