“The Franks were outsiders again, and it was just the beginning, only they didn’t know it.”

Before the Frank family started living in the Secret Annex as the Holocaust progressed, they first had to watch their old lives fall apart piece by piece. Anne Frank was an ordinary Jewish girl, but she was also bright enough to think critically about what was going on around her. She began her classic diary in June of 1942 at the tail end of her freedom. When We Flew Away is Alice Hoffman’s imagining of Anne Frank’s life before she moved into hiding, starting when Anne was just a child experiencing worsening conditions for Jews in the Netherlands. The book explores the Frank family dynamic as they slowly come to realize that their optimism may have been misplaced and that good does not always win out over evil.

Although When We Flew Away is centered around Anne, we occasionally get to see the situation from other perspectives, like those of her parents, grandmother, and sister, Margot. I found these perspectives to be the most impactful because the actual accounts of the family members are, for the most part, lost to history. In the diary, Anne has a notoriously bad relationship with her mother, so it was nice to see Edith Frank portrayed in a more tender light, doing the best she could to protect her girls. It was heartbreaking that Otto Frank, the pillar of his daughter's strength in the diary, was portrayed as losing hope that things would get better. The incremental changes that led up to the Holocaust’s consequences were excellently and tragically depicted through poetic writing, which Anne might have appreciated. Even so, some may find the symbolism excessive, with the vicious wolves lying in wait and the repeated reference to wicked black moths both representing the evil forces of the era. Oftentimes, Anne’s vibrant personality got lost amidst the symbolism. Though the Anne described in When We Flew Away uses empathy to inform her insights, the real Anne is better known for having used her logic and linguistic skills to make observations. While the real Anne’s analytical voice is nearly impossible to recreate, the Anne in this book came across as rather quiet and passive by comparison. Even though Hoffman effectively highlights the rising feeling of helplessness among Jews during the Holocaust, the inability to capture Anne's lively spirit causes the book to be less captivating than
it might have been.

What was Anne Frank's life like before she had to go into hiding with her family? Hoffman did extensive research to write this work of historical fiction. This book left me wondering who the audience might be. There are much better historical fiction books written for middle grade readers about the Holocaust than this. This really is a book for devoted readers of Anne Frank's diary, who often would be older than the target audience for this book.

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman centers on the life of Anne Frank, before the war. We also experience Anne’s sister Margot and everything that happened to the family before the Nazis invaded Holland.

This is beautifully written and gives us a look at what Anne’s life may have been like including her friendships, her family, and the love she had for her grandmother. You cannot possibly read this and not feel an emotional tug.

This is a young adult novel but can be appreciated by all ages.

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne’s journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius.

With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family’s life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence.

Amid impossible danger, Anne, audacious, creative, and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she will become a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Critically acclaimed author Alice Hoffman weaves a lyrical and heart-wrenching story of the way the world closes in on the Frank family from the moment the Nazis invade the Netherlands until they are forced into hiding, bringing Anne to bold, vivid life.

I think this is not only one of the best books I’ve ever read, but also one of the most important. The writing is lyrical and filled with the type of magic Alice Hoffman is known for. It’s beautiful, haunting and just wonderful. This is not an easy book to read. A novel of Anne Frank’s somewhat imagined life before she and her family went into hiding from the Nazis, it’s impossible to not feel foreboding and dread as the events unfold. We know what terrible things happened to Anne and her family and millions of other Jews. I cried many times as I read Anne’s dreams, hopes and aspirations, knowing how many of them would never come true. And yet, with Hoffman’s writing, there is a sense of hope. Hope that there’s still good in the world, despite the many evils faced. Hope that love will triumph over hate. One of my favorite things about this book was seeing Anne as just a young girl with the same feelings most of us young girls have had. I loved seeing her relationships with her mother, father, sister and grandmother. I loved seeing her wrestle with feeling like she was too much and yet not enough. At the end of the day, she was a young girl who lived and died through true horror and yet, she was also just a young girl who wanted to feel special and be loved. Alice Hoffman brought Anne (and all the other characters) to life and amid all the horrible things we know are coming, I still felt hope.
CW: antisemitism, racism, violence, war, animal death, genocide

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Bestselling author Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding.

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius.

With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family's life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence.

In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she will become a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Critically acclaimed author Alice Hoffman weaves a lyrical and heart-wrenching story of the way the world closes in on the Frank family from the moment the Nazis invade the Netherlands until they are forced into hiding, bringing Anne to bold, vivid life.

Based on extensive research and published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, When We Flew Away is an extraordinary and moving tour de force.

Perfect for Alice Hoffman fans and readers of every age."

I'm glad that the story of Anne Frank is continuing to inspire and that this was done so thoughtfully.

I can’t wait to recommend this book to my middle schoolers. Middle schoolers love historical fiction books about kids their age. This is a great prequel to The Diary of Anne Frank. Such a wonderful look into what the life of Anne Frank might have been like before the diary. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

Interesting to read about Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding. Readers get a feel for Amsterdam before the Nazis and why it seemed like a safe option.

Thanks to Scholastic Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was one of those pivotal reads for me as a youth. I have since collected every work I can on the topic and have even visited the Annex in the Netherlands. While the diary itself is perfection, I understand the need to package the story in a way that might be more appealing to today's youth. This is a narrative story of the time leading up to the Frank's going into hiding. It explores not only the increasing restrictions and horrific violence of the Nazis but the relationships between the Frank family. It imagines Anne's strained relationship with her mother, her off and on bonding moments with her sister and her adoration of her father. 

I appreciate the story being written by a Jewish author and someone who could do it justice without indulgence or criticism. It does stop just as they go into hiding so hopefully people will read this will be drawn on to read the original work.

I’ve never read anything by Alice Hoffmann before, and many other reviews talk about her using lyrical language and that being a struggle for them. For me, the early chapters of the book read like a middle grade nonfiction book, describing Anne’s experiences, with little dialogue or direct action portrayed. I think that’s a bit tricky, especially for a book like this that isn’t nonfiction but draws heavily on research and might be hard to distinguish from nonfiction.

The lack of action and dialogue made it hard for me to read this at first, but eventually I really got into imagining Anne’s life in the city of Amsterdam, and that’s what really brought the book to life for me. I think many of us only imagine Anne in hiding during the Holocaust, rarely thinking about the many years of her life before this event that both defined her literary voice and led to her death.

That’s the great joy in When We Flew Away for me: thinking about her daily life before going into hiding. Anne went to bookstores. She ate ice cream. She flirted with boys. She ice skated. And all of these activities and more are things she does in this book.

Like many women, I imagine, Anne Frank’s diary was very important to me as a young person. I first read it in sixth or seventh grade. I read it again before auditioning for the play adaption of it when I was in ninth grade, and I think I’ve probably read it again as an adult. One of the things that’s so remarkable about Anne Frank’s diary is how true to the developmental experiences of a wide variety of Western teenagers across time and place it is. I think many young people reading it can see their own dreams and anxieties, family relationships and hopes for romance, in Anne’s writing.

Because Anne’s writing has been so important to me, I made it a priority to visit the Anne Frank House while I was in Amsterdam. Before you go into the attic, you walk through rooms with video and audio about the time Anne was living in and the expansion of Nazi occupation into the Netherlands. Then you walk through the bookcase hiding a secret door and up a very narrow staircase (typical of staircases in Amsterdam) and find yourself in the attic.

Wandering through the rooms, I was disheartened by how hard it was to feel connected to that time long ago and the people who lived there, even though I was in their space. I was surprised by the things that really made me feel closer to their experience: the pencil lines on the wall tracking Anne and Margot’s heights. The view of a tree through the one place Anne could see the sky.

And of course, seeing the diary itself. That was the most powerful thing of all.

In the same way that seeing these things helped me understand Anne’s experiences, reading this book and thinking about the things I experienced in Amsterdam beyond the Anne Frank House added a whole new dimension to my understanding of her life. Anne walked the same streets I did. She looked at the same houses I did. She went to the same parks.

Readers who need action and dialogue to stay engaged with a book will struggle with this book, but readers who want details that help them imagine other people’s lives more fully will find so much here.

A view into the life of Anne Frank + the Frank family from just before the Netherlands are invaded by Nazi, Germany right up until she goes into hiding during World War II. Although fictional, it’s based on extensive research and published cooperation with the Anne Frank House.

It’s an absolutely heart-wrenching story of how a country goes from peaceful and welcoming to refugees, to one filled with prejudice, terror and violence. And amid the terror, a glimpse into the life of a girl and a family that remained filled with love, hope and dreams for life after the brutality of war. An important reminder for us to appreciate the simple joys of life— and what happened once, can happen again.

One aspect of history that gets lost in Holocaust literature, especially for young people, is the before. Before lives are changed. Before the hate becomes the dominant force in the lives of Jews and others the Nazis persecuted. Before the trauma, sadness, bravery, and heroism. Alice Hoffman, an incredibly lyrical writer in general, has taken on the challenge of giving us a glimpse into what Anne Frank’s life may have been like in this time - before the family had to go into hiding. Beginning with the normalcy of sisters’ lives, Anne and Margot go to school, see friends, have outings, feel judged, experience jealousies, and, in general, live in a way that is relatable to modern middle schoolers. Hoffman brings the reader through how their lives slowly at first but increasingly change once the Nazi’s move into Amsterdam. The exploration of the changing relationships between Anne and her parents, and her awareness of the weight they bear as adults, is another aspect of this novel that is thoughtfully written to help youth relate to Anne. Other themes are beautifully woven into the story as well.

It did feel strange to me for this very important story to be so fictionalized (the relationships at the core of the novel, the thoughts of Anne prior to the diary we know so well, and her views toward school experiences). Also, there were parts of the book that were stilted, unusual for Hoffman who writes so eloquently for adults. Whether it was the weaving of the fiction with the known history or the audience and topic, these distracted me as an adult, but were minor in the scope of the entire story. In the end, it is a beautiful companion read to The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

Thank you to Scholastic, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this insightful work.

I love the idea and the premise of this book and I’m glad Alice Hoffman wrote it and shared it with middle grade readers. My class will read Number the Stars later this school year and I’ll definitely recommend that my students who are interested in learning more about WWII pick this one up.

That being said, I did feel like the story was a bit slow. I think that if I had reread Anne’s diary before reading this, I would’ve been more engaged. It was well-written and I enjoyed learning about how she got her diary and her life before going into hiding, but some parts dragged on and felt repetitive so I don’t think it’s one I’ll read aloud to my class. Thanks for sharing the digital copy with me!

Alice Hoffman brings to life the events of the two to three years prior to when Anne Frank's family went into hiding in the attic where young Anne wrote her famous diary.

The book is beautifully written with stunning and emotive imagery. Hoffman excels at making her readers feel very much part of the scene as we watch the changes brought by the rise of Naziism come to the Frank's homeland through each of the family members' eyes. Finally, the world they once knew is gone, and its replacement is horrific and unrecognizable.

As is true of Anne Frank's Diary, When We Flew Away tells the story of a coming of age in the worst possible way. It's the story of a girl who lost her childhood but never her hope or her dreams.

This is a must read for all ages and deserves more than 5 stars.

"Remember me."

My thanks Ms. Hoffman for writing this book and to Scholastic for allowing me to read a DRC via NetGalley. Publication is 9/17/24. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

This is a fictional account of the time before Anne’s diary. Alice Hoffman did a great job of imagining what it was like to be a young Jewish girl during WW2. I did not realize that this was YA or middle grade fiction until I started to read it, that is my fault. But it definitely reads as middle grade. The emotions are deeply felt, and it’s very scary to imagine living through it.
Thank you Netgalley and Scholastic for the digital ARC.

When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary, by Alice Hoffman, is an interesting historical fiction novel, exploring the possible day-to-day life and dreams of Anne Frank before her diary. As usual, Hoffman has done a thorough job on her research and used her writing skills to produce a book that is both informative and interesting. It is written in a way that will interest both middle school-age kids and adults. While the research is evident, it is not presented in a textbook-like format. It was a quick, easy read with content that will make you think.
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I think the author did a fantastic job imagining the years leading up to Anne's family going into hiding, capturing the hope they had that they would get to the US before it was too late, and the slow eradication of their rights and freedoms, one thing at a time. I've read other reviews saying nothing happened - and I disagree. It was lots of little things - those may seem unimportant in our crazy, fast-moving lives - but I think there was a precise emphasis on the little things - ice skating with friends, flirting with a boy, being outside in the fresh air - things that went away when Anne's family went into hiding, little things that became EVERYTHING.

Some of the facts - true! - seem thrown into the narrative and don't flow super well, but it was clearly a very well-researched book. Other parts were very tell-y instead of show-y, which keeps the reader a bit distanced from the novel, I think.

I plan to have some 5th graders read it soon and I'm interested to see how they take it in. The book is for ages 8-12, and I'm not sure if it will be too much at this point. We'll see.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the ARC of this novel, and the chance to share my opinions.

A compelling, engaging story imagining the life of Anne Frank and her family "before the diary." Hoffman captured the characters and fear of the time well and, even though I " knew how it ended," I kept my interest, and made me think differently about characters - people - who had been part of my consciousness for a long time.

I can't wait to recommend this novel to my students!!! They are going to be obsessed, especially once their social studies classes start the World War II unit!!

I am really torn about this book. I think it could have been an excellent middle grade non-fiction book. The author does a fantastic job of presenting what life would have been like for Anne Frank living during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Parts of the fictionalized life were also very moving. Unfortunately, the mixing of the two styles was distracting and made it difficult to get fully absorbed into the story. Having said that, I have a lot of students who are interested in Anne Frank, and will definitely be recommending the book to them.

What worked: Poignant glimpse into what might have been Anne Frank's life before the diary. Readers see Anne from age 10 as being curious about the world around her; close with her grandmother; a complicated relationship with her mother and sister; and a first romantic relationship.

Anne witnesses how the Netherlands are taken over by the Nazis and the things she loved-like skating, going to the ice cream parlor, and going out at night are taken from them. Even a blooming first relationship is cut short by the horrors of war.

Hoffman also weaves in storytelling and symbolism of the magpie that follows Anne and lives in a tree next to her apartment and the black moths that slowly fluttered outside and later are everywhere right before her father hides the family from the Nazis.

Anne's diary showed the world not only the ugliness of the world but also the kindness and even bits of beauty.

This latest novel on Anne Frank is one that is a must-read. Hoffman shows readers a young girl who writes down her experiences and hopes—never knowing that her life would go on in her words long after her brutal death at one of the concentration camps.

Haunting story of Anne Franke before she wrote her diary. Highly recommend for classroom libraries. Also perfect for discussions on the Holocaust.