The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Pages: 268
Intended Audience: Teens and up.
Genre: War Diary
Notes for Parents: This is a true account and includes suffering and some discussion of Jewish treatment during the Nazi regime.

The Back Cover

In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

At the end of World War II, Otto Frank, Anne’s father and the only surviving family member, returned to Amsterdam. Mr. Frank was presented with notebooks and papers in Anne’s handwriting that had been rejected by the Gestapo when they arrested the families. At first Mr. Frank only circulated Anne’s diary to friends as a memorial, but he was eventually convinced to make it public. Since then, it has been translated into more than 30 languages.

What’s good?

It’s so fortunate to not only have a real life account of what life was like for a Jew in hiding during World War II, but to hear it from the perspective of a young girl with an obvious talent for writing. We experience her normal teenage highs and lows (a bad relationship with her mother, a crush on a boy) mixed with the hopes and fears that bombings, gunfire, and radio broadcasts bring to her and her isolated group. As the months go by, her musings turn philosophical and she wonders about things like strength of character, religion, and diplomacy. It’s with such great irony that she dreamed of being a published writer when the war ended.
Best Part: “Surely the time will come when we are people again, and not just Jews.” (pg. 207)

What isn’t good?

Like any young girl’s diary, notations include rants, gossip, dry ruminations, and many repetitive entries. However, I think it would have decreased the value of Anne’s contribution had these parts been taken out. Without them, we wouldn’t have seen the maturation in both her observations and her writing.
Worst part: None

Recommendation þþþþo

While the story itself is by no means a “page-turner,” the fact that this is an actual account of life in hiding for Jews in Holland is fascinating. Boredom, hunger, and fear are surprisingly no more frequent than optimism, desire, and aspiration. Anne is a thoroughly capable narrator and a beautiful writer. Her story should be known by everyone.

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Bantam, c1952, 1993.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Pages: 180
Intended Audience: Tweens and up
Genre: Dystopian
Notes for Parents: Some references to suffering.

The Inside Cover

Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community.
When Jonas turns twelve he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it’s time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The Giver won the John Newbery Medal for most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children in 1994. This is the first in a series of four companion novels.

What’s good?

A slow but steady pace reveals a fascinating community of well-drawn characters. The story is an impressive, easy-to-understand interpretation of some very complex philosophies. Powerful images and disturbing practices simplify the cost of creating a community with no conflict or suffering. The title character is a typical, likeable boy who easily accepts the beliefs of his elders until his ignorance is challenged by new knowledge shared with him by The Giver.
Best Part: Gabriel

What isn’t good?

Perhaps an overly simplistic explanation is given as to why the community is as it is and no explanation is offered as to how it came to be that way. Some suspension of disbelief is required to explain the community’s acceptance of some of its more horrific customs.
Worst part:  None.

Recommendation þþþþo

A fascinating look at what a community has to give up in order to avoid suffering and live what it believes to be an ideal life. The plot moves fairly slow and there isn’t a lot of action, but the truths that are gradually revealed are fascinating. Definitely recommended.

 

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Laurel-Leaf Books, 1993.

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Pages: 307
Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens
Genre: Steampunk
Notes for Parents: Some references to violence

The Inside Cover

It’s one thing to learn to curtsy properly, it’s quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia Temminnick is a great trial to her poor mother—her atrocious curtsy is an embarrassment to the family name. So Mrs. Temminnick enrolls her daughter in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine’s, young ladies certainly learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year’s education.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first in a series, and takes place in the same world as her adult series, the Parasol Protectorate. This is the author’s first young adult book.

What’s good?

Great characters and plenty of action highlight this quirky adventure set in Victorian England with robots, vampires, and werewolves. The author’s simple writing style is enhanced with a sophisticated vocabulary (e.g. décolletage, prevaricate) and great use of metaphors and similes. The story is light-hearted and has a good pace.
Best Part: Pillover and Bumbersnoot the mechanimal.

What isn’t good?

The names of some of the characters are a bit ridiculous (e.g. Frowbritcher, Mrs. Barnaclegoose) and at times the story goes from sophisticated to juvenile quite quickly. The biggest problem, however, is the weak plot. The search for the device is dealt with very passively compared to learning curtsies and feeding Bumbersnoot.
Worst part: There was nothing terrible.

Recommendation þþþoo

This is another example of a story with great potential that falls a little short. I loved the characters and the setting was wonderful, but the lazy plot left me less than intrigued. Despite that, it was still entertaining and deserves a recommendation.

Carriger, Gail. Etiquette & Espionage. New York: Scholastic, 2013.