The Book Thief- World War II at its worst

The Book Thief, written by Australian author, Markus Zusack has a plot which revolves around the life of a German girl, Liesel Meminger. Her story is narrated by Death himself and during the time of war he is working overtime. Yet he found Liesel to have a few gifts. The one that drew him in the most was thievery.

It all started on a train where Liesel's brother dies. At the burial site she finds a small black book on the ground. Fascinated by the thought of owning a book, she quickly picks it up and that was the first of the thievery in Liesel Meminger's life. She is later sent to her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. At first, she is unsure of everything around her. She has awful nightmares and small accidents. But Hans Hubermann helps her out of her fears. Soon the two have a charming relationship that lasted forever. Rosa on the other hand was always more inclined to using words to express herself and let's just say these are the words that don't come into use in a civilised conversation. Liesel helped her with the house work and delivering the laundry.

This story takes place during that time of Hitler where concentration camps were of very large numbers. At the same time, Hans and Rosa Hubermann took a Jewish fist-fighter, Max Vandenburg into their home because of an old promise. Liesel was captivated by his presence and after a few weeks the two became good friends. As war got into its glorified, ugly form, Liesel Meminger's only getaway was a visit to the Mayor's library. The Mayor's wife would let Liesel in and lend her a book to read. This event led to the transformation of Liesel to the book thief.

As her life turns upside down with bombings, Jews and old friends, she finds herself in the epicentre of all these problems. But, she's saved by a book. She's saved writing a book. She's saved because of being the book thief.

An engrossing story that keeps you reading and wanting for more, the Book Thief is one of those rare novels with a narrator so authoritative yet diffident, who comes out as suspicious yet is just an innocent person doing his job. Death is the reason this novel comes to life. So, if you want to get a taste of Death's account of Liesel Meminger then this is the book for you.

Summer's back and so am I!

My dear viewers. It's been way too long and I honestly cannot give a more legit excuse other than my laziness. But now that I'm enjoying the bliss of my holidays, I really wanted to start writing again! So here I am, The Review Girl version 2.0 with a new session of books, movies, poems and experiences. Also if anyone needs any review on a particular book or movie, you know where to go. Pop it in a comment and I shall get back to you with a smashing review. Till then keep reading!

A Prisoner of Birth- Redefining crime and justice

One of Jeffery Archer's finest novels, 'A prisoner of birth' has completely changed my perception of crime and justice. The novel starts at a slow pace but after reading amost half of it, it accelerates in such a speed that you have to keep reading a little more to solve a mystery...and by then another one pops up.

Daniel Arthur Cartwright, the protagonist, decides to propose to his faithful girlfriend, Elisabeth Wilson in the local bar, the Dunlop Arms. Bernie Wilson, being Elizabeth's brother and Danny's best mate accompanies them for witnessing this happy moment. Little did they know that if Danny had decided to propose to Beth in any other bar or on any other date, one of them wouldn't have been murdered and the other framed as the killer.

 In the bar, after Danny proposes and Beth says yes, they start their small celebration with a bottle wine. At the same time, four friends, Spencer Craig, a barrister, Gerald Payne, a partner at a firm, Toby Mortimer, an aristocrat and Lawrence Davenport, a famous actor had decided to go to the same bar to celebrate Gerald's thirtieth birthday. After wee too many glasses of wine, one of the four catches Beth Wilson's eye and finds her rather charming. Under the control of alcohol, he passes an inappropriate comment which infuriates both Danny and Bernie. Even after ignoring it once, the comments didn't stop and the three of them decided to leave the bar, only to be followed by the four men. Both Danny and Bernie try to hold off the three men while Beth is being held by the fourth. During this fight, Bernie is tragically stabbed by one of the men and Danny is wounded on his leg. The four men flee from the sight and Beth runs to the main road to hail a cab. When she returns to get Bernie, with his dying breath he reveals his killer and dies in his sister's arms. The next day, after thorough questioning, Daniel Arthur Cartwright is guilty of killing Bernie Wilson and is sent to the most secured prison in England- Belmarsh for twenty one years.

Danny must now find a way to clear his name from inside the prison, while his fiancé and lawyer try the same from outside. The three of them won't rest until the innocent man is set free and the real killer is put behind bars.

This novel is addictive and once it picks up speed it keeps accelerating from there. All characters play such vital roles in the novel that the reader cannot anticipate which part of the story they are connected to. Moreover, readers should await a shocking ending and a turn of events in the end. This is without a doubt one of the finest peices of crime-fiction ever written.

The tenth grade dilemma- The ultimate decision

Time spent in school is irreplaceable and very dear to all of us. The memories created from stepping into a new and unknown classroom to the twelfth grade farewell party, the years spent in this institution called education is something every person in today's world goes through. The first most difficult decision taken during these twelve years is in class ten. The "stream selection process".

Till class ten you have to study all your subjects. You have to deal with the numericals of Physics and the dates of History. You have to understand theorems in Mathematics and comprehend Shakespeare's sonnets. You have no say in what you like or dislike. But then, finally, after ten years of "basic education" you get a choice which can either make or break your future. You get to choose your subjects for the last two years of school. For those who're new to this, the streams are broken into three distinct paths, Science, Commerce and Humanities. 

Science is again bifurcated into medical and non-medical. All future doctors and other medical practitioners go for med. The engineers and scientists prefer non-med. All our chartered accountants and people in actuary science go for Commerce and the writers, journalists and well the leftovers from the lot join Humanities. The most common misconception is that the creme de la creme of the batch opt for Science, just above average students go for commerce and at the fag end of the trail is humanities with the average-and-below scorers. Usually most people don't opt for humanities and are pushed into the stream because of GPA problems. But this time, things are about to be a bit different. 

I am an above average student who gets respectable marks in Science and Maths, scores the highest in Social Sciences and languages. Now, if I would have been in school, probably a century ago, I'd not be given a choice of taking commerce or humanities because everyone who wanted to succeed in life had to choose science. But the twenty first century has changed for the good. Here I am, a student who is offered Science willing to take humanities because my interests lie there. This choice isn't just of one, but many straight A students are also giving up sciences and opting arts! 

As we step into the twenty first century, changes are bound to occur and thankfully they are for the good. So all tenthies out there, make good choices because happiness in a profession is the most important thing. Have a great time choosing your streams! The Review Girl will also be busy with her final set of exams, so I'll see you viewers in April. Till then, keep reading! 

A daughter's present to her father

All daughters are their father's girls. I have not met a single girl who doesn't want to be in the good books of her dad. The relationship a father and daughter share is something different. It's unique in its own way. They may fight, they may reconcile, do mischief together, wreck the house, trouble mom, basically do everything together. So, for my father's birthday I decided to write him a poem which goes like this. Happy birthday dad! 

Father 

From the day I was born,

To the day I die,

I will always be my father's daughter, 

The only girl by his side. 

He was my tooth fairy,

And my pirate.

The king of my kingdom,

And my official pilot. 

We had our fights,

We had our laughs.

How we used to trouble mother,

Every time using the same path. 

I do everything to please him,

I write everything to make him proud.

I draw to show him what I'm capable of,

So that one day, he can hold his head up high in a crowd. 

I can do anything for him,

Anything that will make him say "well done".

I'm ready to go through anything,

Just to hear him say, that's my girl up there. 

Time management- A necessary skill for the twenty first century

Time and tide wait for none. A student studying for his examination probably understands this phrase more than anyone else. No matter how many days of prep leave you get, you're always tensed about the exam, always feeling that you've done less, always thinking you're going to get a bad score. Here is where time management comes to the rescue.

Time management is essential in every person's life. Be it a school-going kid, a homemaker or a stock broker, unless you've charted out your jobs and given a fixed time for them, things are going to take a turn for the worse. Talking from a student's point of view, we need to manage our work only during the "exam time". This is when all hell breaks loose. More than ten individual subjects to study, plus practical examinations and your occasional reading time, planning a schedule is the easiest way out of this labyrinth.

I believe in starting from the basics. More than the recalling time, for me, it's the reading time that matters. If I read it, I know it's in my head somewhere and I'll just have to rummage through my brain to find it. May be a bit tedious, but it works for me. So dedicate a lot of time reading. The next thing is the importance of taking a break at the right time. You may study for three continuous hours and take a break for the next hour and a half, but it simply doesn't work that way. Study for shorter durations of time, take shorter breaks and gradually lessen the amount. The final thing to do is, recalling. Recalling what you've studied is the toughest, most demanding part of this whole exercise.  Dedicate an entire day just for recalling.

Another important factor in time management is what to do during breaks, spend time on the internet, read a novel, watch television? The answer is to do something what makes you feel relaxed. The whole point of the break is to give your brain a time out for a while ans avoid it getting a short-circuit! So there it is. Decoding time management. If you get a hang of this, life would become so easy.

Put me down- Anti-bullying

Bullying is something everyone has gone through. If not something as harsh as that, you may have gone through back-stabbing, being framed for something or just being betrayed by a friend you thought was loyal to you. This poem is for all those lost souls with no hope in their eyes. An episode that happened in my life inspired me to write this.

Put me down

Knock me down,

Push me over.

Stump me and trample me,

Abuse and insult me. 

I won't fear you

If that's what you're trying to achieve,

Because I'm bigger than that.

I'm bigger than falling for your traps.

I will rise up from the ashes,

I will learn from my wounds.

My pain will go but the scars will remind me 

Of people like you in this world. 

You are petty, you are a coward.

Instead of fighting head on,

You attack after dark behind my back.

You don't deserve my tears,

You don't deserve the pain and sorrow I go through

Because of you. And if I give in to it,

Then you've won the whole game.

But, I ask you to put me down,

To make me vigilant and aware

Of people like you on this planet,

Who'll do anything for revenge. 

Put me down and see me rise,

Rise from the same fears and tears you gave.

Rise to become a better person,

Rise to become someone you can never hope to be,
Because the two of us are as different as
"Chalk" and cheese.