Books

'The Book Thief' Author Is Releasing His First Book In 13 Years & It Sounds Amazing

by Sadie Trombetta
Brendon Thorne/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Since the 2005 publication of The Book Thief, fans have been waiting on bated breath for a new novel from its award-winning, internationally bestselling author. After 13 long years, that wait is finally over, because Markus Zusak is back a new young adult novel: Bridge of Clay is being published by Random House, and will hit shelves this October.

Bridge of Clay is the sweeping story of the Dunbar brothers, five young boys forced to raise themselves following the death of their mother and the disappearance of their father. Just as they are learning to confront the realities of the adult world they were thrusted into in their father's absence, he returns to ask his sons for help constructing a bridge into the wilderness. Clay is the only one of his brothers willing to take up the project, but just how far is the young man willing to go to build the perfect bridge for his family and himself?

Bridge of Clay is Zusak's first book since the publication of his internationally bestselling and award-winning young adult novel,The Book Thief. Adapted into the 2013 film starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, The Book Thief is heralded as a modern classic. It helped turn Zusak into a household name in the United States, but it isn't his only notable work. Zusak's 2002 title I Am the Messenger was named the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Award, as well as 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and recipient of five starred reviews. With a track record like that, it can only be assumed that Bridge of Clay has a bright future ahead, too.

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, $16.34, Amazon

According to an interview with the New York Times, Zusak has been working on Bridge of Clay for over over 10 years, ever since he completed The Book Thief, but the idea for the story has been with the author since he was 19. "“I could write this book until I die and it still won’t be the way I want it," Zusak told the New York Times. "But I think now it’s got the right heart and I think once you’ve got that then you’ve got an obligation to yourself to see it through and you hope people will find that in it.”

Bridge of Clay is slated to hit shelves this Oct. 9 from Knopf for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House.