The Book Thief by Mark Zusak takes place in Nazi Germany during World War II. Readers follow the life of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, as she tries to understand the world around her after she is forced to become the foster child of an older German couple. She soon discovers that the most powerful things in the world are words. She learns how destructive they can be when used as tools for manipulations by those in power, and she learns how incredibly healing they can be when used to mend.

The most memorable part of the book is its unlikely narrator who we are introduced to just as the book starts. He watches over the titular Book Thief and he tells us her story just as she’s living it while periodically making little comments about the scenes, and to us, the readers. This narrator is Death and he is simply watching. He never steps in and disrupts a scene. He constantly reminds us throughout the book that he doesn’t know why he’s fascinated with the story. He’s simply mesmerized by how beautiful and tragic human lives can be, and the audience, too, begins to understand his fascination.

Having Death as the narrator provides an interesting take on a familiar story. Usually death is seen as evil or surrounded by sadness. Death is more likely to appear at the end of someone’s life, and it was intriguing to see him stick around and be invested in the life of a character. His voice proves to be haunting yet tender as he watches over Liesel with eyes of someone who must be accustomed to the tragedy that was surrounding her story.

The book is a young adult novel and has won multiple literary awards since its release in 2005, even topping The New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks. It has also recently been made into a movie, which will hit theaters Nov. 15. The movie stars newcomer Sophie Nélisse as Liesel along with Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush as her foster parents. Advance reviews of the movie say that the script was loyal to the book. What’s going to be most interesting, however, is how the movie will incorporate its narrator on the screen.

With the new trend of young adult novels hitting theaters, there has been a rise in popularity for the books themselves. Hopefully this movie will be a success and propel other enthralling novels to similar recognition.