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I have always loved to read a familiar story from a different point of view. Mists of Avalon and Wicked are two of my favorites. Annexed is Peter Van Pels version of life with the Frank family hiding in Amersterdam. I hadn’t read a WWII account for several years because so much seemed the same and each ending was sad or bittersweet. I am glad I read this one even though I already knew the ending. Ms. Dogar made Peter interesting and accessible. She fleshed him out from the semi-flat, paper doll version we get in Anne’s diary. His response to her writing about him felt real and his conflicted feelings about hiding struck a nerve with me. He is believable and I liked him. I liked him so much that I wanted him to survive, and had to stop and think about what I remembered of the history of the annex occupants. I will be buying this for the PHS library immediately, and have students ready to read it.
Available at the HS library this fall.
