The Book Thief By: Markus Zusak

No one thinks of a small girl being a hero, however no one tries to think of the holocaust. This very gripping book is about a foster child (Liesel Meminger) who's Father is gone, Mother cannot feed her and a brother who died on the train. Although Liesel ends up finding a good friend (Rudy Steiner) her life couldn't possibly get more complicated! Then it does. When Max Vandenburg shows up, he is a convict Jew. Hans and Rosa Hubermann, the foster parents, beckoned him out of the cold world outside. they set up a small home out of paint cans and drape sheets in the basement. they told him to wash up and he obeyed. This bitter bittersweet story makes you appreciate everything you take for granted. Amazingly realistic. A very interesting style, narrated by death.

THE number devil By : Hans Magnus Hezenberger

Robert dreamed only nightmares. Sliding down an infinite slide
or being eaten by a stinky fish were two of the most common.
So, you can imagine the relief when he dreamed that he was in
a meadow, with grass that reached the sky and an odd, tiny, red
man with horns and a goatee. He says he is "the number devil".
As the nights he dreams of him increase he begins to make friends
with the little devil. Although easy to anger the devil produces
magical wonders, such as a walking stick that will write on anything,
or a calculator as big and fuzzy as a couch (or green and slimy).
But in the end Robert learns to love mathematics and the number
devil gives him the best gift possible.