Customer Reviews
Very Powerful, Maybe a Little Pretentious - By: Maplo, 06 Aug 2008 
First & foremost, it is a very powerful story & onein which you really care about the characters, especially the protagonist Liesel. For most of the last 300 pages or so, it is also a real page-turner. I also enjoyed many of the "quirky" bits - e.g. narration by death etc, & his outlandish outlook on the world. At times, however, I found certain turns of phrase quite obscure & stilted and, frankly, some passages felt too much like hard work. Almost as if it was being quirky for the sake of it, & a little pretentious. That's why I have given the book only 4 stars. Maybe my rating is a bit mean, I'd have to read the book again to know for sure.
Whelp, Read this if you have time and a heart. - By: Evangelevence, 04 Aug 2008 
A college friend of mine raved about this book, saying how good death wasin it...
I saw it surprisinglyin the kids section of the shop i bought it from & read it.
It does have its moments that make you want to smile... but also there are times that you as a reader may want to cry or throw the book awayin frustration...
The narrator occasionally adds sarcastic or witty insight to things which add the humerous slant to this book, but there are times when you feel you either have to read on.. & wish you didnt becase you dont want to know.. but you need to know what happens next.
This book isin a few words bitter sweet.
I would say this is more of an adults book and... well, although it is revolving around a little girl, there are themes there & other characters that are older & you need the insight & maturity of ages to understand the true extent of the happenings.
The book revolves around one area & a small one of the Holocaust, it isnt as dramatic as Anne Frank, (well it wouldnt be since the lead isnt a Jewish girl, [within reason]) but there are still times where you want to pull the characters out of the situations they arein to hug them & protect them.
I kept reading & was glad i did, I am more of a Darren Shan & Eoin Colfer reader, but there was something about this book that was beyond the fantasy books i read, or even some of the others i have.
There isnt much else i can say beside read the book, even if you borrow it from a library, this is for many people i know, worth the read.
A page turner - By: Bookworm, 30 Jul 2008 What a fantastic holiday read! One extremely practical advantage was that the chapters are quite short (very handy when your kids are having a short nap!). Although this story is far-removed from my life, the author made me believe I was part of that story . I felt I personally knew the main characters & could empathize with one characterin particular. I think that depending on your own life experience and/or personality, you will find at least one character you will identify with. It's a story that evokes strong emotions.
Different - By: Polly, 29 Jul 2008 From the first page, I was captivated - caught upin the flow & swept along. The story is simple & well told (bearingin mind that it was written for children). Having Death as the narrator isn't a new concept, but the thought-provoking images created from time to time within the narrative were intriguing by their peculiarity. Although some reviewers have described the style as pretentious, I didn't find it so: more an oddity of style that stopped short of pretention, & entirely appropriate to the tale being told.
I stayed up way too late on several nights with this book, & only reluctantly put it down.
Love it! - By: Julie Barnard, 29 Jul 2008 What an amazing read! I found the first 30-40 pages a bit weird, since the book is narrated by death, but once I got my head around that I really enjoyed it.
The author had researched the underlying subject matter very well & portrayed a realistic (what I imagine anyway) impression of WWII.
I couldn't put it down, it was one of those reads where you find yourself rejecting mediocre social invitationsin order to spend some quality time with the book!
A highly recommended read!
