TARDIS Tuesday #1

Hello everybody and welcome to the first instalment of TARDIS Tuesdays! Earlier today I uploaded the video  version of this to my channel, feel free to check it out here!
"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement." - GoodReads

The TARDIS travelled through all of time and space to bring me The Book Thief by Markus Zusak! This is potentially the LAST book that I thought I would be talking about on the first ever TARDIS Tuesday, but the TARDIS doesn't lie!

I read The Book Thief in July of  2013, and it started out as being the book that I read on my breaks at work, but soon evolved to be such a big part of my summer life that I couldn't put it down until it made me cry non-stop for approximately half an hour. The book quickly became one of my favorites of all time for oh so many reasons.

THE STORY:
First of all, the plot itself is amazing. The idea of a young girl who is finding her way in Nazi Germany while having her life narrated by death is such a unique and eye-opening concept. There was never a time when I was bored in this book, and while there were literally no surprises, as Death frequently told the reader what would happen later on, there is still a huge shock factor when those things finally come to be.

THE CHARACTERS:
The characters in this are also amazing! Every single one of them is unique and dynamic. If you manage to make your way through this book without loving every single one of the main characters, then you have some strange sort of superpower, and honestly I don't know that I would want it for myself. I found myself to be so attached to all of the characters by the end of the book that everything just tore my heart to pieces. However, if it hadn't been able to do that to me, I don't know that I would have liked the book as much as I did, and I absolutely loved it, if you haven't gathered that already from all of the gushing that is currently flooding this post.

MY THOUGHTS:
I don't know how many times I can say I love this book in a single post before it becomes overwhelming, so this will be the last time, I promise. I can't wait to read more books by Markus Zusak in my future, and I am sure that I will love all of his work just as much as I loved The Book Thief!

RECOMMENDATION:
So what book could I possibly recommend to readers who loved this book as much as I did? Well, I honestly don't have a recommendation that you will ever love as much as this book, but I do have one that just might be emotional enough for it to be considered in the same ball park, and that is Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

"1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most." - GoodReads

This book had the same emotional range as The Book Thief and took me for approximately the same roller coaster ride. I found myself laughing several times in this book, and then bursting into tears at others. The book is so touching and is an amazing coming of age story, and I truly believe that if you loved The Book Thief, that you will enjoy this one as well!

So that's it! TARDIS Tuesday has now had its first instalment! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and I will see you next week with another review and recommendation!