I think a diary is almost impossible to review. It's a person's innermost thoughts, it isn't meant for public eyes, and it isn't written by a professional writer. That said, this diary is an important read as are all accounts that exist from those whose lives were extinguished by those Nazi monsters. I think the Anne Frank comparison gives a bit of a false set up though because it doesn't have the same depth of thought that Anne Frank's diary has. This one has a lot of school, friendship, and young love angst, and in that sense it does truly read like the diary of a teenager. It just wasn't quite I was expecting. Renia's sister's commentary at the end is very powerful and engaging though.

I reviewed this on my blog and will send the details directly to the publisher in the next round of this review process.

This book shows a different side of the invasion of Poland. Reina's first hand account of what is going on is very interesting. It should be noted that this is nothing like Anne Frank's diary...nothing. Reina's diary goes through every day life during the invasion, this includes (mainly) her crushes and how much she misses her Mother whom she has been separated from due to the war. There is far more teenage angst that anything else. As long as the reader does not open this book expecting the deep insights received from Anne Frank, then they will be able to enjoy the read.

When I finished this, I didn’t think that it would be fair to rate it. How do you rate someone’s diary, an intimate look at someone’s inner thoughts, secrets, a diary that is not necessarily meant for anyone else to read? I ultimately that decided that since I have rated Anne Frank’s diary (5 stars), I should rate this one. So it’s three stars, mainly because it was a struggle for me to read a large part of this which is focused on the day to day reflections of a teenage girl with all of its angst, squabbles with friends, parties and boyfriends. Nevertheless, I have to say it’s an important book. It is also interspersed with poems, some lovely, and some sad and poignant thoughts on what is happening in Poland, on missing her mother.

This diary is framed by an introduction by a Holocaust scholar and an epilogue by Renia’s sister. Reading these two narratives allowed me to grasp the significance of a diary written by a teenage in occupied Poland. The introduction offers some interesting observations about diary vs memoir. The writer of a memoir knows the outcome of what happened to them, written with the memory of what happened. The writer of a diary, as is the case with Renia Spiegel, writes contemporaneously not knowing. The reader does know what happens to Renia and of course, it heartbreaking because we know that all, of the seemingly typical teenage concerns and her life will be upended by war, by death.

Some of the saddest moments are when Renia talks about missing her mother, who she is separated from when she is visiting her grandmother and Poland’s occupation becomes split between the German and the Russians. There are a few passages dealing with some bombings and having to hide. When she is writing about these moments is when I was most captivated. Parts were moving, parts were repetitive and mundane , but Renia’s story is important for us to remember because of the loss of her life as well as millions of other Jews. The introduction and epilogue framing this book are equally important.

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

What a window into the life of Renia Spiegel. This dairy just left me speechless. The entries this young girl wrote in the midst of WWII had me glued to my kindle. It is amazing that during such a horrible time Renia still was a young lady and wrote about “normal” things like school, friends and a special boy.

The writing from Elizabeth added to this book so very much. Renia’s Diary is a book that should be read and respected by all! I feel very honored to have able to read such a personal and imitated book. I thank everyone involved in publishing Renia’s Diary.

It was such a privilege to be able to read this Diary. Not only do I thank the amazing people at St Martins Press for granting me access to an early copy but I must also thank Renias Family. Reading and ultimately publishing this Diary was not easy but in doing so I believe they will touch many people.

Renia was a beautiful young girl with hopes and dreams and fears. You get to read all about them in her diary. She was just a young adolescent when the war broke out. She was being raised by her grandparents for the duration of this account. Separated from her mother and sister who she missed dearly. Her father is mentioned but it seems that his arrangement was sort of commonplace for the time and part of the world where Renia grew up.

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who may be reading this review. Just know that this book is important. It really put things into perspective for me. I have never had to live through a war. I am so very thankful to live in a country where I feel safe and free to be who I am and live the life I want to live.

I felt a connection with Renia as I was reading her diary. She was very much a person that I felt like I knew personally by the end and it was heartbreaking to know that her life was cut short.

I will be purchasing a copy of this Diary for my shelves and urging others to read it. Upon doing further research I have found that people are calling Renia the Polish Anne Frank. I see similarities between the two girls but there deserves to be a separation. I can say however that Anne Frank changed my life as a child and Renia Spiegel has changed my life as an adult.

Renia Spiegel was a Polish Jewish teenager who was born and raised in an area of Poland that was near the border with Romania. An avid diarist and poet, Renia wrote about her life in her journal right up to her untimely death at the hands of the Gestapo in 1942. I’ve read mentions of comparisons to Anne Frank but the only similarities between the two books are that both girls were Jewish and wrote journals. Other than that their diaries are very different. Where Anne’s diary detailed her own personal thoughts and feelings, she also recounted much of what was happening on the outside, even when she was in hiding. Renia’s diary reads much more like a regular teenager’s diary, focusing mainly on her friends, loves, and school, and mentions of what are happening to her country and the restrictions imposed on the Jews, as well as fears and hopes of the population in general are only often mentioned in passing, or in the background. This could be because her diary was a way to escape from the world around her, or just because she wasn’t interested in recounting horrifying events in detail. In any case if you read this book looking for Anne Frank you will possibly find it a little difficult to read. If you read it knowing that you are reading a teenager’s intimate diary, and place yourself in her world, you will see what a lovely writer and poet Renia was.

Some entries are a little tedious, as I’m sure many entries of my own teenage journals are, and some are a perfect rendition of what it is to be a teenager. I really appreciated the epilogue written by Renia’s little sister, Elizabeth, who survived the war with their mother, as it helped place Renia in a world outside her journal - I think this part of the book should maybe be read before the diary as it allows the reader a greater perspective of who Renia was, and where she lived. I also really appreciated reading Renia’s poetry as I found much to understand about what was happening around her in those verses.

I’m so glad that Elizabeth finally decided to publish her sister’s story and that I had the chance to read it. I’m left saddened by how Renia’s life was cut short, amidst millions of others, but hopeful that there will always be people to uncover and tell these stories. We will never forget.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

It's a little difficult to review this one because while it does take place during WWII and the author was Jewish, ultimately it is a teenager's diary. Which means endless entries about boys and friendship drama. I felt really bad while reading this because it was hopelessly banal and I found Renia to be *slightly* annoying and shallow and it me feel really guilty because of knowing her fate. For most of the book there is almost no mention of anything happening outside of her boyfriend and friend groups, maybe it was a form of escapism, or maybe she was just an oblivious teenager in love. I can't say if I opened my nieces diary that it would be filled with anything of substance either. And that in itself is why I continued to read this one even though it wasn't enjoyable. Because unbeknownst to Renia, these daily recaps and poems would be her only legacy and when it comes to Holocaust stories we tend to deify the person for what became of them, and to forget that they were once just ordinary people like you and I and deserve to be remembered as such. Yes many of them did extraordinary things in times of necessity, but for the most part they were mothers, daughters, fathers and sons leading regular lives until someone decided that their mere existence was affronting. These people were more than their circumstances and we owe it to them to remember that.

After the abrupt ending of Renia's diary (and her life) perfectly punctuated by the shot that killed her, we get a few entries from her beloved Zygu himself. I will say I *loathed* his treatment of her over the entirety of her diary, he was selfish and insulting and just not the best person it seemed, but he proved his worth in the end. Like I said, extraordinary in the time of necessity. Renia's sister Elizabeth/Ariana's notes added a lot of depth to this book, as well as much needed background information. I wish that they would consider adding a list of names/terms to the front of the book to help clear up some confusion as to who shes referencing in her entries. Especially with her parents names, I think it would have been helpful to have that information up front because she would often say Bulus and Mommy together like they were separate people. I do wonder too how Renia would have felt knowing people would be reading her most intimate thoughts, especially after how she reacts to Zygu doing so.

This is a diary written by Renia Spiegel as a young girl in the midst of the beginnings of WWII, please keep that in mind when you make your decision to read this one. I felt the bulk of the book was really a YA read, but the introduction, prologue and Elizabeth’s commentary made this one worth my while.
Renia describes her life day by day as a young girl would, most of the writings were not particularly about the trials and tribulations of the war, but of her school, her friends, missing her mother and her infatuation with a certain young man.
As Renia dreamed of a future life, the story does bear witness to the tragedy that befell so many during the horrific events of the Holocaust.
I am glad to have been given the opportunity to receive this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets 3 stars.

I had a difficult time with this book and wasn’t sure I would finish. I stuck with it and finished the diary part and am glad I did because I so much enjoyed the Epilogue and Elizabeth’s Commentary that I changed my original rating of 3 stars to 4 stars. I felt that the diary part was too scattered and verbatim of a young girls diary—if the diary and commentary had perhaps been integrated it might have been a more enjoyable read. I have read several books similar to this and found them to be more interesting. It would be interesting for Renia’s sister, Elizabeth, to write more in the manner of her commentary and epilogue.
I thank #netgalley for the chance to read this copy of #reniasdiary pre-publication.

Renia’s Diary by Elizabeth Bellak
Such a sad feeling after finishing
this story. I would have liked to have read Elizabeth Bellak’s Commentary first, so that I could have understood
Renia’s Diary better. The Diary was written by a young girl starting at the age of 14. Sometime it was hard to follow and only understood it at the end of the book. Renia’s Diary tells of her longing for her Mother and how much she misses her, her love for Zygmunt, who she loved very much, her friends and how the war affected her until she could no longer finish her diary and was finished by Zygmunt, who saved her diary and made this story possible. He loved her till the end of his life. Her sister Elizabeth Bellak has kept her story alive and learned and grew from her past.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC in return for an honest review, which this has been. #NetGalley, #StMartinsPress

I wasn't able to get past the first couple of chapters. It was not captivating from the start. I couldn't continue reading.

This book contains the entries in a diary of a girl between the ages of 16 to 18. It is filled with a wide range of emotions - happiness and sadness with friends and family, and especially, young love. It could have been written anywhere by any teenager, but it was written by Renia, who lived with her grandparents in war torn Poland. It was kept by her boyfriend, who then gave it to her younger sister, who had escaped and survived, along with her mother.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I had higher expectations for this book based on the description, This book is more of YA genre and lacked the depth I was hoping for. I always enjoy historical fiction but had a hard time connecting with this one. I appreciate the opportunity to review this book.

I hate to admit I could not even force myself to finish Renia's Diary, which is most disappointing as I really looked forward to reading it. I find books about WWII fascinating.

Admittedly, whenever reading someone's diary, you are subject to their most mundane thoughts and ramblings. When reading a teenager's diary, that is amplified considerably. I so wanted to look past that to see history in the making through her young eyes. However at 40% into the book, I was still mired in ramblings, crushes, school relationships etc. and I just could not continue on.

I respect her sister for making sure Renia's Diary came to print. It just wasn't for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The book's publishing date in 9/24/19.

I've heard numerous comparisons to Anne Frank's book, so that was what I was expecting going into this story. However, that wasn't the case. Instead, it felt very much what is truly was: a diary written by a young school girl. I'd expected more about the war, but that wasn't the case. In fact, very little focused on the war. It was more about classmates, etc., and there are numerous people to try and follow with all the classmates and friends. There are numerous footnotes. but they weren't clickable in the electronic copy I read. Like most teen girls, Renia documented things such as her boyfriend and how much she missed being able to confide in her mother. A large portion of the book is poetry written by Renia, and the poetry was quite good. The book does give the reader insight into Renia's life, but for readers expecting to know about how the war impacted her, they may be disappointed. Overall, the pace is slow and it's hard to feel a connection to the characters. However, as it's based on a real person and her real diary, it's a bit hard to critique it.

Not quite what I was expecting from the comparison to Anne Frank and it is difficult for me to "rate" someone's life story especially after it has been cut short by Nazis. I was expecting more about the war and less about classmates, their names, and characteristics. None of those parts were of interest to me.

Step back in time through the pages of a diary, carrying forward a voice that has been lost to us. The diary, published by her sister carries us back to World War II and the thoughts and feelings of a young woman, before her life was ended by the Germans.

Powerful and interesting, this is a book that will stay with you for a long while.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have struggled with my rating of this book. I was really looking forward to reading this book. I first heard about it from a friend who read a magazine article about it. I was expecting to read a diary that was about a young girl’s experience living in WWII in Poland. Unfortunately, there was very little written about the war. It was also a very slow read.

The diary begins on January 31, 1939 and includes 700 pages. It would have been helpful to have an introduction written that gives the reader some basic information before starting. I found it very confusing to keep track of all of her friend’s and classmates in the beginning of the diary. Additionally, she uses different names in reference to the same people. I believe there were footnotes that helped with this, but in the advanced digital galley I was unable to click on a footnote and get directed to the footnote.

The diary focuses primarily on two things. First, her relationship with her boyfriend. Second, how much she misses her mother and wishes she could confide in her. If you are expecting to read about her reflections or experience about the war, it is barely mentioned. This was a disappointment to me, but it did make me reflect that even while living through tremendous times teenage girls still dream (and obsess) about love and boys.

The diary includes a lot of poetry that Renia had written. Many were quite good. The diary gives insight into what a middle to upper class girls day to day life included. I found that very interesting and really liked the focus on writing and reading poetry. The book paints the picture of a cultured education that is very different to education in the United States today. Ultimately, this diary gives you insight into how one girl coped with the war by concentrating on her friends and boys by focusing on love and relationships instead of the turmoil of the world around it.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2865409680?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Renia's Diary is a long-hidden journal written by a Polish teenager during the Holocaust. You really get a sense of her ordinary life (boys, school, her talent for poetry) and how it coincided with a tumultuous political climate. I think younger readers will relate to and appreciate her teenage struggles, because I'd say 90% of the journal focuses on her relationships with friends and a boy. I found the section at the end, written by her surviving sister, much more compelling and interesting.
(And thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Renia's Diary will officially be released on September 24, 2019!)