The Book Theif by Markus Zusak

Sad, funny, wonderful tale of a very ordinary neighborhood in Germany in the time leading up to and through WWII.  Except the narrator of the story is Death himself, who takes a larger perspective on the whole affair, and has a macabre sense of humor.  The story focus is on a young girl, Liesel, who becomes the book thief on an impulse by stealing her first book, which was dropped at her brother's burial ceremony.  She is left with a foster family, the Hubermans, whose two children have grown and moved out.  Zusak creates very vivid pictures of daily life in a small town in Germany, intertwining the growing threat from Nazi Germany and the war with the personal stories peppered with the town's many memorable characters.  This is a very unique story, masterfully told, and long remembered. 550 pages.