The Book Thief was an intriguing read from start to finish. The minute I opened the cover and saw the words “Death and Chocolate” at the top of the first page, I was curious. The Book Thief is about a girl, Leisel Meminger, growing up in Germany during World War Two. When I say that, you probably are thinking “she was Jewish” or “she stood up to the Nazis, and fought bravely, but was killed.” But Leisel is a regular German girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes, with nothing that directly sets her apart as a Nazi target. But just because she’s not a target of the Nazis doesn’t mean that her life is perfect, or even normal. But still, growing up during World War Two, especially under the watchful eye of Adolf Hitler, was never easy. And Leisel’s life has its own share of troubles aside from the war. In the very beginning of the book, she witnesses the death of her younger brother, Werner Memminger. This is of course a horrific thing for a young girl to watch, but what comes after is just as heartbreaking. Leisel’s mother abandons her, and allows her to be adopted by another German family. Leisel is sent to the Hubbermans, who live on Himmel Street. They are to be her new family, but even from the beginning, she keeps an important secret. She is a book thief. She stole a book right after her brother’s funeral. It is called A Gravedigger’s Handbook. Thus starts Leisel’s book-thieving journey, and with it the journey of a little girl, growing into a young woman, surrounded by Adolf Hitler’s men. Her and Herr Hubberman, who she calls Papa, are very close, and she loves him dearly. Rosa Hubberman, who she calls Mama, often calls her pig or other language, but she loves Liesel, she just has a funny way of showing it. Then, there’s Leisel’s best friend, Rudy. Rudy wants to be an Olympic athlete, like Jesse Owens, but he’ll settle for a book-thievery or two with Leisel. The Book Thief is told from the perspective of Death. But it is as if Death is like a Greek god, a sentient being, not just a thing that happens. And most people think the book will be horribly violent, and Death will gloat over the bodies of the deceased. War and death always go hand in hand, don’t they? But Death is exhausted by the war. He’s angry at the people fighting for causing him so much work. He does not rejoice when someone dies. He is not evil. This book’s unique perspective gives it a whole new feel that I have never found in any other book. It is different and exciting. And Markus Zusak writes in a way that keeps you hooked from the first word to the last. Zusak is also a master at interesting characters. From the main character, Leisel, to Rudy to Rosa Hubberman to Max, Liesel’s other best friend, each character has complex personalities and layers, and the combination of the select characters is part of what makes the book so good. There are some parts of the book that get a bit dark, considering the time period. But overall, the good parts definitely outweighed the bad, and made The Book Thief a unique and memorable read. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
100 Days of Sunlight, Reviewed by Nora, 13
What are five things you take for granted? I could start by assuming that you take your senses for granted. The ability to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste are so normal that they are often not appreciated until they are lost. If you have never lived in darkness, or silence, or in a world without touch, smell, or taste, you might not realize what a gift these abilities are. In 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons, the main character, Tessa Dickonson, learns to appreciate all five of her senses after a fateful car accident. Due to an injury from the accident, Tessa must endure 12 to 14 weeks of blindness before her vision returns—but there’s also a possibility that her vision will never return. Tessa is doomed to 100 days of darkness, if not more. Tessa is a blogger and poet, and after she loses her sight her grandparents place an ad in the newspaper looking for someone to type her poetry and blog posts for her. But none of them expect Weston Ludovico to show up in response to the ad. Weston has his own backstory: three years before 100 Days of Sunlight, he lost most of his legs, and now has to wear prosthetic limbs. He knows what Tessa is going through—the feeling that your whole world has been turned upside down and things will never be the same again, because now you have a problem, a handicap. At first, Tessa hates Weston and his “obnoxious optimism.” She is rude to him and does her best to scare him off. But Weston is just as stubborn as she is, and he insists on showing her the beauty that can be found through hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. The book is split up into five parts, each titled after one of the senses. As the story progresses, Weston shows Tessa how to overcome her fears of the darkness and how to see the positive side of things, while Tessa and Weston become better and better friends. Weston loves to be with Tessa for another reason: she treats him like a normal person. Ever since he got his prosthetic legs, everyone treated him as broken, or fragile. But Tessa can’t see his legs and he doesn’t tell her about them. He’s excited for the chance for someone to treat him like a real person, rather than an invalid. 100 Days of Sunlight is not the type of book I would normally reach for, but I had been listening to a podcast with the author, Abbie Emmons, and I decided to try it out. Abbie Emmons’ writing is captivating and delightful, right from the first page to the last. Tessa’s and Weston’s characters are empathetic and deep, rather than shallow. There are also good secondary characters, such as Tessa’s grandparents, Weston’s three younger brothers who think of Weston as a superhero, and Weston’s friend, Rudy. 100 Days of Sunlight is technically a Young Adult book, and it does have some cursing and elements of romance in it, but overall it was a fast, interesting read that I would highly recommend. 100 Days of Summer by Abbie Emmons. Abbie Emmons, 2019. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Reviewed by Nora, 13
Would you say you are a gifted child? Your gift does not have to be in school, you could be a gifted soccer player, a gifted dancer, or even a gifted Rubik’s Cube solver. Reynie Muldoon is a very gifted child, though on the surface he seems perfectly average. He has average hair, average clothes, and average skin. But his mind is far above average, and he loves to read and solve puzzles. If Reynie had an average family, his life might have been much different than it turned out to be. But Reynie is an orphan, with a private tutor named Miss Perumal. If he was not at the orphanage, Reynie might have been able to attend a prestigious school, earn college credits, and go to a renowned college. But then, if he had grown up in an average family, he never would have become part of the Mysterious Benedict Society. The whole tale begins when an advertisement appears in the paper. It is directed to gifted children looking for special opportunities, and it gives directions for how to take a specific test. If the child passes the test, they will get special opportunities. Miss Perumal encourages Reynie to take the test, and he agrees. After the test, he is the only child who passes in his group, and he is told that he must go on to phase two of the test. The exact same thing happens after phase two. He is the only one in his group that passes, and he must go on to phase three. Just before phase three, he meets the three other children who managed to pass the test: Sticky Washington, Kate Wetheral, and Constance Contraire. Sticky seems to be the brightest boy Reynie has ever met, with a perfect memory of everything he ever read or saw. Kate may not have astounding academic abilities, but she was once in the circus, and she is an old hand at walking on her hands, balancing across a tightrope, and all other types of acrobatics. Then there’s Constance, a grumpy poet who seems as though she will be the weak link in their group—until she turns out to be the most key player. Each of the children are somewhat peculiar in their own way, but Reynie likes all of them, and he feels that—given the chance—the four of them could be quite good friends. It turns out that they will be given that chance, though not in the way that they expected. Because the man behind the tests and the advertisement in the paper, a man named Mr. Benedict, has a very important mission that must be done quickly. And it just so happens that Reynie, Sticky, Constance, and Kate are the only people able to complete the mission. So, the children form their secret agent group, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and the mission begins. They must communicate with Mr. Benedict in the dead of night, using morse code, flashlights, and riddles. But as they get closer and closer to answers, they begin to wonder if they are too late to stop what must come? The Mysterious Benedict Society is gripping from cover to cover. The mystery unfolds slowly, but not so slowly that the book is boring. The characters come to life upon the pages, and their relationships are both well thought out and often hilarious (especially in the case of a certain Miss Contraire). I loved this book from the moment I picked it up, and I have since returned to it many times. It’s one of those books that is wonderful the first time you read it, but even better the second, third, and fourth times because you notice things that you missed the first time. I would recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society to almost anyone. Some people think the beginning is boring, but I would encourage you to read through, because it just gets better. The characters, plot, and theme are so rich and well thought out that it makes the story one to come back to time and time again. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2008. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
