Eli Dershwitz
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
Historical Fiction
Challenge
Page 261

1. Right now in the book Liesel and Rudy are stealing from local farms with the new group of stealers. After the old leader moved, a rich kid whose name is Viktor. He doesn't need the food because he is so rich, he just enjoys the sensation of stealing. After walking ten miles and going from farm to farm, Rudy and Liesel get one apple from the leader. They get mad and Rudy gets beat up. They decide to steal by themselves from then on. Rudy is also having a lot of trouble in his Hitler Youth Program. His instructor is really mean and Rudy has to take the blame for his friend that can not hear. Lastly, Liesel gets back at the mayor's wife by stealing the book from her house. She didn't want the book when it was given to her, only if she could steal it.

2. So far in this book I feel that it is really good. It is very different than any other book I have read. Most books just have a lot of action throughout the book that never stops. In this book, the action is very spread out. In between these action scenes, there is more detail than I have ever seen in any other book. That is the reason that I really like this book. From the descriptions, you can feel like you are almost in the book. You can really relate to the characters because you know exactly how they are feeling all the time. You can actually feel like you know the characters so well that you could change places with them and be fine.

3. A theme I have noticed so far in this book is friendship. Rudy and Liesel both have very hard lives. They both are living with families that don't have to much money. They know they have to stick together because they have so many things in common. Both of their families love them, but in Nazi Germany it is very hard to make a decent living. Rudy and Liesel do everything together. They play soccer in the street together, they even steal from farms together. When Rudy heard what the mayor's wife did, he decided to help her. He kept lookout while she snuck in through the window and got her revenge on the mayor's wife for firing her mom.

4. Right now my favorite character in the book is Liesel. She does everything she can to help the people around her. She helped her mom by doing her job so she could get her family some extra money. She helps out Rudy whenever he needs anything. She is helping the Jewish man in her basement by going down and talking to him. He probably gets very lonely so she is helping him out a lot. She also knows how to take care of her self. She doesn't want her dad helping her through her nightmares anymore. She saw her brother die and her mom left her and she has worked past that. She doesn't just sit around and mope, she is making the best she can of her life. I think that what she is doing is great and that's why she is my favorite character.

5. Right now my least favorite character is Viktor. He is a rich German who lives in a rich part of Munich. He took a Jewish families house and is living there. He has enough money for fruit, cigarettes, and nice clothes. Yet, he decides to steal because he thinks it is fun. He doesn't actually need the stuff he steals unlike the people he steals with. He is also very greedy. He has just joined their stealing group and has already made himself the leader. He doesn't share what most of the group makes. He keeps it mostly for himself because it amuses him to see other people suffer. I think that is sick and that is why he is my least favorite character.

6. I predict that Rudy and Liesel are going to get caught for stealing for the mayor. They also might get caught for running around with their stealing group. Rudy has been begging her for a kiss for years. I think somewhere later on he will get that kiss. To earn it though, I think he will have to do something very nice for her. Maybe he will steal her a few books for her birthday. I also think that since they are growing up they will become a little more than friends. Times are also getting harder for their families as the holocaust progresses. I think they will have to find real job and they might not be able to see each other very much.