The Book Thief

I really enjoyed The Book Thief, first of all. That type of genre really does appeal to me. I like knowing the history behind a story, but also having it be fiction.
A couple of interesting thoughts happened while I was reading the story. First of all, I got some reactions from both adults and kids regarding the story. When people asked me what I was reading and I told them, they didn’t seem too thrilled. The fact that death narrated the story set people back a bit. Also, when I said that it was about a little girl’s experience in Nazi Germany, I got the look like, “been there, read that.” Even though I said it was a good book, and it was still interesting and different, I still got the feeling that people felt like they were tired of that story, because it had been done before. This was interesting to me, because I feel like these stories have become popular in the school setting, and I wonder if students want something different, because they feel like they already know that story. Although the style of this is much different, students might not give it a chance, because they think they already know what it is about.
I really thought the book was well-written as well. The foreshadowing was just enough, that it made me want to read on to find out exactly what happened. At the time, I felt like it was a little long, but after finishing it, I saw how each piece fits into place. I feel like students would really like the foreshadowing, because it’s like a movie trailer, and they want to read on, to find out exactly how it all plays out. It kept me very interested.
The only other problem I found with this book was it was very heavy. I know I cried, and I wondered how many students would really be able to handle such a novel. It was very serious, and emotional and I really feel that some students (even some 12th graders), would really have trouble with the subject matter. For that reason, I don’t’ feel that it would be good for a whole class to read.
However, some students can handle it, and I think they could really do a lot with this book. One such thing would be to not have them read the epilogue, and write their own. Without the epilogue, the reader can really take Leisel and have her experiences after the bombing go anywhere. I feel that this would be a great way for the students to creatively interact with the text.
Overall, I thought it was a great book, and I really enjoyed the story and style as a whole, when I finished it.