2nd Book for Book Talk- The Book Thief (SPOILERS!

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The second book I read this quarter was The Book Thief, which was written by Markus
Zusak. This book was written in first and third person point of view and has an unusual narratorDeath. It takes place in a small German town, in the 1930s, around the time of World War II. The
main protagonist is a young girl, Liesel Meminger, who just lost her little brother in the
beginning of the book, which shows how she didnt have it easy right from the start. To make
matters worse, Liesel is taken to an adoption agency. There, she greets an elderly couple: Rosa
and Hans, who become her foster parents. Liesel loves Hans right from the start because he is
very welcoming and nice; however, she has mixed feelings about Rosa, who seems miserable
and unhappy.
Luckily, Liesel makes a few new friends along the way. After Liesel settles in with her
foster parents, she becomes friends with her neighbor, Rudy, whos perceived as a loyal, selfless,
young boy. She meets Rudy in school, where she is an outsider because she doesnt know how to
read and write. The class criticizes her except Rudy, who understands how tough her life is. To
overcome her challenge in reading and writing, Hans teaches Liesel how to read and write. Hans
notices that she has a book about grave digging, which Liesel found earlier in the book at her
brothers funeral. Hans and Liesel read this book together and her passion for reading grows
tremendously. She even stole books from the mayors house; however she becomes friends with
the mayors wife, who has a strong passion for reading too.
Liesel also makes another friend- Max. Max is a young Jewish man, who ends up at the
Liesels doorstep because he was fleeing from Nazi authorities. Hans promises to protect and
hide Max, even though its illegal. Hans served in World War I and Maxs father saved his life, so

he thought it would be best to return the favor. Liesel bonds with Max as she takes care of him;
however its difficult for her to see him suffering. Eventually, Max decides that he needs to leave
because there are bombings everywhere and more soldiers are inspecting households.
Things get much worse after Max leaves and the war is more intense. Rosa and Liesel are
heartbroken when Hans is drafted to the Nazi army. After he is sent away, Liesel finds out there
was an explosion in an army truck that Hans was in, believing that he died. Luckily, Hans makes
it out alive and comes home all beat up, surprising his family. Things seem to be great and back
to normal.
Unfortunately, the book ended on a sad note, for the most part. Planes drop bombs over
the town and the sirens go off when its too late. Most people were asleep, except Liesel, who
was sitting in the basement writing about her life and experiences. Liesel was one of the only
survivors of this bombing and she is depressed when she finds out what has happened. All of her
family and friends that she became close to, over the course of a few years, have died. The only
friend of hers that lived was Max and the two of them were reunited a couple years later, living
happy lives. I would give this book an eight out of ten and would recommend it to anyone who is
up for a heartwarming, but depressing story.