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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read Holocaust Novel For All Ages, April 5, 2001
The authors of ANNE FRANK AND ME have accomplished a phenomenal task. They have written a Holocaust novel that is deeply moving without being a depressing read. Like THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK itself, the ultimate message of Bennett & Gottesfeld's book is one of hope. Both books demonstrate that even in the midst of the most horrendous violations of human rights, good people still exist who can make a difference. Without trivializing the historical tragedy, both books paint three-dimensional portraits of real teenagers, just as concerned with fashion and dating as they are with whether they will live or die. This juxtaposition is refreshingly realistic. Nicole Burns is an average teenager, at times intolerant, boy-crazy, and uninterested in schoolwork. She, like most of the characters in this book, is not 100% good nor 100% evil. In a misguided effort to be politically correct, some authors of historical fiction make their characters sinners or saints, leaving the reader with the impression that she could never relate to these larger-than-life people. But teens will identify with Nicole. They will realize that the Holocaust happened to ordinary people like themselves, and that it could happen again. This story will hook even reluctant readers with its humor and up-to-date setting, including Nicole's own website. Nicole's time-travel to Paris in 1942 is believably handled. Events become gradually more intense, so that by the time Nicole is in real danger, readers who would not normally choose a "serious," "educational" book will keep reading to find out what happens next. You will cry. You will also smile. You will definitely think and learn. What more could you ask from a book?
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Faces of the Holocaust, Including Yours and Mine, March 8, 2001
By A Customer
The more you know about the Nazi occupation of Paris, France, and the checkered French response to it, the more you will understand what a remarkable feat authors Bennett and Gottesfeld have accomplished in a book ostensibly for young adults. This book, full of the adolescent longing, romance, and expression of young sexuality that marks Anne Frank's own diary, is a veritable Sophie's Choice for teens. If only all historical fiction for young people could be this powerful. There are three main reasons for Anne Frank and Me's power. First, every teen (and this adult reader) will come to fall in love with the authors' heroine, a modern Christian tenth grader named Nicole, who describes herself accurately on her Girl X website as a "girl in the middle." She reminded me too much of too many of my own students, too distracted by the drama of their lives to do their homework. But under Nicole, and under my students, is a young woman who could change the world if only she'd let herself seize the day. Second, the authors' research is brilliant. Nazi-Occupied Paris comes to life as a teen would see it. Readers will understand all the major events, including the anti-Jewish laws, the yellow star decree, the July 1942 round-up of foreign-born Jews, the black market, the continuation of Paris' cultural life, the collaborationist press, the French fascist miltias, the killing of innocents in reprisal for acts of resistance.... It's all there. Both present and past are expertly rendered from a teen's eye view. The dialogue is crisp and idiomatic in the present, truthful in the past. The authors embrace Nicole, including the same romantic and erotic longings in her life that Anne Frank wrote about in her own diary. Nicole is in love with a boy who loves her. This love is reflected in her diary, as you might expect. Under the circumstances, knowing what we know about what is likely to come, it is both breathtaking and heartbreaking. Heartbreaking too is Nicole's chance meeting with Anne on a cattle car on the way to Birkenau. Parts of this book made me, a Christian teacher, shudder. I like to think that were I alive back then, I would have been another Miep Gies, doing everything I could to keep Nicole's--or Anne Frank's--family alive. I like to think I would have brought food to the Secret Annex. But who can deny that most of our Christian brethren were too worried about their own lives and too influenced by centuries of anti-Semitism to do what we could to protect our Jewish neighborhors? It made me uncomfortable to be confronted with this reality as I read. But so be it. The point of reading is not to be made comfortable. Lastly, this book is a great read, full of plot twists and turns that defied my best efforts to guess what was coming next. I read it in a single sitting, something I haven't done with a young adult novel since Speak. Whether you're a teen or a parent or a teacher or a grandparent, put Anne Frank and Me on your reading list, somewhere near the top. You will glad you did.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anne Frank and Me, October 5, 2003
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Anne Frank and Me (Paperback)
Anne Frank and Me is one of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down. It captured my attention from the beginning because I connected with the main character Nicole. She thought that nothing could go right for her. Come to find out when she entered the life of a Jewish girl nothing was going right there either. This book had so many twists that I had to finsih it while sitting at the dining room table with my whole family watching me...that is how good it was.
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