Exposition: The narrator, Death, describes what the book will be about and then starts at the beginning of its story of Liesel. Liesel’s story starts on a train. Her mother can no longer take care of her and her younger brother, she later finds out this is because her mother was a communist and the Nazis would soon take her. Since her mother could not take care of her children anymore she takes them on the train to their new foster parents, the Hubermann’s, in Molching, Germany. On the way to Molching, Liesel’s younger brother dies and they must bury him before going any further. After the short funeral is when Death first comes across Liesel, and also when she steals her first book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook.
Rising Action:
Climax: Molching is bombed, and not like any of the times before. This time there is no warning and everyone is sleeping. Everyone except Liesel. Liesel is busy finishing writing The Book Thief in the basement. The basement that didn’t even meet Nazi standards as a safe bomb shelter. Tragedy strikes again for Liesel, as nobody on Himmel Street makes it out alive besides herself. Her mama, papa, best friend Rudy, the old lady she read to everyday, and everyone else are all dead.
Falling Action:
Resolution: After living a rough childhood, losing almost everyone she knew, Liesel lived on. She was taken in by the Hermann’s, nice people who had lots of books for her to read. Liesel grew up to live to an old age. Death took her a long time after and a long ways away from Molching, Germany. Liesel died an old women in a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Rising Action:
- Liesel’s younger brother dies on the train on their way to their new foster family. She steals her first book after they bury him. Later, she receives two more books as gifts from her foster parents and steals another from the ashes of the Nazi bonfire. She is up to four books.
- The Hubermann’s take in a Jew, Max Vandenburg, to hide.
- Liesel receives two more books as gifts. One from her foster parents and one that Max wrote for her. She is up to six. Later, Max writes her another book that she receives after he is already gone. Now there are seven.
- Liesel and Rudy start stealing food and join a gang of kids who steal. Later they start to steal books from the mayor’s wife.
- Rudy is recruited to go to a special school by the Nazis. His parents do not allow it and later pay for it with having Rudy’s dad, Alex Steiner, forced into becoming a Nazi.
- The Hubermann’s, Max, and Liesel build a snowman in the basement for fun and this later is a contributing factor to Max falling deathly ill (he doesn’t die).
- There are lots of bombings and lots of false alarm bombings. The basement of the Hubermanns was deemed an unsafe shelter by the Nazis. So when there is a bombing the Hubermanns have to leave for a safe shelter and leave Max behind.
- During a Jew march down the street Hans Hubermann gave bread to a weak Jew and they were both whipped for this. This made the Hubermanns scared the Nazis would come and search their house for signs of “Jew love.” So Max left, for good. Later Hans was punished by being forced to become a Nazi, like Alex Steiner. He later breaks his leg and is sent home.
- During the Jewish “parades” down the street Liesel finds Max in one. She runs to him and they are both whipped for this. To explain this to Rudy she ends up telling him everything about Max, and it turns out to be the last time they talked.
- The mayor’s wife gives Liesel a book to write in because she thinks she in a great writer, in this book Liesel writes her life story and calls it The Book Thief.
Climax: Molching is bombed, and not like any of the times before. This time there is no warning and everyone is sleeping. Everyone except Liesel. Liesel is busy finishing writing The Book Thief in the basement. The basement that didn’t even meet Nazi standards as a safe bomb shelter. Tragedy strikes again for Liesel, as nobody on Himmel Street makes it out alive besides herself. Her mama, papa, best friend Rudy, the old lady she read to everyday, and everyone else are all dead.
Falling Action:
- The mayor and his wife, the Hermann’s, take Liesel in after the bombing when she has nowhere left.
- Alex Steiner, Liesel’s best friend Rudy’s dad, returns home from the war to find out his whole family is dead.
- He reopens the shop he ran in Molching and him and Liesel spend a lot of time together there.
- Max survives the concentration camps and returns home to Liesel.
Resolution: After living a rough childhood, losing almost everyone she knew, Liesel lived on. She was taken in by the Hermann’s, nice people who had lots of books for her to read. Liesel grew up to live to an old age. Death took her a long time after and a long ways away from Molching, Germany. Liesel died an old women in a suburb of Sydney, Australia.