the Book Thief #1

My favorite scenes in the book were always the ones where Liesel is in the Mayor's wife's library. I especially enjoyed the soft spoken relationship that Liesel and Ilsa shared. Ilsa quietly sat in the desk while Liesel read away and few words were rarely spoken but they still had a mutual friendship. I smiled as I watched Liesels thirst for books grow and develop and the tense dramatic scenes where she is quietly snatching a book of her own were ones to savor. More was also learned about the soft spoken character of Ilsa Hermann when she kindly allows Liesel to steal her books and even lays out cookies for her by the window. However I cringed when Liesel relentlessly ranted at Ilsa about her foolishness and absurdity to suffer for her son and so forth. This was a key reaction, for then I realized that these two characters had a meaningful relationship. Also the ghost of Liesel's Brother symbolized the state of the relationship. As Liesel angrily told off Ilsa Hermann, Werner was cast aside and scraped his knee. The injury of his knee represents the state of their relationship at that moment, tense and torn apart. Yet as time progressed, and as each visit to the Mayors house passed by, the boy's knee was said to be scabbed over and healing. This again represents the reconciled feelings of Liesel to Ilsa and they are again friends once more.