The Diary of a Young Girl is a terrific discovery of the character of Anne Frank. Any young girl can find ways to relate to her, regardless of where she lives or the conditions she enjoys or endures. Anne had both a taste of the good life and the not-so-good life, terrible confinement in fact. Yet despite the things that were going on around her during these years of detention, she stayed positive and continued to grow and learn in every sense of the word.

She's a character who will live on indefinitely. She painted a picture of one little spot on the world's canvas during a time in history that will not soon be forgotten. She has the energy to light up any girl, help her to live above her circumstances and look for the positive side of things. She returns to her studies day after day, seeking to learn more about the outside world that threatens her well-being.

What if she never got that diary as a gift? Would she have written to Kitty? Would we all be deprived of the opportunity to live with her and step into her life for two years, and join her in her confined community?

What a seeming tragedy that she doesn't survive much past her last words written in this diary, yet because she wrote it, she lives on indefinitely through the minds of those who decide to step into the tight quarters she shared, and to smell their foods and waste.

She speaks for all teens when she writes her feelings about how her mother doesn't understand her and her sister feels distant. At first she doesn't love a boy, yet later longs for him. It's the bustle of emotions that any young girl might experience. But Anne has a charming way of taming her emotions and explaining what she's feeling. She has a way of getting outside herself and looking at the situation in a way that most busy teens don't take the time to reflect upon.

Anne is a lovely girl willing to befriend any young girl who needs a confidant. She's a friend who remains locked up and will never reveal your secrets. Any young girl can confide in Anne, knowing that they have her full trust. She will never spill out these private thoughts. They go into the secret hiding place and there, they forever remain. The secrets die with her disease, among all the others whose lives ended in this horrific war.


 

Even if this book isn't on the curriculum of your local high school, this book is an essential part of an upbringing, tapping into a snippet of history from the perspective of a young teen. If only we had more books by teens throughout history, then we could piece together a curriculum and lessons that kids could understand.

Leave adult history to the adults and the child's perspective for the children. Anne, herself, however says that she is no longer a child, that she is fully capable of fending for herself. She learns this, of course, in the confines of her safe hiding place. If she were to venture out the door for even a day, her life would be in jeopardy. It's just this way for all of us, thinking that we're independent and, not needing others, yet we're all of one mind, inseparable and irrefutably connected. This book will send shivers through your bones while warming your heart.

When I was a teen and I looked into her eyes in her photo, I felt an uncertain connection, that her voice was still there calming me through my own trials. Although with completely different people, time and circumstances, as a teen I struggled through the same itches, wanting to connect more to my mom, to change her into what I felt I needed. I felt a certain connection with some adults on one day and then annoyance by the same on another. It's a turmoil of emotions and an unsettling time of life.

An inevitable release into the world will come, but it seems like it's so far out into the future and what will that outside world hold? Home is a place to sleep and rest and share with family, but it's so normal to long for the release, the escape to run, to get out and smell the faraway grass and plants.

Anne is a lifelong friend, the perfect kind that never ages, whose voice is consistent, whose desire to learn never fades and whose positive nature is always there to cheer you up. She has that blossoming mix of youthful yearning along with eternal hope and vigor, boiling in her blood inside.

She's honest, sharing with us her most intimate feelings, including thoughts about her period. She never bores us with too much detail, but she states the facts and justifies her thinking. She was meant to get that diary on her birthday before her captivity. That diary gave her an escape, and it provides an escape for all who choose to join her in her temporary entrapment. Although her physical world was confined, she didn't allow that space to contain her mind. She went far out into the battlefields and into the nearby community. She listened to the news and remained ever hopeful. She's surely an angel who was sent to give the world a special message.

Even when you're eating rotten food, there is still hope, she believes. Even when you can't go outside physically, no one has the power to confine your mind. A book can take you many places. It's a safe place to travel when you can't walk the streets. Anne is a dear friend. If you haven't met her yet, I'd like to introduce you to this amazing young woman. She has a message to share with you. If you take the time to listen, you will never be the same.

Anne Frank has a message for mothers and fathers who want to better connect with their teen daughters. Anne has a message for teen boys about what goes on in the mind of a young girl. But most importantly, Anne has a message of peace and hope for global leaders who make war and peace. When I was Anne's age, I knew I wanted to write and put out a message for the world, just as she longed for and accomplished. I didn't want her circumstances and I didn't want my own either. My journals seemed like a rambling of my own life and who would care about that? But the truth is, this is the very intimacy that everyone is craving