Z is for Zusak, and P is for Peck

For goal 22 I have recently read two more YA novels.

The first is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  What can I say?  This book was amazing.  It tells the story of Liesel, who has come to live with  a foster family, the Hubermanns in the early days of Nazi Germany.  The story is told from the point of view of Death, who views the war and the persecution of Jews from a very interesting perspective.  Liesel copes with the difficulties of her life and the war through developing a love of words and reading.  I have not cried reading a book in years, but I was sobbing during this one.  I really recommend the audio book version, which I thought was extremely well done.

The second book I recently finished is The River Between Us by Richard Peck.  This is a fairly short novel about Tilly Pruitt, who lives on the Mississippi River with her family in a town that borders the Union and Confederate territories.  Her life is changed forever when two mysterious women from the south show up on a steamboat, one glamorous and ladylike, and the other darker, perhaps a slave.  Peck's novel shows the beginnings of the Civil War from a perspective that I have never seen before.  It was interesting from a historical point of view, as well as a well-told story about family, love and friendship.