The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

The use of an adolescent female German (as opposed to Jewish -- Anne Frank, Hannah, etc) protagonist offered a different perspective on WW2. The narrator's (Death) humour juxtaposed to the internal dialogue of the young girl was deliberately and effectively disturbing. I found the Liesel's attempts to deal with repeated loss overwhelmingly sad. This is a novel which will stay with me for a long time.