Relationships In The Book Thief

In the Book Thief, Zusak shows through Liesel's relationships with books how she develops from a helpless and weak girl to a strong and mature young woman. Mostly it is not the books themselves that change Liesel but it is how she responds and relates to them. For instance, when she stole her first book, "The Grave Digger's Guide" at her brother's funeral she was feeling helpless and weak, by picking up the book, even though she couldn't read it, it gave her a sense of control to steal it. It also piqued her curiosity to find out what was in it by learning to read. Later in the novel when Liesel is learning to read and write she also begins to understand and relate to the people and the story in her books. Another instance where this occurs