A beautiful, poignant story. While the novel is fictional, it's based on facts, and it's interesting to see a glimpse into what Anne's life could have been like before the diary.

I read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was 11. Ever since I read anything associated with her.
This book depicts the story of Ann before the family was forced to disappear into hiding in 1942.
It’s simple enough for children but thorough enough for adult readers.
The one aspect that I didn’t care for was the mystical elements. I didn’t think they added much to the story.

What a fascinating new story about an amazing character in history. I really loved this new addition to the historical plot. This author is such a great historical fiction writer, and this was a great exaple.

When I saw this book pop up, I knew I had to read it! I have read the Diary of Anne Frank, and visited where her family hid in Amsterdam, so I was curious to see a fiction book based on a historical person before she wrote the book that made her famous.

This was so interesting! I know it's fiction, but Hoffman does such a great job of bringing this story to life. It really adds to the depth of that time in history, and further highlights how the Frank family, like so many others, were just going about their normal lives before being thrust into a terrible reality.

I definitely recommend this book.

Yes, this is a fictional account of a historical figure and event. But Hoffman did an amazing job with making it seem more non-fiction than fiction. She pulled all the threads of a well-known historical figure and wove a story that was real, plausible and heartfelt.

I think that any book that attempts to honor and teach about the history of Anne Frank or any part of Jewish WWII history is worthwhile. I like that the history behind this book and the fact that it was written in conjunction with the Anne Frank House is notable in that it accurately portrays a story that we sort of knew, but now have an opportunity to know even more. I love that. The writing is fresh and the story is about as good as any story out there. Must read.

When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary is a beautifully crafted and poignant story that captures the essence of Anne Frank’s life before her family was forced into hiding. This fictionalized account vividly brings young Anne to life, offering a heart-wrenching glimpse into her world and her dreams before they were overshadowed by the horrors of war. Although fictional, the story resonates deeply with the challenges and injustices we continue to see today. I was both moved and saddened, feeling the weight of the injustices that Anne and her family faced. The author captures Anne’s remarkable strength, resilience, and spirit in a way that makes her loss even more heartbreaking. It’s a hauntingly beautiful story that honors Anne’s legacy.

A beautiful and heart-rending tale of the fictional life “before” the Frank family goes into hiding. Devastating, hopeful, and eye-opening. Don't let the fact that this is YA keep you from reading it. Sometimes the greatest stories are told through simple language, but the impact is felt all the same.

I am a fan of Alice Hoffman's writing, a really enjoy many of her books. With that, I was eager to request a copy of When We Flew Away, but I find that I'm not able to put aside my trepitidition about the novelization of a murdered teen's diary and life story, even by a gifted author. One day I might be ready, but I'm not yet. Too soon, still, for me.

Published in partnership with the Anne Frank House, this poignant middle-grade novel tells the story of Anne and her family before their years spent in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

Many around the world have come to know Anne through her diary. But this novel does something profound by focusing on the discrimination that led her family to seek refuge, reminding us how quickly hate can turn from a flicker into a flame.

We see Anne affected by the changes around her, including early curfews, stars sewn to coats, and restrictions on when and where Jews can shop, with the timeline taking readers up to the Frank family’s first day behind the bookcase.

In addition to these real-world events, Alice Hoffman explores the growing resentment against the Jewish people through Anne’s imagination, with wolves, dark moths, and looming shadows appearing as metaphors for discrimination. To me, this was a powerful depiction of how children perceive prejudice and I think it will resonate with younger readers.

If Anne’s beautiful words of hope and courage have ever touched your heart, I think this lyrical book will do the same. While fictional, it’s rooted in truth, well-researched, and timely. I’m so grateful to Alice Hoffman for providing this window into Anne’s world, reminding us how necessary it is to remember and honor the past.

Tells the story of Anne Frank before her family goes into hiding.

As per usual, Hoffman really created quite a masterpiece. Between the building of all the characters, the plot and some of the metaphors, it was just amazing. I read most of the book in one sitting.

Thanks so much for the ARC!

A beautiful novel giving a bit more insight (and maybe introducing a new audience) to the time before the Franks went into hiding.

I have read a lot of books about the Holocaust. I figured I wouldn't learn much of anything new from this book and I was happily wrong. I came away with new information about a tragic subject but I also came away with a better view of Anne and her whole family, as a person.
Alice Hoffman did such an excellent job of painting a picture of who Anne was. She also did an eery job of portraying Amsterdam at this time, the stress, the fear and, the pressure everyone was feeling. It's a tense book, very easy to read thanks to Ms. Hoffman's skill and very intense. Even knowing full well how the story turns out you find yourself hoping for a miracle. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time to come.
Thank you to Scholastic Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite authors writing about one of my most revered stories, I had to request this book. However, I was greatly disappointed. Not that anything went wrong, it’s that nothing happens. The writing is lovely – it’s Alice Hoffman – but the book doesn’t really add anything new to the story, except maybe put a few warts on a beloved heroine. Ann comes across, frankly, as a bit of a brat for a lot of the story. I learned much more about her sister and their family – who all fared much better in the writing, if not in fate. I think this book is just an example of the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There just was no purpose except, I guess humanizing a hero – showing the less flattering side to her. But, why?

Thank you to NetGalley and scholastic Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Anne Frank is one of the Holocaust’s most well-known victims. The Diary of Anne Frank is read all over the world, and while it gives us insight into who she was and her experiences in hiding, it doesn’t always give a full window into her life.True to Alice Hoffman’s unique style, she has breathed new life into the story of a young girl before she went into hiding, Despite knowing about the last portion of her life, I wanted to know who Anne was outside of the attic.

My own father was only a little bit younger than Anne Frank, and went into hiding with his younger brother and parents, as well as three cousins. They were in Poland, and all seven made it out alive. So this book is especially poignant to me, because while my own father survived while she didn’t. One thing I learned quickly in life was that while my father’s early experiences defined who he was as a person, he was also a complete person outside of those experiences. Before he went into hiding, he was a young boy who loved to learn and spoke three languages fluently by that time—Yiddish, Polish, and Hebrew. He had a close-knit family that included grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. By the end of the war, he had only four cousins (one was placed into a Catholic orphanage because she was too young to hide out), his parents, and his brother.

Annelies (Anne) Frank was born in Germany, and her family moved from Germany to Amsterdam after Hitler’s rise to power, to escape the influence of the Nazis and the failing economy in Germany. The book starts when she is eleven, and covers the period of the arrival of Nazis in the Netherlands up until they have to go into hiding. The amount of historical research and detail is incredible, and I especially appreciated how Hoffman captured Anne’s optimistic and creative nature in this story.

I can’t recall the exact quote or who said it, but as I read this book I realized that Hoffman has crafted a work where the freedoms of Anne, her family, and other Jews were systematically stripped away. It mirrors the experiences of my father before his family went into hiding—each day it felt like there was a new law passed limiting Jews from one thing or another. And this book really embodied the way Jews lost freedom in Nazi-occupied countries: slowly at first and then all at once.

Throughout the book, Hoffman depicts Anne as a dreamer, a creative and imaginative young girl who aspires to be an author. It’s a bittersweet story, emotional in all the right ways, getting to meet a young girl and to know that she had achieved her dream despite her early and untimely death. It’s clear that Hoffman took pains to make this as accurate as possible while still making this story accessible to young readers. I chose to read this because it had the potential to be a powerhouse of a book, especially at a time when Anne Frank’s lived experiences, her humanity, and even her life at all is thrown into question in recent days. This brings to mind all the times that Hoffman has crafted Jewish characters in her books, as well as The Dovekeepers, a book that takes place during the siege of Masada after a failed uprising against the Romans, another one I highly recommend. Anne Frank is often young people’s first experience with the Holocaust, and this book would be a fantastic addition to any library or classroom to counter the dehumanizing effects before and during the Holocaust. I recommend this one to everyone.

I read Anne Frank's actual diary a couple of times in my years of schooling, and so this book intrigued me. And, for the most part, it definitely lived up to the hype.

It was heart wrenching a lot of the time, telling the story of Anne before the diary. Even thought it's a fictionalized story, I could definitely tell that there had been research done too.

It had a lot to live up to, the original diary is just, hard to put into words, and this novel will always be compared to the original (and Non-Fiction) diary. But, as I said, I do think that it lived up to what very obviously inspired it (Anne Frank's Diary).

I wrote about this on Goodreads and the Storygraph. I'm generally recommending this book, with a reminder that the novel was written for middle grade readers. More thoughts here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6903697995

“‘They burn books. They throw them into metal trash cans and light a fire and then all the words that had been written fly away.’ ‘What happens to the words then?’ Anne asked. ‘They’re remembered by everyone who ever read them.’ Madame Clara’s bright eyes were trained on Anne…’I used to have everything,’ the bookseller’s wife said. ‘Now I just have what I can remember.’” My God 🥺.

When We Flew away was written by Alice Hoffman in cooperation with @annefrankhouse_official and is geared towards younger readers, but is perfect for every age!

There is not a single word that I have read about the holocaust that hasn’t disgusted me to my core and made me angry with humanity. This book tells the story of Anne Frank before her diary and is utterly heartbreaking. And the moral of this story is that words save lives. Whether it is in the form of books, journals, diaries, or the spoken word..they just do. They save us. Along with The Diary of a Young Girl this, too, should be required reading.

“In the Nazi regime, age meant nothing, humanity meant nothing, love meant nothing.”

Thank you to Netgalley, Scholastic Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A tale of Anne Frank in her words. The terror and hopelessness of the Jewish families during the Nazi invasion. I have read The Diary of Anne Frank and a book told from her doll’s perspective. Great addition to any school library for Holocaust study.

WHEN WE FLEW AWAY by Alice Hoffman is a fictionalized account of the time shortly before Anne Frank's family went into hiding. Many of the events are only speculative and the varied interactions are based on what we know of the personalities of her friends and family.

This is cast as middle grade historical fiction and would serve as a possible introduction to the Frank family for students, creating a way to find commonalities with the sisters as they consider family dynamics, blossoming infatuations, and growing anxiety with events outside of your control. Hoffman's treatment is clearly the work of someone who has great fondness and respect for Anne Frank and wants to make her circumstances come alive for a new generation.

In the afterword, Hoffman has written a loving tribute to the impact encountering Anne Frank's diary as a young child had on the rest of her life; in no small part, Hoffman credits Anne Frank with opening up the possibility that girls could also be authors, and she repays that gift with this work.

(Thank you to Scholastic for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.)