Words Have the Power to Change Us--The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. 
I see their ugly and their beauty and I wonder how the same can be both."
--Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 552 pages

Publication Date: March 14th, 2006

Source: Bought
Goodreads

Goodreads Description

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

My Thoughts

I just...I can't. There is no review that can do this book justice. There are no words that I can find to express my deep rooted love for this book, this story, and most importantly, the words. Too many feels to be had. So here are my thoughts while reading and my plethora of favorite quotes...try not to cry...I'll also try not to list the whole book.

Favorite Quotes

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” 

“The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you.” 

“It kills me sometimes, how people die.” 

“He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.” 

“He must have loved her so incredibly hard.” 

“A small but noteworthy note. I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me.” 

"The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest."

"I need a win, Liesel."

“His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do - the best ones. The ones who rise up and say "I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come." Those souls are always light because more of them have been put out. More of them have already found their way to other places.” 

“How about a kiss, Saumensch?"

“She said it out loud, the words distributed into a room that was full of cold air and books. Books everywhere! Each wall was armed with overcrowded yet immaculate shelving. It was barely possible to see paintwork. There were all different styles and sizes of lettering on the spines of the black, the red, the gray, the every-colored books. It was one of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen.
With wonder, she smiled.
That such a room existed!” 

"How fitting that she was discovering the power of words."

“It’s a small story really, about, among other things:

* A girl
* Some words
* An accordionist
* Some fanatical Germans
* A Jewish fist fighter
* And quite a lot of thievery” 

"Yes, often, I am reminded of her, and in one of my vast array of pockets, I have kept her story to retell it. It is one of the small legion I carry, each one extraordinary in its own right. Each one an attempt--an immense leap of an attempt--to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.
Here it is. One of a handful.
The Book Thief.
If you feel like it, come with me. I'll tell you a story.
I'll show you something."

“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.

None of those things, however, came out of my mouth.

All I was able to do was turn to Liesel Meminger and tell her the only truth I truly know. I said it to the book thief and I say it now to you.

I am haunted by humans.”