The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A book narrated by death, in Germany, during World War Two. An orphaned child, the dangers of not belonging to the Party, hiding a Jew in your basement. Starvation, terror and war. Sounds pretty grim, right? Wrong. This is a whimsical and intimate story, and if you’re like me, you’ll read 350 pages in a single sitting.
The book takes place entirely during the war. It doesn’t see out the end of the war, so there’s no notion of happily ever after (although there is a satisfying epilogue). The characters’ reality is finding enough food, making sure homework is done, and building air raid shelters only when they have to.
