The Book Thief

I have currently started reading this fantastic novel about a young German girl named Liesel Meminger is ripped away from everything she knows of a family. Her brother dies and her mother can no longer take care of her. She is sent to a foster home with this two strangers names Hans and Rosa Hubermann, its 1939, and World War II is on the rise. Hilter has gained full power over the German people. You wont go a day in Germany with out hearing the words "heil Hitler" from all the Nazi citizens. Liesel finds her first book in the snow soon after she finds out her brother is dead. I am at the part in the book where she steals a book left over from the fire. All Nazi's burned every Jewish thing in this fire."They began to leave the scene of the crime and the book was well and turly burning her now. The Shoulder Shrug had applied itself to her rib cage," (Zusak 122). Liesal has just stole the book from the fire and it was still extremely hot. It shows the risks she is willing to take to steal books and how she feeds off of this knowlege.

Hans and Liesel have a special kind of relationship, Hans finds out that Liesel stole the book from the fire. "Listen Liesel.'. Papa placed his arm around her and walked her on. This is our secret, this book. We'll read it at night or in the basement, just like the others-but you have to promise me something.' 'Anything, Papa.' The night was smooth and still. Everything listened. 'If I ever ask you to keep a secret for me, you will do it.' 'I promise.'" (Zusak 127). The trust and comfort in their relationship is far more dynamic than any other characters relationships in the book. Hans trusts Liesel to keep a secret if he asks her to and he promises to keep hers. He has been taching Liesel how to read and they read in the basement every night and she learns new words to catch up withthe rest of the people in her class. She has less of an education than the rest of the kids because she never went to school before she came to her foster family. Hans helped her to catch up and be in the correct grade level.

I am very excited to be reading this book and I look forward to seeing the movie. I predict that the secret her papa (Hans) will ask her to keep is the Jewish man they decide to hide in their basement. The family is not part of the Nazi party and Hans dislikes Hitler. I predict that they will keep the Jewish man safe but will go through a lot of stuggles and Liesel will find comfort in books and her learnings. I know that times are rough since this is during the war and Hilter is killing Jews and other types of opposing people to build a "Pure Germamn Society". I love to see Liesels family defy the rules of the society and keep the man safe. This book reminds me of the Anne Frank Diary i read a while back. They are both set at the same time fram and include Hitlers mass genocide of Jews.