Liesel is a young German orphan girl in Nazi Germany. She has just been given a new family and a new home. At first, she is scared, lonely, and sad. Then, she starts to warm to her kind new Mama and Papa, who are good people.
Over time, Max and Liesel's new Mama and Papa taught her how to read. Reading and writing became a large escape from the horrible place the Nazi's were turning her world into. Even as her family became poorer, Liesel's love for reading and books helped keep her and her family sane. Some were gifted to her, others stolen from Nazi fires. Eventually, she even began writing her own story.
As Liesel started to find her place in her new family, she discovered that her new Mama and Papa were hiding a Jewish man in the basement to keep him from the Nazis. His name was Max. He and Liesel became very good friends.
The war drew closer to Liesel's new home. One day, Max was forced to leave the basement to avoid being caught and captured. Liesel, Mama, and Papa never knew if he got away. Then, one day, Liesel saw Max being marched through town with other holocaust prisoners. He had not made it away in time. He would survive, though. Max never gave up Liesel and her family, and after the war Max was all that Liesel had left. The remained friends, mourning the loss of Mama and Papa in a bombing. A boming that would have taken Liesel too, had she not been in the basement writing her story.