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Reviews
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Mirjam Pressler, Anne Frank, Otto H. Frank
elizabacelar's review against another edition
5.0
What a tribute. This book was another one of those that touched me very deeply, and how could it not? Anne Frank has a way with words, and there's no better way of putting oneself into her shoes literarily than reading such an intimate written - and at times quite cathartic - expression of her feelings. I must say though that, even with the name saying precisely that, I didn't think this book would have a diary format. It sounds silly for me to think that right now, but I (for whatever reason) had the impression I was going to read a memoir in a long text format. It's not that at all, and the version I read explained how that was compiled, with each "chapter" being entries titled with the different dates they were written. Apart from a few grammar corrections, the diary is pretty much intact and exactly how she wrote it, but in a printed version.
The most heart-wrenching moments for me are the ones that made me feel her hope and plans for 'after the war' and how promising her life would have been. It is also not obvious just how much suffering there was living in the annex, it's almost not mentioned, which is another incredible perspective of such a cheerful and positive mind. Even amongst the horrors that were happening, she was never a complainer, always hopeful and waiting for the day this would all end. The epilogue goes into how it ended for everybody in the annex, and on that, I'm enraged and disgusted by how the human race is capable of such unspeakable acts.
This book absolutely changed part of me for the better, and made me so much more appreciative of the life I'm living, and for that I'm very thankful.
The most heart-wrenching moments for me are the ones that made me feel her hope and plans for 'after the war' and how promising her life would have been. It is also not obvious just how much suffering there was living in the annex, it's almost not mentioned, which is another incredible perspective of such a cheerful and positive mind. Even amongst the horrors that were happening, she was never a complainer, always hopeful and waiting for the day this would all end. The epilogue goes into how it ended for everybody in the annex, and on that, I'm enraged and disgusted by how the human race is capable of such unspeakable acts.
This book absolutely changed part of me for the better, and made me so much more appreciative of the life I'm living, and for that I'm very thankful.
agoodwin0001's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was amazing but once I finished it I felt really depressed and sad that she didn't live.
marocuya's review against another edition
4.0
I actually enjoyed this book. I wasn't expecting any details about war... it is exactly what the title says, a diary. Anne frank writes about what she went through during the time she was in hiding. What else do you want from it?
melgordon_'s review against another edition
5.0
This book was the start of my relentless interest in the true happenings of this war. This book made me read more, watch more and learn more about the horrific monstrosities WW2 put upon human lives.
The hiding. The bribing. The rations.
The camp where it ends.
I don’t think a day goes by that I do not think of Anne Frank and where she could be today.
The hiding. The bribing. The rations.
The camp where it ends.
I don’t think a day goes by that I do not think of Anne Frank and where she could be today.
ftrebelo's review against another edition
4.0
It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too will end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals. Perhaps the day will come when I’ll be able to realize them!
I somehow hadn't read this before, and while I don't know what I was expecting exactly, this wasn't it. I was surprised to find a diary full of all the normal teenage growing pains: fights with her mother, feeling misunderstood, budding romances (half-dreamed up), homework (seriously, homework), and a lot (really a lot) about food. Particularly in the first half of the diary it was almost easy to forget the dramatic circumstances amid all the descriptions of their daily life. What struck me most was how you could see Anne growing up (in a very self-conscious way at times) as well as her insistence in finding hope amid the increasingly dire circumstances.
sofiasilva6's review against another edition
4.0
I expected the story would be more about the history but how could it?
We are presented with a young girl, forced to live isolated from the rest of the world in a crucial time for her development and self discovery, quite oblivious to the world outside those windows. She is in fact a girl living in a german dominated Holland but she is still a 13/14 year old girl that faces problems that seem insignificant to everyone else but are of the highest importance to her: friendship, family, love, self doubt...
Her writing is nothing short of brilliant, even when the themes seem ordinary.
It is sad to know that she could have grown up to be a brilliant and powerful woman, had she been born in a different time.
She wanted to leave her fingerprint for the whole word to see, I dare say she left much more than that.
We are presented with a young girl, forced to live isolated from the rest of the world in a crucial time for her development and self discovery, quite oblivious to the world outside those windows. She is in fact a girl living in a german dominated Holland but she is still a 13/14 year old girl that faces problems that seem insignificant to everyone else but are of the highest importance to her: friendship, family, love, self doubt...
Her writing is nothing short of brilliant, even when the themes seem ordinary.
It is sad to know that she could have grown up to be a brilliant and powerful woman, had she been born in a different time.
She wanted to leave her fingerprint for the whole word to see, I dare say she left much more than that.
ashie_kate's review against another edition
i don’t rate non fiction as i believe it’s wrong to rate peoples stories. however anne not only wrote a diary but she had such deep and profound thoughts for a thirteen to fourteen year old girl and im forever in awe with her. i reckon in our times today she would be called an overthinker but in the best way possible