About the book

''The Book Thief'' is a book written by Markus Zusak and was first published in 2005. The book is about a little girl growing up during WWII in Nazi Germany. The genres are historical-novel and coming of age. Since its release, it became an international bestseller and has been translated in 63 languages. In 2013, the book was adapted into a movie.

The story is about a German girl called Liesel Meminger. As a very small girl, she witnessed how her little brother passed away on a train to a different town. In the graveyard where her brother was burried, Liesel stole a book as a memory of her brother. However, that wouldn't be the only book she would steal.

It is 1939 in Nazi Germany, and Liesel lives in a small town with her foster parents. Liesel's foster father, Hans, teaches Liesel how to read and write every day, which Liesel wasn't able to before, and it is her little escape from the outside world. 

I haven't been able to finish this book, but I really liked it so far and I'm going to finish it this summer. First of all, I'm very intrigued by the setting of the novel. I have always been interested in WWII, and as the book takes place during WWII, I was really into it. Besides the setting, the novel has very interesting characters. Of course there's the main character, Liesel. I love how she is a child, but how she has quite a strong personality. She stands up for herself, but is also so motivated to learn.

Then there's the character of narrator, who is a personification of Death. It is such an interesting character, because in the beginning of the book, it makes you wonder who this person is, but it's not really a person. I've never seen this before in a book, which intrigued me even more.

I really enjoyed the book so far. I would recommend it to people who are interested in WWII, just like I am, because it focuses on a different aspect of the war than most novels about it. It focuses on the German public who didn't agree with the Nazi regime, while a lot of war books are about Jewish people going into hiding or the Holocaust.

About the song

''The Rumbling'' is a song by the Japanese band SiM. The song was originally made as an opening song for the anime ''Attack on Titan'', and the full version of the song was released this year on February 7th. The song itself is very interesting, as it mixes hardrock with metal and ''screaming'' (a type of singing often used in heavy metal songs).

The song perfectly captures what happen in the anime it was written for. There is a lot of outside conflict between multiple groups of people, and who deserves justice. This is also present in the lyrics. But most of the lyrics presented are about inner conflict. This links to the inner conflict that the main character and other important characters in the anime experience.

The title ''The Rumbling'' refers to the arc of the anime/manga. In this arc, a great event with the same name takes place in the story.

About the piece

This piece was made using graffiti by the infamous British artist Bansky. It can be found on a wall that serves as a border between Israel and Palestine. It first appeared on said wall in 2005.

The piece depicts a Palestinian throwing a bouquet of flowers. The man is wearing a bandana that covers half of his face and wears a cap backwards. He represents a rioter or protester.

The most noticeable part of this piece is the bouquet of flowers. The flowers are a big contrast in this painting because the flowers are presented in full colours, while the rest of the painting is black and white. Another contrast is that the bouquet, which is usually a sign of peace, is held by a rioter, which is usually violent. Not only do flowers represent peace, but also hope for a peaceful solution to a conflict. It seems that Banksy was advocating for peace with this artwork, especially taking the location of it into consideration.