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The Book Thief Chapter Summary

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The narrator introduces a new character at the beginning of the second quarter of the book, Max Vandenburg. He is hiding in a secret storage room because he is Jewish and therefore sought out by German soldiers to take him away. Max is starving and constantly alone in the dark, unable to sleep because he is too afraid to be found by the Führer. Eventually, Max leaves his hiding place to travel to a safer place: Molching. All he has on with him is a fake identity card, a copy of Mein Kempf, a map with a key inside, and what little remains of the food he was given by his friend that was keeping him in hiding. During this time, Liesel is continuing to learn new words whilst reading with her father, including her newest addition, “The Shoulder Shrug,” in which she stole from the ashes left behind from the bonfire. Liesel also spends her time in the mayor’s library, as Frau Hermann encourages Liesel’s love for literature ever since she witnessed Liesel’s thievery from the bonfire. In addition, Liesel and her best friend, Rudy, have begun to get themselves in mischief with some older kids by stealing food from different farms. As the narrator returns to Max’s storyline, he describes his journey on the train ride and his arrival to the Hubermann household. Max then asks a very important question Hans Hubermann which would be, …show more content…

Max even writes and illustrates a small book entitled, “The Standover Man,” as a belated birthday gift to Liesel. Again, Liesel visits the mayor’s house to read in the library, but as she is about to leave, Frau Hermann hands her a letter for Rosa that informs her that they cannot afford her services anymore. Frau Hermann tries to hand Liesel a book from the library but Liesel is so furious that she throws the book at her and shouts horrible things about her and the fact that she cannot get over her dead

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