A review by elizabacelar
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

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.