Book Review: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Anne FrankI am so glad that I was able to fit in my book bucket list pick for June. I have wanted to read The Diary of a Young Girl for years. I didn’t get the chance to read it in high school like so many others did. I’m not sure why we didn’t read it other than maybe because Schindler’s List had released and become a huge success. We watched that film, an excellent film by the way, instead of reading Anne Frank’s diary. I don’t think one story is better than the other. They are both true and both equally moving. I do think that The Diary of a Young Girl should continue to be taught in schools because it is told in such a pure voice and really puts the reader right in the middle of the war. We can study World War II all we want, but we’ll never hear a more authentic voice than that of a young Jewish girl in hiding. Anne’s story is something that touched my soul profoundly and something I will never forget. No review I write will ever be able to do this book justice, but I will try my best to summarize why it was such a moving read for me.

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Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

the-book-thiefThe Book Thief has been on my “to read” list for a long time. I picked it up over one school break but didn’t get very far before my classes started again and I just couldn’t keep up with it. So I picked it up again this summer and this time couldn’t put it down! What a unique story! World War II/ Holocaust stories are usually pretty difficult for me to read, and understandably so. What a sad time in our world’s history! This story, however, was so intriguing because it was told in such a unique way.

This book is the story of Liesel, a little girl who is taken in by the Hubermanns in Nazi occupied Germany. The story of Liesel, the Hubermanns and others is told through the narration of Death. Yes, Death narrates this story, and there could not be a more appropriate or unique voice to do so. I thought at first that a book narrated by Death could be nothing but sad and tragic, but it gives the book such an interesting spin. The story is told by the one voice that witnessed humans at their best and humans at their worst. Keep Reading!