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jolimelon's review against another edition
3.0
I hadn’t realized upon first picking this up that many of the excerpts just came straight from her diary and occupy about half the book but I hadn’t read her diary in quite a long time so I didn’t mind it. She unfortunately didn’t have enough time to write many short stories so it would’ve been a terribly short book without the clips from her diary.
As for the actual short stories, they were very whimsical. It was pleasant to read that, in spite of everything, Ann had a fantastic imagination occupying her mind. Reading her short stories is a sobering reminder of how young Ann truly was, as they do read completely like the short stories written by a girl her age (which is not a bad thing). You can see the potential in her plots and how far she could’ve gone as a writer had she been given the time. It’s a very depressing reminder of just how short her life was cut.
All in all, there were times when it almost felt a little invasive to read this book since it’s all unedited and some are even left unfinished (and I remember how dire creative privacy felt as a 13 year old girl lol). However, I will say that for unpolished works these are still very well done stories and worth the read for anybody who has read Ann’s diary before.
As for the actual short stories, they were very whimsical. It was pleasant to read that, in spite of everything, Ann had a fantastic imagination occupying her mind. Reading her short stories is a sobering reminder of how young Ann truly was, as they do read completely like the short stories written by a girl her age (which is not a bad thing). You can see the potential in her plots and how far she could’ve gone as a writer had she been given the time. It’s a very depressing reminder of just how short her life was cut.
All in all, there were times when it almost felt a little invasive to read this book since it’s all unedited and some are even left unfinished (and I remember how dire creative privacy felt as a 13 year old girl lol). However, I will say that for unpolished works these are still very well done stories and worth the read for anybody who has read Ann’s diary before.
freemajo's review against another edition
4.0
The first 2/3 of the book consists of short stories and fables that Anne wrote. The last third contains vignettes of her life interspersed with fictional "memories" from both before and during her captivity. What becomes apparent from reading these works of fiction by Anne is how she longed to be outside again, with repeated images of nature as healer. After reading her diary, it is easy to see where she took her own thoughts about herself and her relationships with others and used them as a basis for her fictional characters. This makes it particularly lovely to read as you're able to get a glimpse into the unintentionally revealing thoughts, unfiltered by Anne and her editors.
felinity's review against another edition
3.0
Incredible for what they are, this is a collection of tales, essays and observations written by Anne which show much promise for her potential future as a writer, had things turned out differently. Some of the more fanciful tales didn't really hold my interest, but all were well above the level I'd expect from someone of her age and experience. I'm glad to have read them, though I probably won't read them again.
covergirlbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I think we tend to take more pride in our authorship in the range of 12-15 than at any other time in our life. After that time our stories and thoughts are increasingly critiqued, graded and overanalyzed. Being able to peep over into Anne's story writing helped me in my character analyzation, and the monologue I did in theatre class from Diary of Anne Frank.
PSSST. Read her diary, too, it's incredible!
PSSST. Read her diary, too, it's incredible!
beckks's review against another edition
5.0
5/5
It is incredible to think the imagination and storytelling ability young Anne Frank had during such a tumultuous time. This book was very haunting to me. Perhaps that is because of where Anne Frank was writing and why she was there.
She had such insight to life for her young age.
The audiobook narrator was very good and I do recommend listening to this edition if you can.
It is incredible to think the imagination and storytelling ability young Anne Frank had during such a tumultuous time. This book was very haunting to me. Perhaps that is because of where Anne Frank was writing and why she was there.
She had such insight to life for her young age.
The audiobook narrator was very good and I do recommend listening to this edition if you can.
dulcepelayo10's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
A young lady with so much potencial.
I really like the fragment of “Why?”; it shows how mature she was, and she also was advanced for its time .
A young lady with so much potencial.
I really like the fragment of “Why?”; it shows how mature she was, and she also was advanced for its time .
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
Although uneven (what else would one expect from a story collection and unfinished novel by a 15 year old in hiding), the best of these pieces are excellent and provide an interesting complement to Anne Frank's Diary.
This collection has four types of pieces: (1) additional sketches about life in hiding that were included in the [b:The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition|11786839|The Diary of a Young Girl The Definitive Edition|Anne Frank|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328346057l/11786839._SY75_.jpg|78182066] published in 1995 but not in the [b:The Diary of a Young Girl|48855|The Diary of a Young Girl|Anne Frank|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560816565l/48855._SY75_.jpg|3532896] that was the original version edited by her father Otto Frank and is about 25 percent shorter; (2) realistic short stories generally set in Holland; (3) fables and fairy tales, many of which she referred to the writing of in her diary; and (4) fragments from an unfinished novel "Cady's Life." I will address each of these in turn.
The additional sketches are almost all excellent and should ideally be read in the context of the diary itself, they are each wonderfully written and observed, succinctly written, and both witty and insightful observations on every day life in hiding, including "The Dentist" about Dussel, "Sausage Day" about the making of sausages, and "Sundays" which describes each of the inhabitants lives on that day.
If you read the "Definitive" edition of the Diary already then the most exciting new writing in this collection is the realistic short stories (although some are less than fully realistic, including my favorite "Paula's Dream" about a German girl who hides in an Air Force plane during World War I, ends up flying on a bombing mission to Russia, gets shot down, is raised by Russians, and after the war has to make her way back to Germany). Like the sketches, they are well observed but they are also more the product of imagination than experience and often, like a short story, center around a particular incident and psychological shift, mostly in the manner of a Chekhov story. In addition to "Paula's Dream" I would also recommend "Roomers or Renters," "Happiness," and "Fear."
Then there are the fairy tales and fables. I wish these had been included in the Diary itself on the dates they were written because I think interspersing them with her day-to-day recollections would have more accurately captured her writing and given you the texts of the stories along with her references to writing them. In this context, however, they are mildly interesting but can also be a bit tedious and a little overly saccharine.
Finally there is "Cady's Life," an unfinished novel about a girl who has a terrible accident and ends up in a sanatorium forming a relationship with a nurse and having intense discussions about subjects like the existence of God while the beginnings of World War II are rumbling in the background. The unfinished novel is about 50 pages with a sustained opening stretch and then several fragments of unclear order. What is there was actually interesting and engaging reading and read like an actual novel, but it is all so unfinished that it leaves one both marveling at her writing but also sad that it will never been finished or fully realized.
This collection has four types of pieces: (1) additional sketches about life in hiding that were included in the [b:The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition|11786839|The Diary of a Young Girl The Definitive Edition|Anne Frank|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328346057l/11786839._SY75_.jpg|78182066] published in 1995 but not in the [b:The Diary of a Young Girl|48855|The Diary of a Young Girl|Anne Frank|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560816565l/48855._SY75_.jpg|3532896] that was the original version edited by her father Otto Frank and is about 25 percent shorter; (2) realistic short stories generally set in Holland; (3) fables and fairy tales, many of which she referred to the writing of in her diary; and (4) fragments from an unfinished novel "Cady's Life." I will address each of these in turn.
The additional sketches are almost all excellent and should ideally be read in the context of the diary itself, they are each wonderfully written and observed, succinctly written, and both witty and insightful observations on every day life in hiding, including "The Dentist" about Dussel, "Sausage Day" about the making of sausages, and "Sundays" which describes each of the inhabitants lives on that day.
If you read the "Definitive" edition of the Diary already then the most exciting new writing in this collection is the realistic short stories (although some are less than fully realistic, including my favorite "Paula's Dream" about a German girl who hides in an Air Force plane during World War I, ends up flying on a bombing mission to Russia, gets shot down, is raised by Russians, and after the war has to make her way back to Germany). Like the sketches, they are well observed but they are also more the product of imagination than experience and often, like a short story, center around a particular incident and psychological shift, mostly in the manner of a Chekhov story. In addition to "Paula's Dream" I would also recommend "Roomers or Renters," "Happiness," and "Fear."
Then there are the fairy tales and fables. I wish these had been included in the Diary itself on the dates they were written because I think interspersing them with her day-to-day recollections would have more accurately captured her writing and given you the texts of the stories along with her references to writing them. In this context, however, they are mildly interesting but can also be a bit tedious and a little overly saccharine.
Finally there is "Cady's Life," an unfinished novel about a girl who has a terrible accident and ends up in a sanatorium forming a relationship with a nurse and having intense discussions about subjects like the existence of God while the beginnings of World War II are rumbling in the background. The unfinished novel is about 50 pages with a sustained opening stretch and then several fragments of unclear order. What is there was actually interesting and engaging reading and read like an actual novel, but it is all so unfinished that it leaves one both marveling at her writing but also sad that it will never been finished or fully realized.
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0