Reviewed by: Kaia
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
What is the meaning of life? This poignant, heartbreaking yet hopeful diary will make you laugh and cry. It is a symbol of hope and resilience that has inspired generations of the past and will continue to inspire many more today. The Diary of a Young Girl was written between June 1942 and August 1944, during the Holocaust, when Anne and her Jewish family were in hiding from the Nazis. During this time Anne is 13 to 15. Much of her diary describes the everyday experiences of a teenager; though her life is anything but normal. Anne cannot go outside, she lives in fear of being killed and knowing that many of her friends and relatives are dying. Despite this she finds hope and courage to document these years of her life in a diary that she calls Kitty.
Reading this story was life changing—I’m not exaggerating. It changed my perspective on how I viewed the world and it made me feel so lucky to be alive. I also felt so inspired reading this. If Anne could write this and endure this in just 15 short years what can I do? At times the diary feels so personal that I questioned whether or not I should have been reading it. Anne confides everything in Kitty. From her hopes to her dreams to why she dislikes her mother to who she has a crush on. When you read the diary it makes Anne feel alive again. The whole world knows the story of Anne Frank but you can’t fully comprehend it till you have read her diary. Of course it’s impossible to know how exactly she felt but her diary gives you a very good idea.
The Diary of Anne Frank is also a very good read if you want to learn about World War 2. You can learn facts but a story makes you feel fear, hope and anger. It helps you view people in World War 2 as real people with stories and dreams, beyond statistics of how many people lived and died. The book talks in depth about what kind of food they ate while in hiding. What the annex looked like and who slept in which rooms and what kind of chores Anne and her sister had. Anne has strong views about the war she hopes for peace and an end to suffering she is also eagerly waiting for the Allies invasion so that the war will be over. After the war she wants her diary to be published and to become a writer.
“Inspite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” -Anne Frank
Anne Frank’s beliefs are full of hope even in an incredibly trying time. She believes in religious freedom and the goodness of people. I strongly believe the best way to learn about history is to read. If you are studying World War 2 in school, interested in a teenager’s life in the 1940s or simply have a bit of spare time I highly recommend you to read The Diary of a Young Girl.
I highly recommend this book for anyone 13+ as it has heavy topics such as war, mentions of death and violence. To note though the diary is mainly talking daily about Anne’s thoughts. There are plenty of mentions of the war but the diary ends on August 1st 1944 when Anne Frank’s family were discovered hiding in the secret annex. Tragically, Anne never got to document what happened to her in the concentration camp so we will never get to hear that part of her story. The diary she has written is beautiful. Not only is it in one of history’s darkest times but her writing is amazing and engaging with incredible descriptions that make you feel like you are inside the story. She is an incredibly talented writer. Anne Frank’s words continue to remind us of the enduring power of hope, even in the darkest times.
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