The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank

Rating: 5/6

This book is true story, chronicling the life of a teenage Jewish girl and her family during the Holocaust. Anne Frank was only thirteen years old when her family went into hiding to avoid being sent to concentration camps and the wrath of the Nazi’s on the Jews. Anne refers to her diary (calls it Kitty), as if it were a real person and describes vividly, her feelings about being so young and cooped up in a cramped space with seven other people (Her parents and older sister, another family of three, and a dentist).

The story in itself has a lot wit and humour, because well, it was written by a young girl. Of course when you are young, you don’t see the world as you would when you’re older. So it’s quite entertaining the way she describes her living relationship with her parents and the other tenants of the “Secret Annexe”, as she so referred to it. She also described her secret longings, sexuality, her lost friendships, the terrible food they had. Because this was a true story though, I found it really hard to smile or laugh at some of the funny things Anne wrote. I mean, I kept on thinking of how it must have been, in those days as a young teen, trapped from the whole world. I wouldn’t cope. From 1942 to 1944, Anne and her family remained in hiding until they were discovered and ultimately arrested.

So sad; that’s what this story is. I almost cried thinking about how they were arrested and ultimately, all but one (Anne’s Father), died. Anne’s last entry was so optimistic; it did not foretell what was going to happen. Anne was such a bright ambitious little girl; and I believe that if she’d survived the Holocaust, she would have been a writer of many famous works, besides her diary. She constantly described her love for writing and the stories and poems she planned on writing.

Reading this book gave me a new perspective in life. Look; I’m always complaining about how boring my life is, and how hard it is living through obligation. These things are not as extreme as being in hiding because of a war. I’ve actually never experienced war; heck, the last time I heard a gunshot I was 9. And it wasn’t because of a war; the vet people were killing stray dogs because there was an outbreak of rabies in my area (harsh, I know.). Anne used her diary to shield herself from feeling bad about her situation; to be optimistic; to have a companion who would make her forget for a while. This has made me determined once again with my own diary. Since reading Anne Frank, my diary is up-to-date. No more monthly entries; I visit it on a daily basis and I just unload. It helps, you should try it. No need to spend tonnes of money on a shrink; just give it a name and write to it, just like Anne did.

I strongly recommend that you read this book. It’ll change your life. I know it changed mine. J