Every once in a while a book comes along that does something so completely different with it's narrative style that it makes me go, "Oh my god, I wish I could write like that." 
 Last summer it was Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which you might think I'm insane for mentioning in the company of "The Book Thief"; but I could go on forever about Brooks' storytelling and how he shaped that book. But that's clearly an aside. The point is that Zusak's narrative grabbed me in the same way. It was different, it was invigorating, it was, at times, heartbreaking. 
 The front of my copy of this book has a New York Times quotation about how this book is "life changing". And I remember thinking that was a bit much when I first saw it. Sure, I had heard all the good things being said about it, but I always try to take that with a healthy dose of skepticism. Lest I be disappointed. 
 But, oh god, disappointed I was not. And the Times is completely justified in calling this book life changing, because it is. It makes me want to be a better writer, a better reader, a better human being. It makes me feel like I lived at Liesel's side, like a shadow. Like I experienced her life. I laughed with her. I cried (read: SOBBED) with her. And every second still weighs on my mind. 
 This is not light reading, be warned, but it is so worth it. I'm still reeling. And I'm such a mess right now.