Wednesday why not read...Annexed by Sharon Dogar

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.  


originally published on April 24, 2011.