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elizc3's review against another edition
4.0
~~An advanced copy of this book was provided by St. Martin's Press and Goodreads with no promise of a review~~
I believe my review will reiterate the feelings of most of the people who have had the pleasure of reading this book. Renia Spiegel‘s diary takes place over four years in 1939-1942 - which makes it extremely difficult to review. This is someone's immediate recollection of their own life events. I find it to be unnecessary to try to analyze this book from a pure writing perspective.
Renia is a teen girl so a lot of her musings are focused on crushes, friendship issues, and her day to day life. Which quite frankly gets a bit tedious at times but it's a teen girl's diary. I think this gives you a better picture of Renia as a whole and that's what this book is primarily intended to do: give you Renia's account of the last 4 years of her life. I am no longer a teen girl but I do believe that most teenagers/middle/high schoolers would be able to related to this content making it easier to read and absorb as opposed to other WWII non-fiction accounts.
Her poetry is amazing and she paints beautiful images with her words; her ability to be introspective is one that most don't expect from a teenager which comes as a pleasant burst of beauty within her day to day observations. She was an extremely talented and well rounded young woman whose pain was clearly depicted when she wrote about missing her mother and later about trying to protect her sister while fleeing with her grandparents. Reina uses her diary to give her some semblance of normalcy in her ever changing traumatic situation. This is an amazing feat of strength in my opinion. To strive and work to give yourself something to hold on to when everything is falling apart.
The afterword is equally as heartbreaking if not more with the additional traumatic details provided by Elizabeth. Elizabeth's details provided some much needed perspective and information that was missed in the diary. I think it could be a good resource to read prior to the diary especially if the intention is to use this book in a classroom/book club setting.
I believe my review will reiterate the feelings of most of the people who have had the pleasure of reading this book. Renia Spiegel‘s diary takes place over four years in 1939-1942 - which makes it extremely difficult to review. This is someone's immediate recollection of their own life events. I find it to be unnecessary to try to analyze this book from a pure writing perspective.
Renia is a teen girl so a lot of her musings are focused on crushes, friendship issues, and her day to day life. Which quite frankly gets a bit tedious at times but it's a teen girl's diary. I think this gives you a better picture of Renia as a whole and that's what this book is primarily intended to do: give you Renia's account of the last 4 years of her life. I am no longer a teen girl but I do believe that most teenagers/middle/high schoolers would be able to related to this content making it easier to read and absorb as opposed to other WWII non-fiction accounts.
Her poetry is amazing and she paints beautiful images with her words; her ability to be introspective is one that most don't expect from a teenager which comes as a pleasant burst of beauty within her day to day observations. She was an extremely talented and well rounded young woman whose pain was clearly depicted when she wrote about missing her mother and later about trying to protect her sister while fleeing with her grandparents. Reina uses her diary to give her some semblance of normalcy in her ever changing traumatic situation. This is an amazing feat of strength in my opinion. To strive and work to give yourself something to hold on to when everything is falling apart.
The afterword is equally as heartbreaking if not more with the additional traumatic details provided by Elizabeth. Elizabeth's details provided some much needed perspective and information that was missed in the diary. I think it could be a good resource to read prior to the diary especially if the intention is to use this book in a classroom/book club setting.
booktravler101's review against another edition
4.0
The life of Renia through her own thoughts about life in Poland leading up to and during the occupation. In this diary, you get an insight of everyday life and thoughts of a schoolgirl going about her life. Renia also wrote some amazing poems about love, family and teenage life.
pam2375's review against another edition
5.0
This is a heart wrenching journal of what life was like for Renia and countless others during the WWII Holocaust. To say that "I loved this book" seems wrong somehow.
My thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. Release date for this one is scheduled for September 2019.
My thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. Release date for this one is scheduled for September 2019.
txcoach25's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Life of a normal teenage girl during an unimaginable time. This diary covers the everyday life of a typical teenage girl who was thrown into chaos and horror as the "Final Solution" came to fruition. Throughout this diary, Renia displayed her ability to create beautiful poems all while writing about life, school, a first and deep love which can come across as being toxic, and the yearning to be with the person she loved most in the world - her mother. She, indeed, was loved so very much.
emsully57's review against another edition
4.0
The story of how Renia's collective diaries survived is incredible in itself!
emj03's review against another edition
4.0
Truly heartbreaking. It is so important to read accounts of the horrors that happened between 1939-1945 and after, the victims who were persecuted must always be remembered.
nickmasters's review against another edition
5.0
Renia Spiegel’s diary has allowed a life that was cruelly cut short, to have a future and longevity that Renia herself so hoped to have. The introduction paints a picture of a young girl filled with hope for the future, a future that was denied, but at least now her story lives on.
In contrast to this sentiment, we dive into the first diary entry, where Renia’s wishes that her thoughts and concerns are never to be revealed, are laid bare. This juxtaposition in itself is quite beautiful.
A lot of the diary, especially the earlier years read like the ramblings of a teenager girl (which is what you would expect) and is interspersed with poetry, some of which is actually pretty amazing. On that note, I am really impressed with the translation of this diary, perhaps some of the intent is lost, but all in all it is pretty incredible that even subtle poetry can be translated into something of equal relevance.
The innocence of Renia’s view is really eye opening. Without the benefit of hindsight meant that some of her opinions seem to trivialize what was actually happening, or at least starting to happen. But that view in itself helps us remember that these were ordinary people, trying to live ordinary lives, whilst the machine of war simply eroded their lives bit by bit.
Renia was at the age where moments, glances, touches, slights, all mean so much (don’t we all miss that age), but yet she was trapped in a time of war, a time where freedom comprised of daydreaming and hoping.
Renia clearly battled with what live was throwing at her. And the effects of the lack of her Mothers presence were very apparent. Despite this and despite the persecutions and oppressions, she could still see the beauty in the season, in love, in family, in friends. To be able to still show empathy towards the German soldiers epitomizes how Renia viewed the world. She was proud of who she was and dreamt of equality and democracy. At the same time believing fully that there would be an end to this nightmare and that they would be able to hold their heads high and live the rest of their lives in happiness and love.
We get to experience Renia’s personal growth through her writing, which is painful in itself, knowing that her life, her dreams, her everything is going to simply cease to exist in a future page-turn.
Thanks you NetGalley and Random House UK for a review copy.
In contrast to this sentiment, we dive into the first diary entry, where Renia’s wishes that her thoughts and concerns are never to be revealed, are laid bare. This juxtaposition in itself is quite beautiful.
A lot of the diary, especially the earlier years read like the ramblings of a teenager girl (which is what you would expect) and is interspersed with poetry, some of which is actually pretty amazing. On that note, I am really impressed with the translation of this diary, perhaps some of the intent is lost, but all in all it is pretty incredible that even subtle poetry can be translated into something of equal relevance.
The innocence of Renia’s view is really eye opening. Without the benefit of hindsight meant that some of her opinions seem to trivialize what was actually happening, or at least starting to happen. But that view in itself helps us remember that these were ordinary people, trying to live ordinary lives, whilst the machine of war simply eroded their lives bit by bit.
Renia was at the age where moments, glances, touches, slights, all mean so much (don’t we all miss that age), but yet she was trapped in a time of war, a time where freedom comprised of daydreaming and hoping.
Renia clearly battled with what live was throwing at her. And the effects of the lack of her Mothers presence were very apparent. Despite this and despite the persecutions and oppressions, she could still see the beauty in the season, in love, in family, in friends. To be able to still show empathy towards the German soldiers epitomizes how Renia viewed the world. She was proud of who she was and dreamt of equality and democracy. At the same time believing fully that there would be an end to this nightmare and that they would be able to hold their heads high and live the rest of their lives in happiness and love.
We get to experience Renia’s personal growth through her writing, which is painful in itself, knowing that her life, her dreams, her everything is going to simply cease to exist in a future page-turn.
Thanks you NetGalley and Random House UK for a review copy.
annvsted87's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
meldav4's review against another edition
Renia’s Diary is a novel that I can see as being a required reading assignment for high school. It was not an easy read, but rather a raw look at a young Polish girl’s life before and during the Holocaust shown through diary entries she wrote. I found that the ending written through the voice of Renia’s sister was easier and more comfortable, and I was more interested and invested in reading that part that than I was the rest of the novel. That being said, I also see this as an important piece of work with valuable historical information and I thank her sister for sharing this with all of us.