By Jill Ciampa

Published in March of 2006, Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief has been stealing hearts since the first copy was published. Now, seven years later, readers came to see their novel brought to life when The Book Thief was released into theaters on November 8, 2013.

Brian Percival, the director of Downton Abbey, was the director of The Book Thief. The movie made $9,028,800 in the box office.

Sophie Nélisse played Liesel Meminger in the film. Nélisse has also been in Monsieur Lazha, which won her a few awards and nominations. Other than the two films, Nélisse is fairly new to acting.

Geoffrey Rush, who plays Hans Hubermann, has been in numerous films. He is well known for playing Captain Barbosa in all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He has also won numerous awards for movies such as Shine, The King’s Speech and Quills.

Emily Watson plays Rosa Hubermann. She is well known for her roles in Breaking the Waves, Hilary and Jackie, Gosford Park and Appropriate Adult.

Brand new to acting, Ben Schnetzer is Max Vandenburg in The Book Thief. He is an American actor that has never landed another role. The Book Thief could have been the movie to make or break his career. Critic Dennis Harvey wrote, “Hitherto little-noticed New Yorker Schnetzer is a real find, making Max a thoroughly ingratiating figure.” This leads to believe that Schnetzer could have a grand career in acting.

Writers such as John Green have written reviews on the novel. Green names it as “…the kind of book that can be life-changing, because without ever denying the essential amorality and randomness of the natural order, The Book Thief offers us a believable, hard-won hope”.

Although the book was highly acknowledged, the movie left some readers with lost hope. Some reviews, such as those at RottenTomatoes.com, put the public opinion at a 48% However, of the almost 2,000 votes on IMDb.com the film had a 7.3 out of 10 rating.

Even still, Roger Ebert states “the film conceivably could play well to an audience of 12-year-olds and their grandparents.”