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" "Max," she said..."There was once a strange, small man,' she said..."But there was a word shaker, too."

...His eyes staggered, and it was so simple. The words were given across from the girl to the Jew. They climbed on to him" (512).

I found this moment of The Book Thief so powerful. It made me wonder about the cycle of words. Max wrote them with the intention of some day giving them to Liesel. Max gives the words to Rosa, for safe keeping. When Rosa realizes that Liesel has always been ready, she pulls the words from a hidden pocket and hands them to her. Here, Liesel gives the words back to Max, with more meaning in them than ever. And Death hands them back to us. 

Even more powerful than the words however, is everything behind them. In these words lie the shock of Liesel seeing Max. Liesel could not think. The experience of having something you have imagined for so long being real is so staggering. She could only say what she knew, and what she knew were the words Max had given her. Yes, Hitler was still there, still in power, but Liesel was there too.