Winter Reading 2025 When We Flew Away

The author makes the character of Anne Frank come to life, even for those who have read The Diary of Anne Frank and feel they already have a good grasp of what Anne was like. By focusing on the period from May 1940 when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands until the day the Frank family went into hiding in July 1942, the story centers on Anne as she comes to realize the future may never be what she hoped. Scenes explore her relationships with her family- father, mother, sister, grandmother - and how her understanding and appreciation of them shifts as she becomes a teenager. The changes in her neighborhood and the city reflect the worsening conditions for citizens and especially for the Jewish families in Amsterdam. Readers will catch glimpses of Anne's spirit, intelligence, and imagination and their hearts will break for her and all the possibilities she was never able to explore. 

One of the themes of the book is the power of story. There is the obvious connection to the powerful description of the Franks and their last months of living openly in the city. But there is also the narrative that the Nazis are telling each other, the inhabitants of the territories they control, and the world. Anne's grandmother tells her, "Evil people tell themselves a story they come to believe. They tell themselves they are good, and everyone else is inhuman. They tell themselves they are doing what heaven would will them to do." When a neighbor's husband is taken away and Anne says they should have done something about it, her mother tells her they are. "We're refusing to believe the story they're telling about us." 

The author's note highlights how the strong, clear voice of Anne Frank in her diary was an inspiration when she first read the book and realized that a young girl could be an author. She also points out parallels between how countries around the world refused to admit Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi persecution back then and how often refugees from various conflicts are still turned away today. This is a powerful book that will leave readers with questions about whether the world has learned anything from the past to help find its way to a better future.