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The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank

Start date: January 1, 2022

Finish date: January 31, 2022

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: January Bonus Read- International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
[close] January Bonus Read- International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

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What Members Thought

Jun 24, 2013 Audrey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, memoir-biography-autobiography, own-hard-copy

Wow -- I really resonated with this diary. I was afraid it would be boring or too random in thought. It's very honest and perceptive. Anne struggles to get along with people in a confined space. (It's not too small, but I think knowing you are stuck there permanently would get to anyone.) The eight get on each other's nerves even while being grateful for the friends who are hiding them. Anne rapidly grows in maturity. She tries to keep optimistic and plans for her future while she also accepts t ...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Alana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, classics, biographical, foreign-culture, young-adult

I think I first read this in middle school, when I was about Anne's age when she was writing her diary. I read the version first released by her father, after heavy edits. This version contains the bits he edited out and points out where Anne herself made edits when she learned that diaries of those in hiding would be collected after the war for their firsthand accounts. Both versions are fascinating, with the biggest differences being that we learn more about Anne's struggles to come to terms w I think I first read this in middle school, when I was about Anne's age when she was writing her diary. I read the version first released by her father, after heavy edits. This version contains the bits he edited out and points out where Anne herself made edits when she learned that diaries of those in hiding would be collected after the war for their firsthand accounts. Both versions are fascinating, with the biggest differences being that we learn more about Anne's struggles to come to terms with her relationship with her mother (as many girls of that age do) as well as her budding sexuality (also as many girls of that age are discovering). It's understandable why Otto Frank chose to edit many of these portions, especially those having unflattering descriptions of his wife, but including those portions also show a depth to Anne's character and humanity that is very real and something to which pretty much any girl of that age can relate.

Putting a "rating" on this, like any nonfictional account, is very challenging. It is the innermost, private thoughts of a teenage girl, growing up in a time and place that are nearly unthinkable. She lives in fear of discovery every single day, and has periods of being perfectly still, unable to use basic facilities like a bathroom, etc, for fear of being discovered, yet she is still facing the challenges of youth; getting along with her parents, discovering boys, sibling rivalry.

While in many ways, it is a "young adult" story, which usually drive me crazy, this one is so honest and insightful that it just doesn't have the same feel. Why is it so compelling? Is it because we know the ultimate outcome and some of her statements about wanting to "live beyond" her death, wanting to know if anyone will ever want to read her "dribble," dreaming about growing up or thoughts about death, are so prophetic and bleak in light of events? Is it the honesty? Is it just the adventure of being in hiding? I honestly don't know. But regardless, it's a story that still captures the soul, even all these years after the events and publication.
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