I am on page 256 of The Book Thief . The main character is the book thief, Liesel Meminger. Liesel is 10 years old and lives in Nazi Germany. Life is not easy for Liesel and her foster family. Money is tight and with the war in full swing, happiness is dying out. Liesel soon discovers the joy of reading. Learning to read each night with her papa brings her joy. She soaks up each word she reads. For a time, life is okay for Liesel. Liesel's simple world becomes a lot more complicated when her family takes Max Vandenburg, a jew, into hiding in the basement. Liesel now has to carry a secret that means life or death for her family and Max. Liesel escapes this world of cruelty, hatred, and Hitler, in books. The words become her safe haven away from the world outside her front door. This book takes place in Nazi Germany, which is the perfect setting for this story. Words were feared in Nazi Germany because the could instill ideas of rebellion and resistance. Books were taken away and burned. Anything that could contain ideas against Hitler and the Nazi party was tossed into huge fires. This setting is the perfect place for a young girl to steal and find an escape in books.
I absolutely love this book. It is such a great story. I have always had a particular liking for stories set in World War 2. The Book Thief is a completely different viewpoint than most WWII books. Most books focus on the Jewish side of the story. Very rarely do you find a story about a German. It is a nice turn of events. I predict the novel will end with red. In the beginning, Death describes a scene of red. He talks about Liesel on the ground crying and how her house was turned to a pile of ruble. I feel that a lot of people very close to Liesel are going die. And I predict that I will cry.
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