The story of five boys (and several animals) within a small home, learning to cope with the death of their mother, the absence of their father and life in general. Honestly, I should be surprised that Zusak manages to write masterpiece after masterpiece. I picked this up after having read his previous two books, The Book Thief and I Am The Messenger and falling in love with his writing style. With this one, he yet again manages to immerse you in a different world, an entirely different setting with new characters, but with the same intense emotions. I adored the brothers, especially the youngest and his obsession with animals, it reminded me very much of my younger self. Zusak does an incredible job bringing you back to your youth, highlighting the heartbreak that can occur. While I didn’t cry as much with this book as I did with The Book Thief (where I was practically a living ball of snot and tears), this book still elicited many emotions, and I did find myself crying in the end. I also adored his references to The Odyssey and The Iliad, some of my favorite books. Overall, exactly what I was expecting from a writer such as Zusak, incredible.