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.