The story begins with Liesel Meminger, a traumatized nine-year-old girl who starts off as a rather weak-willed child, but over the course of the war she turns into a feisty, courageous young lady, who isn't scared of tackling anyone or anything. The story begins 1939 after she has just witnessed the death and burial of her younger brother on the way to her new foster family, The Hubermanns. During the burial Liesl picks up an object she finds in the snow "The Gravediggers Handbook" which sets up her love of books, even if she has to steal them. Her foster father, the kind accordion-playing Hans Hubermann, teaches her how to read, and together the two of them pass many hours reading the pages of the gravedigger's handbook. Later, when the family takes in a Jewish man, Max Vanderburg, and hides him away, Leisel shares her love of words with him, too. Desperate for new reading material, Liesel, with the occasional help of her friend Rudy, steals books from a Nazi book-burning pile, that the wife of the mayor just so happens to see. The Mayors wife, with a shared love of reading, introduces Liesel to her amazing private library that Liesel will soon, frequently sneak into and take from. All seems well, but when the Allied bombs begin to fall on their street, things get even worse and death begins to close in on Liesel, her family and her friends. The Book Thief is a very memorable story. The narrative voice is the unique voice of Death. The characters are great, capture your attention and make you fall in love. The Book Thief is a deeply touching and moving story. The ending is a heart wrenching turn of events that makes you want to reach for the box of tissues nearest to you. I LOVED this book and strongly suggest for others to read!