10th Grade Summer Reading: Entry #4

There were many choices on the Michael L. Printz Award winning and honor list, however The Book Thief seemed like the best choice for multiple reasons.  The main reason I choose this book instead of the others on the list was because I felt it was a good book to introduce myself to a new genre of reading.  Prior to reading The Book Thief my reading selections were strictly within the genres of action and sports. After reading this year, I set a goal to expand my reading experience to all kinds of books and I felt this book was a good way to introduce myself to other fiction genres such as mystery and historical fiction.  Aside from being a good introductory book to new genres, I choose The Book Thief due to the fact that the other choices on the list failed to even slightly peak my interest.  My attention was drawn to this book by multiple recommendations from friends and family who enjoyed the book as well.  The dominos on the cover all portrayed the book to be a mystery and a chain of events.  This portrayal grabbed my interest very effectively and made me interested in reading The Book Thief.  After reading this book, I connected the ending of the book to a lesson I had been taught all of my life.  (Spoiler Incoming)  At the end of the book, Liesel lost literally everything (even her family and everyone on her street) except her own life and her journal at the end of the book due to a bombing.  “She did not know where she was running, for Himmel Street no longer existed.  Everything was new and apocalyptic” (Zusak 533).   This reinforced the lesson that I had learned all my life that I should be thankful for the privileges I have in life because it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye.  I was also able to make a connection to the value that the friendship between Liesel and Rudy holds in the book because I too think that friendship is extremely valuable.  

Since I enjoyed this book so much and it is now one of my all-time favorites, I would recommend this book to everyone.  However, there are a few specific groups of people that I think would dramatically benefit from reading this book.  The first group of people I would recommend this book to are people like me, people who are looking to read different types of literature.  This is because once you expand your field of interest to all kinds of books, the possibilities become endless, thus enhancing your reading experience.   Another group of people who I would recommend this book to people who are looking to read a book that stands out from the crowd.  This book has a way of story telling that is like no other by telling what happens in the future and then telling exact details on how the certain event came to be.  This type of story telling creates a reading experience like no other book has ever brought to the table.  Lastly, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has to do this summer assignment.  Like many, I was not looking forward to having to read a book over the summer and write about it, but this book made this summer reading assignment far more enjoyable than I thought it would be.  Reading this book is an overall good experience even to those who aren’t exactly “reading enthusiasts”.

Book Thief Movie Trailer

10th Grade Summer Reading: Entry #3

            “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

I saw the book thief three times”  (Zusak 5).

           

I choose this excerpt at the end of the prologue because it inspires the reader to want to read further to find out how the things mentioned in the list come together to make a story, thus creating a major hooking effect.  The author, Markus Zusak, put this excerpt in the prologue to hook readers of the story early on before they have a chance to even think about abandoning it.  A list of major elements of the story is given to vaguely outline the story while still leaving a lot of things for the reader to think about and predict.  Also, most of the items on this list can be extremely general and/or seem completely unrelated to each other which makes the reader wonder how exactly the story will be told.  The story itself is also described as a “short story” by the narrator.  Like the things on the list, this description makes the reader wonder about the style the story will be delivered because this line foreshadows that the story takes place over a short period of time but still has a lot of depth.  Lastly, the narrator mentions the fact that he/she has only seen the book thief 3 times, which brings 2 questions into the picture.  How did the narrator happen to stumble across the main character 3 times in such a short period?  How can the narrator tell a story about a person’s life while coming across them at minimal rate?  This excerpt is great for hooking because it puts things in perspective for the reader and yet, leaves so much to think about and inspires the reader to make predictions and read on at an alarming rate.

10th Grade Summer Reading: Entry #2

          The Book Thief by Markus Zusak has an extremely diverse set of main characters that all have different roles and objectives in the plot.  One of these characters is the book thief herself.  The reason Liesel is called the book thief is quite self-explanatory even though her intent is not remotely identical to one of the common thief.  Her intent is not to steal for gain of money or possessions, but rather for education and her interest in books even though she struggles to read.  She is a 10 year old girl who just wants to learn how to read and write so reading books is the best way for her to accomplish her goal.  Rosa Hubermann (Liesel’s foster mother) may seem strict and mean, but her intentions are very selfless.  Her goal is to provide extra income for the family in the hard times during the war and do chores around the house that Liesel helps her with such as cooking, cleaning and laundry.  She provides laundry services to the neighbors to get the little bit of extra income that the family needs in the harsh times.  Hans Hubermann (Liesel’s foster father) has two main desires.  These desires include bringing in money to the family by painting and comforting Liesel.  He was the first person to reach out and help Liesel get used to her new home early on in the book by welcoming her and calming her during her nightmares.  He also wants to help Liesel increase her knowledge of reading and writing,  “Papa would say a word and the girl (Liesel) would have to spell it aloud and then paint it on the wall, as long as she got it right” (Zusak 72).  Lastly, Rudy Steiner had similar intentions as Hans except in different context.  Rudy the first kid to comfort and welcome Liesel into her new environment and often stood up for her when other kids made fun of her due to her inability to read.

            While reading this book I have noticed many themes that are starting to develop, but there are two main ones that have been most prevalent throughout the story.  The first theme I have noticed may sound quite cliché, but it really opens the readers eyes to what life was like for many Germans.  This theme is, seek out what both sides are like before you judge either of them”.  Unlike most books about Germany during WWII, this book is about a family and a group of people that are not Jewish.  This book has showed me that some Germans did not practice anti-Semitism and that most German’s lives were not a walk in the park by any means. It also showed me that Germany under Hitler was not that amazing for the citizens either.  Another theme I noticed is, knowledge is not only power, but is also commonly taken for granted by many as well.  This is shown by the fact that Liesel treats the three books she has like three million dollars and that most people today see reading and school as more of a chore than a privilege.

            The Book Thief has a structure that is an offset compared to many other books.  Like many books, the story is told in chronological order.  However, the difference is that there are often flashbacks and flash-forwards throughout the story.  The reason for these flashback and flash-forwards are to explain an event or thing mentioned earlier in the book and to help fill in the gaps in the story line.

            

Himmel Street (Liesel's Home/Average German's home):

10th Grade Summer Reading: Entry #1

         For my summer reading assignment, I have chosen to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  This book is set in the poor and urban part of Munich, Germany during World War II (1939-1945) when Hitler was in power and the Holocaust was taking place. This quote is a good description of the street Liesel lived on, "The buildings appear to be glued together, mostly small houses and apartment blocks that looked nervous" (Zusak 27).
         The main character in this book is a 10 year old girl named Liesel Meminger who after being given up by her parents has to go live with a foster family in the poor part of Munich, Germany on Himmel Street.  Although they are married, Liesel’s foster parents are very different from each other.  Hans Hubermann, Liesel’s foster dad, has the occupation of a painter and also plays the accordion.  He plays a big role in comforting Liesel and helping her get used to her new life.  Hans also plays a huge role in Liesel’s reading education because she does not know how to read.  Unlike Hans, Rosa Hubermann was much more strict on Liesel and made her help around the house a lot.  Rosa’s main income came from ironing and doing laundry for the neighbors.  Despite their differences, the Hubermanns were great parents to many other foster kids, two of their own kids, and Liesel.  Lastly, there is one major character outside of Liesel’s family named Rudy Steiner.  Rudy is one of six children in a family that lives on Himmel Street.  He is one of Liesel’s only friends and also is known as an odd one at times.  Although Liesel and Rudy share a friendly rivalry at times, Rudy is always there for Liesel and could be described as a family member to her.

Moving to a completely new environment is a huge conflict for Liesel because she has to make major adjustments that can’t be done overnight by any other means.  On top of that, she has to deal with the loss of her brother on the way to Munich and has no choice but to constantly wonder why her parents put her and her brother in foster care, which often gives her nightmares.  Aside from the adjustments she is forced to make, she also has social issues as well.  The fact that she is illiterate means that she has to be put in a class with kindergarteners, which results in her being made fun of a lot by the people who are her age. 

            While reading this book, I often think about what will happen when the war starts to turn against Germany’s favor.  I also think about whom the narrator is and if it is even a person at all.  I predict that the narrator is not a person, but is some kind of angel.  I believe this because the narrator mentions taking a lot of people during times of war and famine.  This book connects really well to the book Night by Elie Wiesel because it had a very similar setting.  This book also can relatively connect to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins due to the fact that the main character is put into a new environment with nothing from the past such as family, possessions etc.