Challenge Corner discussion

Winner of the 2007 BookBrowse Ruby Award.

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery ...

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist – books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Prologue/Part 1: (view spoiler)[Wow that was intense and sad. I like how it's from Death and everything but really sad that Liesel had to bury her brother because he died on the train.. dang.. I'm shook and it's only the beginning. (hide spoiler)]
Part 3: (view spoiler)[OMG I would love that library! I so want one now! I feel so bad for her and Rudy though because they are starving out there. (hide spoiler)]
Part 6: (view spoiler)[Liesel was so sweet when Max was in the coma. Reading to him and bringing him gifts from the outside. Oh lord, this girl is sweet as pie! (hide spoiler)]
Part 9: (view spoiler)[I like the mayor's wife. She just leaves the window open for Liesel so she can climb in and take a book. I don't know why she can't use the door? I must've forgot but still it's sweet of her. Then the whole cookies was cute too. Then the bombing and death again! UGH, I want to rewatch the movie again too. (hide spoiler)]
Epilogue: (view spoiler)[OMG! THAT ENDING WAS SO GOOD! DEATH BEING HAUNTED BY HUMANS! DAMN! Also Liesel is still freaking sweet and I'm happy she got to live her life and greeted death like an old friend. She never forgot anyone she met or died by the bombings. God I love Liesel. (hide spoiler)]

**********RESTARTING ON OCTOBER 12TH! HAPPY READING**********

I've already started reading it. A few days earlier, but I'm not far into it.

Prologue/Part 1
(view spoiler)[ The beginning of the book is sad. The way the girl has to burry his little brother, and then her mother leaves her with strangers.
I like how loving and friendly her new father is. I can see love between them. Not so much between the girl and her new mom, tho.
The writting style is still something I'm getting used to. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Part 3
(view spoiler)[ I would be just as impressed with the library. wow. Nice.
It's sad to read about kids who needs to sleal to get more food so they wouldn't be so hungry all the time... (hide spoiler)]

I just started this evening. The point of view is interesting being death. I like the commentary on colors and the brief observational poems throughout so far. It will be interesting to see if I find that the style gets annoying as it goes.

Part 4
(view spoiler)[ This was my favorite part so far. It was very interesting to read about the past, about the Max and his life. And his gift to the girl was awesome.
The way the family risks taking in jew and hiding him. It's a lot. Not everyone would do that, because of some old promise... (hide spoiler)]

Part 6
(view spoiler)[ I really thought they are going to find Max. The girl was so smart, the way she told her dad that the solder is coming to check their basement. Quick thinking. But honestly. How long do they think they will be able to hide him? (hide spoiler)]

Sorry I’m slow! I actually started this a few days ago, but I have been making pretty slow progress.

10%
(view spoiler)[
I didn’t really like this book at first, although it did get more readable after the beginning. It seems like not much has happened yet, but on the other hand I am not that far into it. The idea that she is a “book thief” and stole the gravedigger’s handbook is pretty strange, though.
(hide spoiler)]

I finished part 3. I like the dailiness of it and the simplicity of children where they are starving but a single piece of candy makes life good. However, the heavy handed foreshadowing is getting annoying. I am liking the brief interludes and they read more clearly in book form versus the ebook I tried to read first.

I have to go to class now but I made it to part 7 and now I finally really want to keep reading. (view spoiler)[ I love the weather reports and the snow man. I keep waiting for things to go wrong as this is Nazi Germany. Death as a narrator allows for perspective that otherwise would not have been allowed such as including Auztwitz and the death camps. I love her foster family and the scene over the hairbrush. I really like Rudy but it ruins the feeling of sadness that I was told he would die and he hasn't yet. (hide spoiler)]

Finished. (view spoiler)[ Well that was a bittersweet ending. I did not expect Hans to make it but I thought that they would not leave her a complete orphan. The relationship with the mayor's wife was sweet but still very passive. It read like a children's version of Nazi Germany as the atrocities up in the end were alluded to without much detail. Death's detached voice also effected this. I still did not like the foreshadowing on Ruby especially, it made it much less sad. (hide spoiler)]

Part 8
(view spoiler)[ I want to know what happened to Max. I hope to find out. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ I still can't believe that the girl and Max survived. The ending was sad but at the same time sweet. (hide spoiler)]

20%
(view spoiler)[Leisel obviously did not have the easiest of childhoods. I can only image the awful things she had to see while growing up during this time period. I was afraid that her foster parents would be bad or abusive, but at least Hans seems to be alright so far. I’m also glad that Leisel met Rudy. (hide spoiler)]

Part 2
(view spoiler)[
The book takes so long to tell everything! It told me so many times that Liesel was about to steal a book, and it's like yeah, I get it! I'm hoping this will pick up later.
(hide spoiler)]

40%
(view spoiler)[I think it is somewhat sweet that the Book Thief loved books and started stealing them before she could even read. Imagine how much better books got once she was able to understand their words! Also, I always find the Mayor’s wife to be strange. She seems kind, but also awkward at the same time. (hide spoiler)]

Part 3
(view spoiler)[
I felt bad when they poured ice on the road to make Otto fall. Maybe it is justifiable since they needed the food, but it felt really mean.

I didn’t realize 13 is actually a lucky number in some countries. At first when they said 13 for luck, I thought it was sarcasm, lol.
(hide spoiler)]

Part 4
(view spoiler)[
That was a pretty cute present Max made for Liesel. I am worried about the family, though, since it seems they have less and less money with all the laundry customers cancelling. Liesel was already stealing food, so I don’t know what they are going to do.
(hide spoiler)]

60%
(view spoiler)[Rudy is such a good friend to Leisel. And his innocent crush on her is so adorable. Max is also an extremely sweet character. I feel so bad for what the Nazi party has done to his life, but I am glad that he can still find some happiness with Leisel. I don’t want anything to happen to him or Rudy :( (hide spoiler)]

80%
(view spoiler)[It is so sad that Max had to leave because Hans’ kindness. He even selflessly chose to completely leave the Hubermann’s despite them agreeing to choose a new hiding spot. Max didn’t want them to continue to put their lives in danger. I really hope nothing bad happens to him. It is also really sad that Hans was sent away to aid in the war. Leisel continues to lose the people who she loves. (hide spoiler)]

100%
(view spoiler)[Zusak has created such a beautifully written and yet extremely sad book. The way the story is written just makes it haunting in a way. This may be a young adult book, but I believe that any age can appreciate its words and content. Overall, this is a heartbreaking, but very good story. (hide spoiler)]

Part 7
(view spoiler)[
It’s sad that Max is gone now. Liesel is really going to miss him! But yeah, I can see why they thought the house might be searched.
(hide spoiler)]

Finished!
(view spoiler)[
I didn't really like how most of the ending was revealed "ahead of time". The odd pacing made it less emotionally impactful for me.
(hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING JANUARY 5TH, 2019

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20%

(view spoiler)[

So far, Liesl has lost her mother and father and is living with foster parents. She is a member of the girls of Hitler. She is learning to read from her foster father. The Olympics in 1938 took place in Germany and Jesse Owens a black man won several gold medals much to Hitler's chagrin. (hide spoiler)]

54%

(view spoiler)[
Now Leisl's family is hiding a Jew from the germans. Leisl and her friends are stealing books and reading them to make it through the bad times. (hide spoiler)]

75%

(view spoiler)[
I was so nervous when the german soldiers were searching Leisl's house. I was so glad they didn't find Max. I also enjoy the description of the bombing and the cities.

(hide spoiler)]

100%

I loved this book! It's a book about a young girl who learns how to read and steals books during WWII. Her family helps hide a Jewish man during the war, and there are several times when I think she's going to get caught but it doesn't happen. Great story.

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RESTARTING FEBRUARY 6TH, 2022


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Part 1
(view spoiler)[This is sad from the beginning! Her brother dying and her mother finding her different family. And Liesel still has nightmare about it. But I really like her new family, especially Liesel's relationship with Hans.
But it has funny moments as well. Jesse Owens incident was amazing! (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 1-20
(view spoiler)[ I honestly did not think that I was going to read 20 chapters in one day but the book is so captivating I didn't even realize I had listened that far! I absolutely adore Hans, Liesel's foster father, and the part where he sold his rolled-up cigarettes to buy her some books was just so adorable and I really was touched on that. I also think it's very interesting how the story is told because it sort of seems like third-person since the mc is Liesel but the narrator of the story is the angel of death and he is telling the story from his point of view and makes comments along the way. I think that that is really cool and haven't seen such a thing in a book before! (hide spoiler)]

Chapters: 21-31
(view spoiler)[ I am so heartbroken for Max, I cannot imagine the amount of guilt he feels even though he shouldn't feel guilty for staying with Hans and Rudy. And how his family isn't with him. I get heartbroken every time the narrator, Death, is talking about a character and then says something along the lines of, "things didn't end up well for him though because he died." And we just get that sudden realization that 'Death' is narrating this story. (hide spoiler)]

Part 3
(view spoiler)[This was really hard and sad times for so many people! I knew that but everytime I read book that takes place during WW2 it's hard.
Otto's fall sounded like it hurt a lot! I get that they were hungry but it's a shame Otto got hurt. (hide spoiler)]

Part 5
(view spoiler)[I already suspected Rudy is going to die but Death just cofirmed it! I just started crying (and because of Liesel as well). I like Rudy so much and I had a little hope for him! And now I'm scared of this moment. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[The ending was really bittersweet. She survived but almost everyone she loved died that night. I had hard time reading last 50 pages or so because I was crying so hard! (hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING NOVEMEBER 15TH, 2023

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Sorry, will be a bit late to this, but should be able to start next week!

I'm also finishing up on another books first, no hurry !

I'm at 12 %

(view spoiler)[ I had totally forgotten how much I love Papa, Hans. He is such a gentle parent to Liesel. I had also forgotten that the book was narrated by death himself - I feel like I'm discovering the story anew and am beyond excited!
I'm super lookinf forward to the mischief Rudy and Liesel will get into together! (hide spoiler)]

Starting now! :)

Page 52: I like the narrative voice! But it's not totally clear why death would know the story... Oh well...

I also really love the narration style!

47 %
(view spoiler)[ I'm so sorry for Liesel... Things were finally looking up and now her family has so much to struggle with. Hans' loyalty is impressive, although I'm not sure I would have had the courage to help someone hide and put my family at risk like that...
I'm also so happy to see Liesel's and Rudy's friendship progress - I find them adorable together (hide spoiler)]

Page 72: just to say I am reading it and liking it, but it feels like a book I might read a bit slowly, sorry!!! :)

Andy wrote: "Page 72: just to say I am reading it and liking it, but it feels like a book I might read a bit slowly, sorry!!! :)"

No issue at all ! I'm reading it for like the 4th time so i already know the story quite well and am able to get through it quicker :)

End of part 1: (view spoiler)[I really like the father and Rudy! :) (hide spoiler)]

62 %

(view spoiler)[ I felt super nervous there, when the kids broke into the mayor's house to steal the book... I fully understand Liesel's reasons but she is still in the wrong. I'm not sure why Rudy went along since the risk was so high.

I also feel incredibly bad for Max at this point: He's surrounded by an adopted family that cares and worries for him but his fate is most definitely sealed... I can't imagine how weak his health is after so many month underground. I'm really glad he didn't pass in this one passage. (hide spoiler)]

End of Part 3: (view spoiler)[I am worried of what the mayor's wife will actually do... (hide spoiler)]

Andy wrote: "End of Part 3: [spoilers removed]"

I love the mayor's wife throughout the book.. She has her flaws but I find her to be a super interesting women at heart