Should Liesel and Max have been more than friends?(spoilers)

[The Book Reviewer]

The book and movie finish with Liesel and Max being reunited, then Death talking about Liesel's life. There is only a mention of friendship, but would it have been better if Liesel and Max had had a relationship? Thoughts.

[Paliden]

Yes, I would have liked it if they had gotten together in the end. Even though I loved Rudy dearly, Max seemed well suited to Liesel.

[rssllue]

I thought that it ended perfectly. Their bond always seemed to be like a brother and sister. It was so deep and pure. It truly was delightful!

[TangledinText]

No the innocence needed to be kept to have the most empathy for these characters. They were kids not adolescents already contemplating relationships and underlying meanings. They had enough on their mind with the events of the world around them going on.

[megsm07]

Though I was disappointed by the ending (in that most of the characters of which I'd grown fond suddenly were no more), I felt that the relationships in the book were perfect. While I do wish that some of the relationships (like Liesel and Rudy) could have been developed a bit more and that they could have continued on rather than ending, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!

[PashaRu]

Yes, it would have been nice if they had gone into business together. Maybe bought a Nathan's Hot Dogs franchise by the beach. Or surfboards, snorkels, and the like. Something beachy.

[Serena_Charlotte]

If any element of romance was introduced into the book then it would divert the attention from the main message of the book which is the suffering during the Holocaust. I'm happy with the way it ended, not because everyone died, but because it really sent a message that no one was safe during this time.

[Mike_Lang]

I think any romance between Liesel and Max would have kind of cheapened the whole story. Too easy and cliche.

[zaynab_m]

No way. Firstly, there was the age factor. In my opinion, Liesel was much too young to be in a romantic relationship with Max. Also, as Mike_Lang said, it would have been too much of a common cliché had there been anything between Liesel and Max. After Rudy's death, it would have completely broken my heart if Liesel had chosen someone, like Max. I know she married, but it was not necessary that she loved her husband before they married. We donot even know who her husband was, and he didn't play a role in Liesel's early life. In my opinion, Liesel should have loved Rudy and continued loving him. Also, it's not completely necessary to have a love triangle in every story. It's okay just to be friends sometimes. I think love triangles only lessen the value of otherwise, good plots, making them cheap and sort of desperate.

[Mike_Lang]

The image of little Rudy trying to be Jesse Owens in the middle of Nazi Germany is such a beautiful, strong image... In some way that I can't quite explain Liesel getting together with Max in a romantic way would have been such a slap in the face to the memory of that beautiful little boy.

[steampunk_girl]

I was disappointed with this part of the ending, but their bond can be deciphered as either a 'sibling' bond or 'more than siblings' bond. I feel that though many people were disappointed (including yours truly) they were too young to get into anything that would last. You can still believe that after a few years they got together and lived 'happily ever after' and all that crap but that is unrealistic. I've slowly been warming to the ending because even if its not what I would've liked, it does fit the book the best.

[Amheiser]

I liked the way the book ended. I felt like the age difference was too great for them to be romantically involved. I liked that it ended with Max and Liesel having the relationship they did so they could both find some normalcy and have each other to help recover from their tragedies so they could move on to more normal lives.

[abithacker]

I appreciated the fact that Liesel and Max didn't get together. I think that a romantic relationship between them would have been forced, especially since their relationship felt like that of a child and adult, and there was a significant age difference. I think it also gives the reader some closure: the fact that Liesel was able to move past the tragedy and find love beyond her initial relationships.

[ShelbyFOB]

They did share a strong bond, but considering the age difference I doubt they would end up together.

[Taylor Razzani]

I felt like they were going to end up together, which I didn't much agree with because of the age difference. Plus, after Rudy was killed, I didn't care whatsoever who Liesel married and I certainly didn't want to like him!