Eli Dershwitz
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
Historical Fiction
Challenge
Page 108

1. Right now in the book Liesel is just learning how to read. It is a big deal for her because her education is not very great. She goes to school, but there are a lot of kids and few teachers. Also, there are almost no supplies that the kids can use to read. Hans Huberman, the man Liesel now calls father, is slowly teaching her how to read. Even though he is not very educated he is able to teach her the basics. For Liesel's brithday, the family spends almost all of their money to buy her two new books. Along with the two books she has stolen, she has four books that she considers her most valuable possessions. Liesel was put into this foster home because her mom could not take care of her during the holocaust. Both of the new parents love her a lot even though the mom is mean to her sometimes.

2. Right now I feel that this is a very good book. It is also one of the most challenging books that I have ever read. I have to re-read almost every chapter because the book gets very complicated at times. The book is also very well written which makes it more fun to read. I also feel that this book is very different from any other books I have ever read. Instead of a very long and complicated story, this book has a lot of detail in every scene. This makes the book interesting to read because you actually feel like you are in the story with the characters.

3. A theme I have noticed so far in the book is trust. Long ago, when Hans Huberman was in the army, one of his friends sacrificed his life to save his. On his deathbed, he asked Hans to help his family out in one way or another sometime in the future. His family was Jewish and Hans was not. When Hitler rose to power, and Hans lived in Germany, he was not sure he would ever be able to carry out his promise. One night a stranger knocks on his door at 2.a.m. This man says he is the son of the man who saved his life. He has no where else to stay and his family has all been killed because they were Jewish. Hans welcomes him into his home, takes care of him, and feeds him whenever he has enough food for his family to share. I think that this man trusted that promise and walked across Germany to try and find help from Hans and his family.

4. Right now in the book my favorite character is Hans. He welcomes a foster kid into his home because she has no where else to go. She has nightmares every night about seeing her fmaily die. He is always next to her bed comforting her, even in the middle of the night. He treats her like she is part of her fmaily and he loves her like she is a child of his since birth. Also, when a jewish man shows up at his house in the middle of the night, he takes care of him. Knowing the risk is death for helping a jewish person in the 1930's and 40's in Nazi Germany. He does this all for an old person made for this mans father many, many years ago.

5. Right now my least favorite character is Liesel's new mother. I know that she loves her daughter and her husband, but she treats them like trash. Liesel is young and she has still taken up her mom's washing business. Her mom thinks she will get more money if a little girl is picking up the laundry. Also she always said that she should not have married a painter and musician because he can't support his family. Lastly, she is always calling Liesel names. She says she is not a true woman because she is always out playing soccer in the street with all the boys.

6. I predict that this new Jewish man will not make life very different. He will live in the basement and will not cause any problems. He will not complain for food because he says all he deserves are the scraps from the families meals. I think Liesel will continue learning how to read and keep stealing books. Even though a few books isn't a big deal to us, she cherished them with her life. She reads them over and over. She has a best friend who is a boy. His name is Rudy. I think she will go out with him because he has been begging her for a kiss for years. They always play soccer together and he walks her into town. I also think that they will grow up together because they like each other so much. They tell each other almost everything. The only thing he doesn't know, yet, is that there is a Jewish man living in her basement. I think Rudy will find him and not know if he should tell anyone.