Yes, I'm late in the game on this one, and everybody has already said everything there is to say about this stunning story of a German foster child surviving in a small town reluctantly subservient to Hitler's wizardry. But allow me to share with you why I too was moved. (I can't remember the last time I gave a book 5 stars.)

It was the immersive experience of the narrator's words shaped into thoughts, jagged and raw. The story is barely a narrative; one streams through a chain of experiences laced with insights as honest and unforgiving as those of a child's.

Once I stepped away from the book, I have to admit at being both inspired by, and envious of, Zusak. How did he manage to be so bold as to write just as he felt, just how he was experiencing this in his head? How did he manage to convince the powers that be to let his story be itself?

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak