The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition (A Puffin Book)

I could not put this book down. I have been to numerous Holocaust memorials and museum around the world, and met descendants of victims of the Holocaust. All have affected me to a degree, but none like the innocent voice of this young girl. There are three reasons for the strong impact: She writes about what is happening to Jews during the Holocaust in such a matter of fact manner, she did not labour over the injustice of the situation or dwell extensively on it. The innocence of this young girl is unintentionally juxtaposed with the brutality of the Nazi regime. This understated way of telling the story left a huge impact on me. She spends a huge amount of time talking about her boy troubles and her treatment by the adults in the hideout. The arguments they have are so trivial compared to the fate that awaits them and the rest of the Holocaust victims that you get the sense that they do not understand the extent of the trouble they are in. [example of argument]. Telling the story this way worked extremely well in building up tension for the reader, as the days and months rolled on and the end drew closer. She is full of hope. Just three months before the household was caught and taken captive, she speaks about her hope that she will be able to go back to school within that time. The fact that I knew how the book ended made every word she wrote gut wrenching to read. This is such a wonderful book about the strength of the human spirit. Not only from Anne but from all the members of the household. There were 7 members in hiding, and while Anne alluded to running out of food and the constant fighting from the tension that builds up when people live in close quarters 24/7, they found room in their heart to compassionately take in another friend, to share their space and food and increase the chances of them getting caught. While in hiding they also managed to buy each other gifts for their birthdays. Lots of generous gifts at that. It is easy to dismiss such behaviour as non-essential and a waste of money in times when necessities such as food are hard to come by, but it must have been essential to the members of that household to have something to look forward to. Otherwise they might have gone insane. This is an important book and a great read for lovers of memoirs and history. www.11hackney.com

This is not normally the type of book I would read, but being interested in the Second World war, I thought I would try it. I found I simply couldn't put it down, and finished in two days. The book provides valuable information both on the War and conditions for Jews in hiding at that time, but also reads like a novel as Anne talks about the other members of the Annexe and their strengths and weaknesses as people. Also she constantly evaluates her own character and personality, sometimes being over critical and too self deprecating. She was clearly a great writer and never seems like a young girl. The thing that really struck me though was what a terrible waste, not just Anne but all the other members in hiding. By the end of the diary you feel like you know them all, yet they were murdered for no reason whatsoever other than their religion. This book should be read by anybody of any age who wants to know what life was like during the war. The constant hardships and living in fear of being discovered. I am glad I read it.

It took some time, over the years, to finally sit down and read Anne's book. Having read sections and even visited the Annexe, I never read the entire book. Holocaust studies have been my focus for decades, both as a History teacher and 'civilian'. I found Anne's writing to be engrossing, illuminating and tragic. Her descriptions of life before and during the Annexe are important for Holocaust studies but also for the simple fact it is the thoughts, hopes, fears and aspirations of an ordinary though talented young girl. Anne's writing's could have been those of millions of others and that is what makes it so valuable; she speaks, in many ways for those millions and it emphasises the tragedy of the Holocaust because we will never know what the 13 million Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust might have achieved. So easy to read, well written and should be read by school children especially. Otto Frank edited some portions but what is left is a fascinating insight into Anne Frank and the life forced upon her. Five stars without a doubt. Would also recommend 'The Diary of Peter Ginz' to compliment Anne Frank's diary.

To say that I enjoyed this book would feel wrong. It should never be enjoyed. If you pick up this book you probably already know the ending. What I wasn't prepared for was the sadness I felt when the diary ends so abruptly. I feel like I have watched a young girl grow up incredibly fast. Anne was wise beyond her years, it's easy to forget that she was only 15 when the diary was cut short. She was robbed of a childhood as well as not being allowed to fully mature and lead an adult life. It was fascinating to learn about a teenager's thoughts and how the cramped living arrangements and being in her parents' pockets were more important to write than anything regarding the war. This diary has the sense that Anne always knew that it would become public property one day. She writes intelligently and from the heart. I give this book a four star rating because it is an interesting read but some parts are long and mundane, which is I suppose a true account of life in hiding. I would urge anyone to read this book, if only for its historical importance. We must never forget what these, and millions of others, went through. A timeless story, every teenager could relate to hating their parents, feeling stifled, falling in love. A must read, if ever there was one.

Anne Frank foi uma menina alemã de origem judaica, com uma capacidade de escrita fora de série, através de ótimas descrições e dissertações manteve um diário no qual retrata sua transição para a adolescência. Através da escrita ela consegue de maneira incrível descrever seus sentimentos, as suas transformações e percepções, em um ambiente de 2º Guerra e perseguição judia. Anne se refugia juntamente com sua família e mais quatro pessoas no escritório de seu pai, onde permanece escondida por mais de dois anos, até ser descoberta pelas autoridades e enviada para campos de concentração, onde infelizmente morre aos 15 anos de idade. Uma linda e comovente história que virou retrato do holocausto, mais de 35 milhões de cópias vendidas, leitura indispensável desde seu lançamento em 1947.

To me, this book became one of the most insightful, witty, well written and interesting books that I have ever read! It is almost unbelievable that the author, who possessed such a poignant mind with a very fine sense of humour, and a tremendous literary talent, was a girl of only 13-14 years of age! Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who, in 1942, together with her family and another family, went into a hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of Holland. She had written most of this diary while they stayed there (and not in the camps, as usually thought of). Two years later they were found out and arrested by the Nazi police and transported to the labor camps, where almost everyone was eventually killed or died, including Anne. The only survivor was her father. Anne's diary was rescued by their Dutch friends just before the Nazi returned after their arrest to clean that hiding. After the war, with her father's consent and help, Anne's diary was published and became one of the most well known books in the world. I had not heard much about it before I started to read it, and so had no particular expectations of what it will be. Quite unlike the popular image of this book, which is usually presented as the description of the suffering of the Jews during the WWII, the horrors of labor camps, etc., it is an optimistic and highly entertaining read about the life of this teenage (13-14) girl, mostly concerned with the grown ups around her and their social behaviour in that hide; her relationships with them and her innermost feelings and anxieties; her first and second love; her self exploration during those 25 months there and the hopes and dreams that she entertained for after the war is over, when they can return to a normal life; and much, much more. Although the struggles of the war and their frequent fears in hiding are also addressed, her writing mostly remains a humorous, witty, very touching and super addictive read! So I am a little bit perplexed why so many 5* reviews here emphasise so much the terrible fortune of the many Jews during the WWII and the tragic end of Anne Frank and most of her family. Whereas these are undoubtedly the shocking facts (well described in _another_ book, "Anne Frank Remembered"), they happened after this diary was completed by Anne and thus did not influence neither the spirit nor the content of it. This book is an important read for every parent because not only does it show what an early teenager anticipates, wants and needs to see in her parents, but also describes very well on how particular character traits of the parents and other grown ups, which we as adults stop even noticing because they're all so common, how these are perceived by children and how they form their opinions, and then of course their attitudes, towards us & life. I think it will be quite clear to everyone who reads the book that the parents-kids misunderstanding symptom, recurring in every generation, must be due not so much to the change of circumstances / technologies / opportunities / values, etc., but because too many of us, when we grow up and become parents, tend to do exactly the same things for our kids and become exactly the same characters which we ourselves despised while being young. No other book which I have read describes the yearnings and the needs of an adolescent so well and can offer so much practical insight for parents and kids alike as this one! I do not intend to repeat what is already written in some other reviews here, but to give you just one example where this book really struck me by the depth of Anne's thought and feelings: how well (at the age of 14!) she defined what love is and what it is not. What does it mean to love someone? In one place she writes: "Love is understanding someone, caring for him, sharing his joys and sorrows". And then few months later she adds: "To love someone, I have to admire and respect that person". Until I read her diary I thought that the best definition of what love is was given by a renowned psychologist Erich Fromm (who actually wrote it when Anne was no more): "Love... always implies certain basic elements, common to all forms of love. These are care, responsibility, respect and knowledge". But if you pause and slowly repeat and compare these definitions, how much more precise and resonating is this word that Anne used, "to admire" (the same word in the Russian translation)! Aren't we all really longing for a partner, for friends and parents whom we would not only know and respect, but admire? Does not each of us yearn to live a life that is worth not only of respect, but admiration? Sometimes it happens that just one or few precise words open up the new depths of understanding and meaning. For Leo Tolstoy, a famous Russian author, 8 words spoken in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not resist the one who is evil" (only 3 words in Russian actually) opened up the understanding of the teachings of the Gospels. As for me, this one verb, in the context of Anne's writing about love, - to admire (not in the modern, superficial sense of admiring what is on the outside, but subtle admiration of the person's character), - enriched my understanding of love. This is just one example which is most vivid in my memory from this book, but the truth is that at no moment I was willing to speed up my reading, or to skip any paragraph or part of it, because everything she wrote is really so captivating! P.S. Few words on the English translation. This English text is beautifully written, maybe even a bit too beautiful, too stylized compared to the original. I actually cannot compare it to the original in Dutch, but when I looked at the Russian translation, some written thoughts sounded a little less accurately formulated there; somehow it felt more believable to be closer to the writing of a 14 year old girl. Yet I did preferred to read the English version, since as long as this is a translation, I think it is alright to make it more natural & harmonious in the final language, rather than trying to find ways to retain the slight unpolished-ness of the original. Besides, English is more of a kindred language with Dutch.

Informative. Should teach everyone to be compassionate and kind to everyone regardless of race, religion so that history will not keep on repeating itself.

Fully good

Great book. To be used for year 9 English for homeschooling. Quick and easy delivery