When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman

 

Last week, I read When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman. This historical fiction novel is about Anne Frank before she started writing her diary and her family went into hiding. In May 1940, Anne is just an ordinary ten-year-old girl who enjoys stories and walks home from school with her older sister, Margot. Although she is envious of Margot, Anne sometimes wishes she would listen to her and have more fun. The day after Margot rejects her wish to get ice cream after school, the Nazis invade Amsterdam. Over the next two years, the Nazis progressively place restrictions on Jewish citizens and violence becomes inescapable. Families even begin to disappear, most often taken to concentration camps in other parts of Europe. Meanwhile, Anne's father and grandmother are supportive of her dreams by nurturing her curiosity and creativity despite the challenging relationship that she has with her mother who is disapproving and doesn't seem to understand her. Even though danger and fear are constant, Anne discovers that she wants to become a writer.

I thought this novel was heartbreakingly beautiful. Years ago, I read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, so when I learned of When We Flew Away last year, I was extremely curious about Anne's life before hiding in the Secret Annex with her family and just had to get my hands on a copy. As I read the story, I loved getting insight into Anne's relationships with the other members of her family and how they all coped with the devastating hardships they had to face as Jews. It's not a happy story and I found myself teary-eyed a few times, but I enjoyed the imagery and language that Hoffman used, especially "black moths" and "wolves" which invoked darkness and danger. I also liked how she would give historical background throughout the story because it gave context to what Anne and her family were experiencing. I think the hardest thing was realizing just how full of hopes and dreams Anne and Margot were and then their lives were cut way too short. It was tragic and not fair at all. Even though I know that the past can't be changed, I couldn't help but wish that they had survived. If you're interested in learning more about Anne Frank's story leading up to the time period covered by her diary, you should definitely read this book.