How do you tell if something's alive? You check for breathing.

… it was raining on Himmel Street when the world ended for Liesel Meminger. The sky was dripping. Like a tap that a child has tried its hardest to turn off but hasn’t quite managed.

Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.

It's a lot easier, she realized, to be on the verge of something than to actually be it. This would still take time.

Liesel crossed the bridge over the Amper River. The water was glorious and emerald and rich. She could see the stones at the bottom and hear the familiar song of water. The world did not deserve such a river.

I have to say that although it broke my heart, I was, and still am, glad I was there.

Everything was good. But it was awful, too.