I havent read the book, however I was very moved by the movie! Seldom have I been captivated by a story about war before but this is different. Liesle, hans and rudy specifically are unbelievably real. I think its an undertrates movie

The movie has good scenery and seem to be historically correct, but it fails in the acting. The main character seems plain and doesn't evolve at all during the movie (I know to cast a child is hard, but they failed hard on that). The characters doesn't get the proper deepness they need to the public to feel closer to them (except maybe Rosa and perhaps Rudy), they doesn't walk comfortably in their world, their actions doesn't seem natural and justificated. Maybe it was just me, but the accent and the mix of languages doesn't quite fit in, especially considering that they were on Germany and they were on war against English people!, they should just make everyone speak english as if it were a translation (though this is my personal preference)

Before the second world war, after meeting her adoptive family and learning how to read and write, a girl falls in love with books which happen to become banned by the Nazi. While struggling in her new life, poverty being very common, she makes new and unexpected friends, one of them being a Jew hidden in her family's basement, and starts "borrowing" books from a wealthy family which had a full library of them.The girl's life is presented in a dramatic manner with her strong emotions, her adventures, her losses and gains. It's tense in a lot of situations due to its harsh conditions, generated mainly by the upcoming war, but it manages to maintain suspense until the end. It's hard to explain in a few words what happens but I can guarantee that it's worth your time especially if you enjoy such movies with kids, which by the way, play some great roles!

I think the film stands, hence my rating.I'm more of a film watcher than a novel reader, but in my experience, for book adaptations, it is exceptional to find a film that matches the original novel, and this isn't one of those exceptions.If you haven't read the book or seen the film, then my advice would be to see the film first, then read the book, but do read the book. That way you have every chance of enjoying both.