"Anne Frank and Me" by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld

While preparing to write this review, I was surprised by the negativity of  the editorial reviews and the overwhelmingly high number of positive reviews from readers.  This is a work of fiction and should be read as such.  It is not meant to be a biography of Anne Frank nor should it be read for that reason.  It is purely the story of a fictional person living through events that took place in real life (just like many, many other books).

Anne Frank and Me by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld focuses on a teenage girl named Nicole.  The book begins with Nicole shirking off school assignments (both in school and out) in favor of daydreaming about the boy of her dreams, Jack, and developing her website, Notes from Girl X.  It is clear that Nicole is intelligent, but often wants to take the easy way out.  Instead of reading The Diary of Anne Frank for class, she visits various websites, stumbling across one arguing that the diary was not written by the teen during the Holocaust, but is instead a work of fiction.  Nicole and her sister begin to question why she would be required to read a "fake."

The next day, Nicole's class visits the traveling exhibit, Anne Frank in the World and her life turns upside down.  When shots ring out and her classmates being to panic, Nicole is caught in the mob of people and blacks out.  When she wakes up, she is no longer in modern day America, but is now a Jewish girl living in occupied Paris, France.  Convinced she is an American from the future, but with no way to get back, Nicole suddenly must figure out how to survive the Nazi occupation.  More than once she finds her life in grave danger and begins a journey that will change her forever.

I have read this book many times.  Every time, I cannot put it down until I have read it cover to cover.  I find it engaging, gut wrenching, and inspiring.  It is a very powerful book and once you've read it, you won't soon forget it.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Words cannot describe the brilliance of Kathryn Stockett's The Help.  Once I started the book I could hardly put it down.  And it took me quite awhile to start the book since I had to wait several months to get my hands on a copy (in case you haven't noticed, it is insanely popular).  I am usually not as up to date on books from the Adult Fiction area, I tend to stick mostly to Young Adult and did not really know much about this book prior to the movie's release this past summer.  Unfortunatly my schedule didn't allow me time to see the film, but I plan on picking up a copy shortly after it's release this week.

This book is full of strong female leads and focuses on three characters: Aibeleen, Minny, and Skeeter.  After witnessing the way her friends treat their hired help, Skeeter gets the idea to interview the maids of Jackson, Mississippi and put their stories together in a book.  Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, this novel is invigorating and inspiring.  These women are taking a near unimaginable risk all for the sake of sharing their stories with the world.  While reading I felt a plethora of emotions; happiness, sadness, and several moments of laughing-out-loud-ness.  If there is one book that you need to read this year,  this is it.

Happy Reading
-Melly