Young adult · Historical
The Book Thief
Bestseller: about 16 million copies (estimate)Narrated by Death, this novel follows Liesel, a girl placed with foster parents in Nazi Germany, who steals books and learns to read as her family hides a Jewish man in the basement.
- First published
- 2005
- Pace
- medium
- Length
- long
- Format
- Standalone
Read this if you want a moving, unusual Second World War story built around the love of books.
Skip this if you can't take a narrator who foreshadows deaths, or a sad ending.
The feel
Content warnings
Where to get it
| Store | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Borrow free | ||
| Libby / OverDrive | Free with a library card | Borrow free with Libby from Libby / OverDrive |
| Print, new | ||
| Bookshop.org | Check price | Buy new from Bookshop.org |
| Amazon | Check price | Buy new from Amazon |
| Barnes & Noble | Check price | Buy new from Barnes & Noble |
| Print, used | ||
| AbeBooks | Check price | Buy used from AbeBooks |
| ThriftBooks | Check price | Buy used from ThriftBooks |
| Ebook | ||
| Kobo | Check price | Buy ebook from Kobo |
| Google Play Books | Check price | Buy ebook from Google Play Books |
| Audiobook | ||
| Libro.fm | Check price | Buy audiobook from Libro.fm |
| Audible | Check price | Buy audiobook from Audible |
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All the Light We Cannot See
Another war story about a child's life in occupied Europe, written in short, lyrical chapters.
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
A shorter, simpler story of children in wartime Germany, with a harsher ending.
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The Nightingale
Another emotional Second World War novel, centred on sisters in France.
Young adult
