Book Review #1 The Book Thief

The Book Thief
I've decided to blog about each book I read. Obviously, this is the review of The Book Thief.
The setting is Nazi Germany, starting in the late 1930s. The main character is Liesel Meminger. In the first scene, well, one of the first scenes, she witnesses her brother die on a crowded train. At his funeral, she steals The Gravedigger's Handbook. At the time she cannot read.

She is put into a foster home, in which she falls in love with her new Mama and Papa, especially her Papa. She slowly starts to fit in, playing soccer, joining Hitler Youth (for girls), learning how to read. She has recurring nightmares, so every night she'll wake up and learn how to read with her Papa and read out of her first stolen book. She gets in fights and becomes great friends with a boy named Rudy Steiner. There are several other minor characters and setting aspects, but that's as specific as you should know before reading.

She then steals a book from a book burning, making that book forbidden. Nevertheless, she and her father read it. Several other developments occur. Then, Papa, Hans Hubermann, accepts the son of a fallen comrade from the Great War to hid in his basement, a Jew. At first Liesel is puzzled, at this point only eleven years old. Max Vandenburg, a Jew, is very gracious of the family. Over time he and Liesel develop a solid friendship and he paints over pages of Mein Kampf so that he can write a book for her.

That's about as far as I will go. Needless to say, it's Nazi Germany, on a poor street named after Heaven. War seeps its way into her life and things go awry. Liesel develops extremely throughout the novel, and ends up writing her own book (The Book Thief).

This is not a book about the Holocaust. This is a book about poor Nazi Germany, and yes, the racism against Jews does have an impact on their life. It is a heartbreaking story of love, friendship, and hardship. Even the mean words that the main characters say to each other are out of love. There isn't much disappointment that can come from the book. It's a beautiful piece of literature, that really is an instant classic. I can imagine talking about it in a classroom.

It's told through the point of view of Death, something else that makes this book one of a kind. It provides unique descriptions of scenes and the fascination of the job of Death. He constantly talks about the colors of days, which provide beautiful scenery.

Liesel and her friends from Himmel(Heaven) Street play soccer when they get the chance. This symbolizes simply enjoying life, and it really is a lesson that you can find joy in the sorriest of situations.

All in all, it's a story of perseverance of a girl up to her teenage years. She provides an example (fictional or not!) of how to live life, to keep on moving no matter how hard things get. She endures so many hardships and the way she keeps on living.

It's great. Read it, I beg of you. Surely your children will be reading it in their classrooms, so you might as well read it now. Be prepared with some tissues for the last fifty pages though.

Enjoy!