The Diary of a Young Girl- A Review

"Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me... Later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl."

Anne Frank couldn't have been more wrong.

    This is the first time I've read anything in a diary format, and this was a good start! In the beginning, Anne's thoughts and sometimes self-centred ideas (as she admits later on in the diary) are adorable, and quite relatable to my own thoughts a few years ago when I was thirteen. Slowly as each tragedy befalls the Franks, the plot thickens. We all live through Anne's initial fright and panic as they go into hiding. 

    Then come the funny incidents and anecdotes of Anne and her thoughts on them, on how weird adults might seem sometimes, and the periodic quarrels that break out between the inmates of the 'Secret Annexe'. Then, gradually, Anne steps into adulthood and focuses more on her intrinsic thoughts and feelings. Her writing takes a more romantic and poetic turn, reflecting her aspirations to become a great author after the war ends, which, unfortunately, was never realized. 

    She writes at length about the scrimmages with her mother, her detached relationship with her father, a deep friendship that turns into a beautiful romance with Peter (The son of the Van Daans, another family that went underground with the Franks), and so much more about her life and the political situation outside. Her words are wise and her thoughts are deep and cultivated, which, as she says herself, contrasts with her outward appearance and character which is buoyant, stylish, chatty and extroverted.

    She was exploring this duality of her persona in her diary when it ended, as the secret annexe was discovered and the families were caught three days later.

    This account is unique because having a story related from a single viewpoint only reveals so much about the person relating it, and lets us connect with their thoughts more since we get no other views other than that of the person relating it. In this case, it very clearly shows how the thought process becomes more complex and reflective, and less impulsive as the person grows. For example, there was one entry when she said that she ought to have been more empathetic to her companions when she talked to them or quarrelled with them in the past, which she realised when she read her past entries in the diary.

    It is heartwarming to see the young girl mature step by step, realizing her follies, her imperfections, her positive qualities, her dreams, her desires...

    Oh my, the book is beautiful🥲! I am at a loss for words to describe it. Whoever is reading this, please give it a try. I am sure you will love it. It does help in understanding the lives of Jews and others who were oppressed during the holocaust and a little bit of the political situation in the regions annexed by Nazi Germany, but it is far more than just that- it is the story of a young girl, an end unto itself.