In Nazi Germany Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) is uprooted from her mother, when she is taken to concentration camp for being a Communist. She is taken to a family to live as an adoptive child. Her new mother (Emily Watson) is a bit strict, but her father (Geoffrey Rush), who survived WWII is a pleasant fellow. She makes a friend of the neighbor boy, Rudy (Nico Leirsch) who wants to kiss her, and wants to be fast like Jesse Owens (who was not a popular character in Nazi Germany.) Into the new life of Liesel with her new parents, comes a Jewish refugee, Max (Ben Schnetzer.) Ben comes asking for help, and Papa is obligated as his father saved his life during the war. Max is ill, and spends most of his time in bed. This is not good for his health, but he can't go out or move around for fear of detection. The move him to the basement, where he can move around. He also enjoys hearing Liesel's descriptions of the weather, and helping with her books--they don't have many. Max gets worse and goes into a coma. Liesel reads all the books to him; and when she runs out she starts borrowing more from the Burgermeister. (He of course doesn't know as she crawls through his window to get them. She reads and reads, and writes new words on her chalkboard. When she came, she could read very little, now she is a very good reader.
Rudy is scheduled to go to a special training camp, and Papa in conscripted. He is wounded and comes home. This movie ends much different than I had supposed. I guess the fact that death was the narrator should have been a clue, and bombs falling all the time. Its just they always made their way to the bomb shelter.
This book is not so much on the Nazis burning books, but more about the will to live and to go on. Sometimes, life wins out, even when all around us in falling to pieces.
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