Calvin McDaniel

I don't normally rate a book 5 stars, but this book did it all for me. It took me away from stressors, and into the past. I was able to see so much character from the story, so much that it was a spectrum. Ranging from wholesome, good people, to those who are in the middle (neutral) and then there are those that aren't as bad but are bad. It never felt like it was boring to read, even tho it is a historical novel and had a truly terrible setting but it is a part of human history. Yes, it is in ww2, and so much tragedy happens, but there are moments where you can feel the human spirit stay strong and have hope at the end of the day. I couldn't help but relate to the main character Liesel, I loved reading to the point of *cough*cough* taking books that were higher than my reading level in the library as a kid. They probably knew, but didn't want to stop someone from reading a book because nowadays, kids aren't as avid readers as they were. Point is, this is a story of the human experience and what can drive a person that comes from the heart and from a curiosity of the mind to learn about the world and to create something even when it is frowned upon by those around you. This story made me cry at the end, even though I had seen the movie before reading it because it felt even more personal in the book than in the movie. I had gotten attached to them and for a moment, I forgot how it all ended. I highly recommend this book if you want to read about the human experience and to see how complicated it was for those in those times, without the lens of us seeing it through our timeframe and knowing what happens.

I really got into this book within the first 3 pages and that says a lot about this book. Becuase the world building is so subtle and downright in your face some times, it's just a good balance between characters and morals and gahh I love it. Am I 20 years old and reading a YA novel, yes, but this book is like a perfect balance between young adult and adult writing becuase I generally can't find anything that feels catering to a younger audience besides there are freaking amazing dragons in the book and magic but it feels grown up. I had wanted to read the series when I was younger but I didn't, now that I am, i have no regrets buying this book

Honestly, it took me 90 some pages to get into the book. If I hadn't been required to continue reading this book for my class, I would have dropped this book so fast it would not have been funny. Sure, the stuff the author talks about is interesting and important topics for today's world, but it delivered these topics poorly. By page 130, I still didnt know what exactly caused the world to end, and go into an apocalypse. All I know is that it has something to do with 1 single person. But for 130 pages, that's all I am given. Some of the emotional tensions in the book were not described enough and downplayed by the narrator. Personally, the protagonist is so unreliable that I dont even believe if he even knows what happened and to make matters worse, the protagonist has almost little to no redeeming qualities. I actually found myself saying "at least he isn't a sadistic person and not as sexist as the other known male characters". I thought this book had promise and was interesting, but it failed to deliver. I honestly think this book is the only book I have ever rated one star.

Had really good themes, great characters that weren't stale or not used.