Reviews

Cuentos del escondite secreto by Anne Frank

wingsandfables's review against another edition

5.0

If you are interested in reading more of Anne Frank's writings, then this is worth the read. The first half of the book is more diary entries that were not published in the original Diary of a Young Girl, and the second half is Anne's short stories and the beginning of her novel. Depending on which edition of Anne's diary you read, this may have many of the same entries in it and you will be rereading things already published. The Definitive Edition in particular has many of these entries in it; however, I still found the book to be enjoyable. Anne's writing style, of course, continues to be interesting and well-written. I particularly enjoyed her entry of an old tale her father would tell her when she was scared. It's unclear whether her father simply made up this story to calm her nerves, or if it is an actual old tale passed down. Regardless, it was very enjoyable for me. I also immensely enjoyed her unfinished novel "Cady's Life." As you read her stories, you can see her trying to make sense of her world and trying to find herself in them. She worked through her thoughts through her stories which I find very common among writers. Definitely worth the read if you are an Anne Frank fan.

catarinajoia's review against another edition

4.0

Anne Frank was an incredibly writer. She was very young and you can still see her writing was a bit childish sometimes, but this book shows that if she could've lived longer, she would've become a very famous and talented writer.
My favourite parts of this book were her inner thoughts and daydreams, followed by her incomplete novel. Her short stories were pretty good too, but some of them were too "fable" like for my own taste.
Nevertheless, it was a great book and I'm really glad I bought it when I visited Anne Frank's house/museum! :)

bonzobuffalo's review against another edition

5.0

I wish this had been required reading when I was 13, rather than reading it now at age 30. There are so many themes and topics here that are important for women and society of any age to discuss together. I look forward to buying it and a blank journal/diary for any teen girls in my family.

thelibraryofsarah's review against another edition

5.0

2020 re-read: Still blown away by her writing ability at such a young age, and it's clear that she used these writings to express and explore her own life, philosophy, fears, and hopes.

2008: Absolutely amazing! A collection of Anne Frank's short stories, essays, anecdotes, fairy tales, and the beginning of a novel! She was a wonderful and remarkable person and writer!

joanasimao's review against another edition

4.0

Reading this as a child was my first contact with the horrors of WWII.

I have no idea how many times I've read this by now and it never ceases to leave a strong impression. Glad I had time for a reread after a these years, especially as I'll be visiting Amsterdam (and the Annexe) soon.

bloodhoney's review against another edition

4.0

I found this book after eleven years of looking. I knew that Anne Frank was a writer; I had been told, as a thirteen-year-old, that the girl my age had written stories and novels at the end of her diary. Where I could find these stories, no one could say.

Eleven years later, no longer thirteen, I found a copy of this book lying on a tilting pile of books in a fellow teacher's room and snagged it.

Since I am no longer Anne's age, the stories are not "good." Some of them are boring. But my thirteen-year-old self would have found meaning and insight in these stories, and my twenty-four-year-old self found insight into who I used to be, into who Anne Frank used to be. That's what matters to me.

caitreads's review against another edition

(Re-read. Not giving it a star rating because WEIRD)

kath_reads's review against another edition

4.0

Me after reading the book : "I cannot believe that a young girl wrote this book."

My fiance bought me this book (together with The Diary of a Young Girl) when we visited the Bergen Belsen Memorial. They have a small bookshop where you can find books about the history of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp, Holocaust, and some diaries/journals of WWII survivors.

Tis is a beautiful collection of Anne Frank's journal entries, short stories (both fiction and non-fiction), as well as her unfinished novel. I became her fan after reading The Diary of a Young Girl and I can say that she's a natural born story-teller and writer. This collection shows not only her skills on writing (at a very young age) but also her thoughts about life. Her stories are inspiring, and full of wisdom and love.

Some of my favorite stories from this book are ; Eva's Dream, Happiness, Give, Blurry the Explorer, Why? and Cady's Life.

If you've read and loved her diary, then this is a must-read for you. If not, I would still recommend this for you.

oliviarosaria's review against another edition

5.0

For anyone who enjoyed Anne Frank’s diary and wants more of an insight into her life and deeper thoughts this is definitely worth the read. While the beginning of the book does feel like a copy of her diary, it was still interesting to read a much more polished version that focused more on facts than the emotional side, which is definitely the case with her diary.
The second half of the book makes it worth every penny, it is a mix of short stories and thoughts that allow a much deeper look into how Anne saw the world. Yes, the writing style is not perfect but given her age I think this is understandable and some of her ideas are extremely deep and mature for someone of her age.
This book shows that had history been different Anne Frank had real potential and she could have gone on to be one of the great writers of the 20th century.