There were many choices on the Michael L. Printz
Award winning and honor list, however The Book Thief seemed like the
best choice for multiple reasons. The
main reason I choose this book instead of the others on the list was because I
felt it was a good book to introduce myself to a new genre of reading. Prior to reading The Book Thief my
reading selections were strictly within the genres of action and sports. After
reading this year, I set a goal to expand my reading experience to all kinds of
books and I felt this book was a good way to introduce myself to other fiction
genres such as mystery and historical fiction.
Aside from being a good introductory book to new genres, I choose The
Book Thief due to the fact that the other choices on the list failed to
even slightly peak my interest. My
attention was drawn to this book by multiple recommendations from friends and
family who enjoyed the book as well. The
dominos on the cover all portrayed the book to be a mystery and a chain of events. This portrayal grabbed my interest very
effectively and made me interested in reading The Book Thief. After reading this book, I connected the
ending of the book to a lesson I had been taught all of my life. (Spoiler Incoming) At the end of the book, Liesel lost literally
everything (even her family and everyone on her street) except her own life and
her journal at the end of the book due to a bombing. “She did not know where she was running, for
Himmel Street no longer existed.
Everything was new and apocalyptic” (Zusak 533). This reinforced the lesson that I had learned
all my life that I should be thankful for the privileges I have in life because
it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye. I was also able to make a connection to the
value that the friendship between Liesel and Rudy holds in the book because I
too think that friendship is extremely valuable.
Since I enjoyed this book so much and it is now
one of my all-time favorites, I would recommend this book to everyone. However, there are a few specific groups of
people that I think would dramatically benefit from reading this book. The first group of people I would recommend
this book to are people like me, people who are looking to read different types
of literature. This is because once you
expand your field of interest to all kinds of books, the possibilities become
endless, thus enhancing your reading experience. Another group of people who I would
recommend this book to people who are looking to read a book that stands out
from the crowd. This book has a way of
story telling that is like no other by telling what happens in the future and
then telling exact details on how the certain event came to be. This type of story telling creates a reading
experience like no other book has ever brought to the table. Lastly, I would strongly recommend this book
to anyone who has to do this summer assignment.
Like many, I was not looking forward to having to read a book over the
summer and write about it, but this book made this summer reading assignment
far more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
Reading this book is an overall good experience even to those who aren’t
exactly “reading enthusiasts”.
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