Anne Frank and Me

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Summary: So wonderful I couldn't put it down!
Review: I had been hearing rave reviews about the play "Anne Frank and me" and I was excited to have a chance to read the novel version. I was not disappointed. It was the most witty, intelligent, honest Young Adult novel I have read in a very long time, if not the ever. Cherie and Jeff have done a fantastic job not only conveying the angst teen girls all over the world go through on a daily basis (unrequited love, the mind-numbing spirit destroying hell of high school, not being able to connect with your parents) but they were able to deal with one of the most serious subjects in history--the Holocaust. I feel that this book should be put on to the reading lists of schools all over America--it really brought the horrors of an old historical event that isn't extremely relevant to a middle-class Protestant young adult to life. Buy this book--you won't regret it!

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Summary: A Must-Read Holocaust Novel For All Ages
Review: 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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Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: This book brought the Holocaust into a new light. I am one-half Jewish, and have never really identified with my faith. (Or any faith) But this book tells of the heartache of the Jews during the late 1930s and early to middle 1940s. It is a must-read.

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Summary: The Faces of the Holocaust, Including Yours and Mine
Review: 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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Summary: A brilliant story that leaves you deely moved and breathless
Review: I was stunned by how powerful this book is and how deeply it affected me. When I checked Anne Frank and Me out of the local library, I was not expecting it to be good for some reason that I cannot explain. Yet, when I started reading it, I was amazed at how quickly it grasped my attention and how drawn I was to the main character, Nicole Burns. Nicole modeled the typical American teenager in the beginning of the story. She was self-absorbed and did not have the "time to learn" about such events in history as the Holocaust. When Nicole's class goes to the Anne Frank exhibit, Nicole gets knocked out cold and in the next chapter, the reader finds Nicole as a Jewish, Parisian girl living under Hitler's wrath. At first, Nicole has no idea who she is, where she is, or what kind of person she is. However, Nicole (whose last name is now Bernhardt)slowly begins to regain her memory as the story progresses. There were certain points in the book where I just had to look up from my reading because I was so disturbed by some of the things that Nicole and her family were subject to. When I finished Anne Frank and Me, I could not stop talking about it. I talked about it with teachers, my friends, and my family. Never before had I read something that made me understand the horrors of the Holocaust as well as Anne Frank and Me did. I do think that this book is great for teenage girls who want to understand what teenage girls during the Holocaust went through. The thought of having to go through an ordeal like the one Nicole went through, completely blows my mind. This is an excellent book and I can confidently say that no other book that I have read has moved me in the way that Anne Frank and Me did. I went into this book expecting nothing, and came out of it with a completely different view of the Holocaust.

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Summary: on of the best books...
Review: I read through the other reviews and have one thing to say - they were totally right! This book is truly one of my favorites. It is a story filled with sadness but also love and encouragement. It is a story about a young girl's bravery, pride to be Jewish, and her undying love for her family.
The book starts off with a girl named Nicole. She describles herself as the one nobody will remember at their high school reunion. Also, she has a major crush on a boy named Jack. Nicole starts a web site where she writes all of her thoughts and feelings anonymous and the only one who knows about her website is her best friend Mimi.
Nicole's class visits the Anne Frank exhibit and she is knocked out cold. In the next chapter something is not right! She is a Jewish teenage girl living under Hitler's rule in Paris! Her teacher and principle are her parents and her annoying little sister is there too! But all of her worrying soon comes to an end when Jack, known as Jacques tells her that he has loved her since third grade.
But Nicole's family is forced into hiding and she comes face-to-face with Anne Frank.
This is one of my favorite books and I think it is worth reading! It is touching and made me cry. It is very good

Rating:
Summary: Anne Frank and Me
Review: This book was absolutely amazing. I loved every word! I told my mom about it and now she wants to read it. It truly was a wonderful story and I reccomended it to all my friends!

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Summary: Great Book
Review: This book about Nicole Burns, who later in the book becomes Nicole Bernhardt, shows what the Holocaust was like with every little detail. It tells that for every German soldier killed, the Gestapo would kill 100 people. It tells how even that Nicole is French, she needs to go to Vel D'Hiv, a French prison that is being held in a stadium, just because she is spending the night with a friend who is Jewish, like Nicole, but not from France.It tells how Jews had to live during the Holocaust. This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it!

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Summary: Touching!!
Review: This book was so touching and so powerful! It's a powerful, powerful book. And if you're looking for an inspirational and very sad, but good, book... this is the one for you! Everybody should read this book, it's historically acurate, and it's hard to put down! I recommend this book to everybody!

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Summary: Wondeful book
Review: This is such a wonderful book. It shows us that we should stand up for what we believe in no matter what. I loved this book also because Anne Frank is in it. The authors portrayed her very well. I am glad that the authors wrote this book because teenagers today need to know about the Holocaust and realize that it did happen. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.