"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

I came across this book totally ramdomly - yo kow one of those Amazon recommendations that only cost you $ 4 and you think "why not, if it sucks I only lost $ 4".

This book does not suck - it is one of the best book I have read in a long time. It is supposed to be written for young adult (I am still young, right?), but it does address some pretty heavy stuff. It is the story of Liesel, a 10-year old girl, who stays with foster parents in Nazi Germany in a little town near Munich. She sees the rise of Hitler and experience the war. She gets hooked on books and words. For me, it is always interesting to read about Nazi Germany from the German point of view.

Growing up in the north of France, the war was never talked about, and if it were, there was never good things said about the Germans - I was raised to "hate" them. School teaches you how bad they are without even considering that they were humans too.

As with "Suite Francaise", The Book Thief shows that that not all Germans were Nazi, that many risk their lives for the Jews, and many of them paid the price. It shows that choices were made for them.

I think the best line in the book is: "If words didn't exist, Hitler would have not happened". I think it is important to remember the atrocities of that war, as much as it is important to remember that a lot of Germans died too for standing up and speaking out.