Markus Zusaks, The Book Thief

Hello, welcome to my first book review.

Today I'll be reviewing one of Markus Zusaks most famous bestseller, The Book Thief

If you haven't read the book, go read it because, 

SPOILER ALERT COMING YOUR WAY

So you've all read the book right? Good,

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you: 

   Our first section in the prologue is about death talking-well, about himself. He then goes on to talking about our main character's, who is Liesel Meminger, separation with her brother, courtesy of himself. There is some foreshadowing in the next few chapters of the ending, which, by the way, you should prepare some tissues for, if you are the type who grows attached to a character. Anyway, back to the story-after her brother dies, Liesel continues on her ride to Himmel Street with the book she stole, her first book, titled, The Grave Digger's Handbook. 

   Liesel then meets her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. In my personal opinion, Hans is more of a gentle person who knows how to show the love in a direct way, at least compared to Rosa. I'm NOT saying that Rosa doesn't love Liesel, though, she just kind of channels it in a wrong way. Then of course, there is Liesel's friend, Rudy Steiner, who she meets on the day she first plays soccer. Rudy turns out be a kind boy who sticks up for Liesel, no matter what. Some days later, Hans discovers the book she stole, and he helps the illiterate girl have a hankering for books. As most of Himmel Street was broke during her time there, she often stole book from book burnings, the mayor's library, etc, hence the name of the story. 

  Isla Hermann, the mayor's wife, also becomes a prominent character in the story. As the mayor's wife, Rosa may think she's a snob (You know, like Madge, from THG), but she is actually a admirable character who lets Liesel read books in her library and later lets her steal them. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't mind a extra chapter or two about Isla. 

  Of course, there is also Max Vandenburg, the Jewish fist fighter who hides in the Hubermann's basement. As Hans was indebted to Max's family for his life in World War One, he decided to hide Max in the basement. Max and Liesel bond over nightmares and books in basement. I would like to say that Max stayed, but he didn't. He left Himmel Street for the Hubermann's. \

In some ways, that was the best, because the end was near for Himmel Street.

Remember what I said about bringing tissues? Well, the ending is where you'll need it. When they bombed Himmel Street in the dead of night, everyone died except Max, Alex Steiner, (Rudy's father) and of course, Liesel Meminger.

Thank you for reading. I hope you come for more Book Reviews!

-Sooyoung Jo, Age 12-