"Annexed"

Tonight I just finished reading "Annexed" by Sharon Dogar. It is historical fiction. A book I found on bn.com (Barnes and Noble). When I read what it was about I thought that the author was taking on a lot. It is fiction but she has created the story from Peter van Pels' point of view. Peter is the Peter from "The Diary of Anne Frank." I wondered why she would attempt such a thing because it is not like you could interview anyone. "The Diary of Anne Frank" is one of my favorite books of all time and because of that I enjoy reading about that time period. It is amazing to me what people did and what they sacrificed. Historical fiction is great too, for the fact that it makes dates in history more real for me. It is not just a bunch of facts. These are things that people went through. It makes me think more and maybe understand a little.

This book was good and moving. At first, the author portrayed Peter as a love sick teenager who might not have made it to the Annex, because he thought about running. I wondered about her portrayal, but Peter was 17 when he went into hiding. That would be a time for a boy wanting to fight and wanting to show how grown up he was. Peter worries that he will never do things in his life, but faced with your own mortality, I think that is natural. Those things made sense.

The ending definitely packed a punch. I am done with my crying now. I don't know how you can read stuff like that and not be affected. Terrible things happened.

One passage that really hit home was one thing Peter said to Anne "That's all I want to be. Peter van Pels. Not Jewish, not Dutch, not German, just me!" I know it is fiction and I don't if Peter actually said that to Anne, but it touched me. I am sure others have thought it.

The book is only 209 pages but wow, talk about heavy stuff. For my next book, I need to find some lighter reading.

Books are awesome though... what more can I say!
I am sure I could think of something, but I will stop for now!