A combination of lyrical and wrenching - beautifully written. This book brings the reader into Anne's story before the one we all know from the Diary. Set in the years before the family goes into hiding, we see Anne as a girl in Amsterdam, eager to grow up, in a world that's getting increasingly darker by the moment. This was a powerful read and Hoffman carries off a writing task that is incredibly difficult - she adds to Anne's story without taking anything from it. And she somehow makes Anne even more relatable. A great companion book to The Diary of Anne Frank. A beautiful, heart-breaking book on its own. I'd recommend it for any middle school library.

Anne Frank significantly influenced me as a young adult reader. I discovered her diary when I was around 12 and found a kindred spirit in her. I saw myself in her and, through her eyes, was able to imagine the horrors of the Holocaust in a way that I hadn't before.

I was both skeptical and excited to read this book. The author would need to take some liberties, and I'm very protective of Anne. I shouldn't have worried. If any author can handle such a delicate task, it's Alice Hoffman. It was like she was channeling Anne through this book.

Set just two years before going into hiding, we're able to witness what it was like in Europe for Jewish people. We see Anne's life in Amsterdam as they go from relatively safe to completely unsafe. We see her with her friends, get a peek at her relationships with her parents and sister, and a potential first love. It reminds us of a time when she was more innocent of the world, when there was still hope of getting out, when the potential was still there for a chance of safety and a future.

A pet peeve of mine is the fact that for many people, the only book they might ever read about the Holocaust is Anne Frank's diary. This means they only get a glimpse at it - they know it was bad enough that her family had to go into hiding, but they don't have to deal with the lead-up or the aftermath. Having a book like this to pair with her diary gives a fuller picture of events. Add something like The Librarian of Auschwitz and They Went Left, and now you have the complete picture. Hoffman reminds us through this story that we need to remember - we need to bear witness, and we can still do that through stories like Anne's.

I recommend this book for children ages 12+

Based on extensive research and published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam Alice Hoffman weaves together a lyrical and heart-wrenching story that looks into the way the world changed for Anne Frank and her family before they went into hiding during WWII.

I’ve always been interested in Anne and her family since I first watched one of the movie adaptations as a kid. I didn’t read her diary though until a few years ago. Obviously we don’t 100% know what Anne thought of when living through the months/years leading up to the Frank family going into hiding, but I think Alice Hoffman did a wonderful job at imagining it.

The other thing I wanted to applaud Hoffman on is knowing her audience and how to talk about what was happening without being too graphic. I know we want to protect younger children from the horrors of the war - but you also have to think about the fact that children their age went through the war. Not everything needs to be described in detail but kids are smart and still deserve to know. I just remember thinking in certain parts that the writing was handled well.

I also really liked the dynamic between Anne and her mother. In her diaries she wrote about the difference in relationships she had between Pip and her mother and this story dives deeper into that and provides more layers.

Overall, I think this would be a good middle grade introduction into Anne Frank and her story. Have them read this first to open the door for discussion about Anne and her family. Then, more mature, or when they’re older, they can then read Anne Frank’s diary.

*Thank you Scholastic Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I read this with my 11 year old son. His feedback was that it was a good companion to Anne Frank's diary. It did a great job of providing a broader picture of what Anne and her family went through leading up to the point where they had to hide from nazis in WW2. I definitely recommend it to his age group (middle school) and found it interesting as an adult!

Thank you to Scholastic Press for the DRC.

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman is a haunting yet beautifully written portrayal of Anne Frank’s life prior to her going into hiding. Knowing the tragic ending of Anne Frank’s life made the joyful notes in this one that much more heartbreaking. Hoffman does a wonderful job of showing the changes in Anne’s life as the Nazis invade the Netherlands, reminding readers that everything didn’t happen at once. Hoffman’s words emphasize the urgency of knowing history to avoid reliving it. When We Flew Away would be an excellent addition to any classroom. A read-along or book club may be the best way to ensure that students fully understand the metaphors and relevance of the moments portrayed within. Although this is a work of historical fiction, When We Flew Away would still be an ideal accompaniment to The Diary of Anne Frank. Book releases September 17th.

In When We Flew Away, Hoffman gives us an account in historical fiction concerning the life of The Frank Family prior to their period of hiding in the annex. She has unfolded a most interesting story, but be aware that it involves myths, legend, and fairy tales about the life of Anne, and her family. Still, Hoffman weaves the story splendidly. For example In The What We Will Remember at the end of the story, Hoffman states that we don’t know if Anne’s mother ever gave her the necklace nor in the instance of Anne’s relationship was with her first boyfriend named Hello, how that unfolded.

Anne is a sweetie, but a bit rebellious, a daredevil and self-insightful. I enjoyed reading of Anne's friendships, favorite spots, and first love. She dreamed of living freely in California one day. Only months away from rescue Anne and Margot died of Typhus and Edith Frank died three weeks before liberation. Otto Frank survived.

I would only recommend this book to students who know something of Anne’s life. The book is written poignantly for readers who know how it ends.
The story may move a bit slow for some middle grade readers.

When We Flew Away is a heartbreaking, and a beautifully crafted book.

This book is beautiful and poignant, especially when read with a robust understanding of Anne Frank’s life and diary. I have taught an elementary version of Anne Frank’s experience for several years, and this book made me realize my errors in depicting her life as happy (before hiding) and sad (during hiding). This gave me a new perspective on how Anne must have felt during those last few years before hiding when the world was becoming scarier and scarier. While fictionalized, the story focuses on Anne’s life before going into hiding and how her relationships and personal perspective changes as the world around her becomes more and more evil.

The writing is lyrical and beautiful, but I did find it a bit slow at times. I appreciated the deep dive into what Anne’s life might have been like pre-diary, but I did have a hard time paying attention at times, and I think younger readers would have the same issue. That being said, this book is a heavy hitter when it comes to the emotional urgency of the Jewish people in the 1940s as their world became worse and worse, and it depicts Anne in a relevant and relatable way.

Anything by Alice Hoffman is a must read for me. Knowing that students in my middle school library are still checking out Diary of a Young Girl, I knew I had to read this. It is very difficult to judge this book for a middle school reader. The pace starts off very slowly. Most of the time the narrator is omniscient. The prose is lovely. I will be sure to tell the students that this book feels like someone is telling you a story. I plan to purchase this for the high school library as well. I will be curious to see which group is most interested.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars…….When We Flew Away is the story of Anne Frank before her and her family went into hiding. It gives you a glimpse into their ordinary life until it became unordinary.

It was interesting to learn more about Anne’s relationship with her mother and sister. Anne and her sister Margot were very different. She struggled with her mom and at times felt unloved and alone. Though Anne struggled with her relationship with her mom and sister they were there for each other when they needed each other most. Their love was unconditional, and in the end that’s all that mattered. Everything else was forgotten.

The day Anne and her family went into hiding Anne prayed for two things, to grow up, and to be remembered. The two most important words in her diary were REMEMBER ME. Anne Frank , the world has remembered you. You are the ordinary girl who became EXTRAORDINARY.

I love so many of Alice Hoffman’s books and was eager to read this one. I enjoy anything written about Anne Frank. While this was a different perspective and while I did enjoy it, I found it a little slow.

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Magic from Alice Hoffman has become the standard expectation and she once again delivers! This is a fun read that helps you escape into the story and go on an adventure.

Wasn't sure what this novel would be like since it was events before Anne's diary but...I think the author did a great job.
Here we see the Franks and their slow spiral to fear as their world changes. They'd already moved to the Netherlands, finding safety in a neutral country but neutrality didn't stop the Germans.
Slowly we see how the Dutch were invaded and how the rules began to change, neighbors turned against each other and Jew's citizenship rights were revoked.
I could feel Anne's fear and disbelief. They wanted to believe things would blow over. That things would be okay or that they could escape but doors kept shutting and time was running out. Violence was becoming more aggressive and random and Otto just wanted to save his family!
Can you imagine being forced to buy the rotten food nobody else wanted? To be forced indoors before 8pm? To have to quit school and be let go from work for nothing other than being a different race/ethnic group. It's scary! And the scary part is....we seem to be repeating it.
We turn refugees away and justify cruelty towards those we see as enemies. It's so sad but this reminds us we are all people. We all have dreams. We should remember those in the past and not repeat our mistakes 😢
The povs in the novel did jump a bit but it was easy enough to keep up. Good children's novel and one I highly recommend 😊

Middle grade to young adult tale about Anne Frank before she wrote her diaries; sanctioned by the Anne Frank House. The writing is age appropriate and sure to create new interest to the plight of Anne Frank, and all Jewish victims of the era. Hoffman’s skills and imaginative storytelling bring new life to a well know story.

Another beautiful book as only Alice Hoffman can write. You think you know Ann Frank but here we see a whole new side, one which isn't fraught with fear. And of course the writing is just so descriptive!

Alice Hoffman has written a truly amazing fictional story about Anne and the Frank family prior to their hiding. I enjoyed being in Anne's life and seeing what it may have been like for her, what she may have experienced. I loved what all the animals within the story may possible portray, with the symbolism of each, the wolf, the rat, the moth, the magpie, the rabbit, and other creatures. The lovely cover with the wolf stalking on the roof, while the magpie flies above, wonderful. Anne telling of the story of Persephone a beautiful young woman who was kidnapped by Hades King of the underworld was also symbolic.

This is my tenth book that I have read by this incredible author. Her writings take me into that time and place. It feels so real as if things can change with every page I turn. I hoped & felt that maybe it would end differently, even though I knew it wasn't possible. It's like when you know the ending to any tragic story or event, you feel that something will change and hope that things will be happily ever after. That's what I was hoping while I was reading this story. It was so beautiful, the young love between Anne & "Hello", and their dream that they would go to California and go directly to the Pacific Ocean together. The part when Hello continued knocking on Anne's door calling her name was so heartbreaking 💔.

Even though it's a fictional story, some people are true, with events which that did occur, like the marriage of Miep to Jan Gies on July 16. The addresses 37 Merwedeplein where the Franks lived prior to their hiding at 263 Prinsengracht, which was the place Otto worked with Mr. Kleiman, his partner.

I just watched an amazing limited series "A Small Light". It shows the events while hiding the Frank family from Miep Gies point. Check it out, hopefully you will also like it.

"You cannot reason with people who are unreasonable." Oma had once told Anne.

I highly recommend this 5 ⭐ book.

Thank you Alice Hoffman for writing such an amazing story, and NetGalley & Scholastic Press for the ebook advanced reader copy.

Really 3.5 stars, but I round up because this prequel to <i>The Diary of a Young Girl<i> is an important reminder of the fragility of decency in this moment of rising, global antisemitism.

Far be it from me to tell one of my long-time favorite authors, Alice Hoffman, how to write. But for the first third of the book, I was really caught off guard by how awkward the writing was. It bounced unevenly between italicized, lyrical sections, written in a completely different voice, and simpler sentences and straightforward vocabulary in the storytelling mode, more suited for school-aged readers. Frequent insertions of textbook-y historical facts seem like they could have come more naturalistically from the mouths of characters, like Anne's beloved father Otto who could be explaining to his dreamer daughter.

In addition, many details and characterizations are repeated beyond what the reader needs, and the metaphors of the black moths, rabbits and wolves, and magpie become heavy handed with so much use. Much more powerful are the disturbing details of incidental cruelties, much less Nazi behavior.

By the last third, I let all these criticisms go. The sense of urgency of the Jewish people's situation, and Hoffman's imagining what happened to Anne and the family, became propulsive.

This is definitely a book for Anne fans. As ever, Anne is a charmer, a bit rebellious, and self-insightful: "She wasn't happy being almost eleven, but she would be when she was older. She was sure of it." Hoffman is clearly more at ease with the historical fiction narrative, where she could allow her imagination to fly, just like Anne. She seems to enjoy writing about Anne's friendships, favorite spots, and first love, and consequently, I enjoyed it, too.

Anne's reveries and dreams for the future are ever poignant, because we know what happens. Perhaps students or first-time readers of the diary won't. I'm not sure how well this novel would read for them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for this Advance Reader Copy.

This novel seeks to fill in the parts of Anne Frank's life that we don't know--the time before she went into hiding and journaled her experiences. Alice Hoffman does a fantastic job weaving a narrative of emotions, fear, anxiety, and hope. I was riveted by this story and recommend it for anyone who has read Anne Frank's diary. This is a beautiful tribute to Anne.

[I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.]

When Scholastic announced the publication of <B><I>When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary</I></B> by Alice Hoffman was announced earlier this year, I was both excited and tentative.

I do think that a historical fiction novel about Anne Frank aimed at younger readers (on their website, Scholastic suggests this book for 8-12 year olds) may be a way for a new generation of readers to become interested in Anne's story before they are ready to read her diary.

Anne Frank has not often been the subject of historical fiction, and even then, most examples of historical fiction featuring Anne Frank are picture books or books utilizing Anne as a peripheral character rather than focusing on Anne as a primary character.

Unfortunately, I really struggled with this book and I have trouble imagining most student-age children wanting to read it or feeling engaged with it.

The book is incredibly lyrical and fanciful, and almost the entire story (what little there is of an actual story, due to said lyrical and fancifulness often taking pages and pages simply to muse on subjects rather than propel any narrative) is written in a passive "tell, not show" style that quickly becomes wearisome.

Very rarely do any of the characters in the story feel like real people that you might read about in any other historical fiction. This is primarily because Hoffman writes in a lyrical third person omniscient style, we are constantly told how characters act and feel.

We are told Anne is this way, we are told the grandmother feels that way; very rarely do we get any information through character action or dialogue. On the rare occasions when we do, this is often immediately followed up by yet another barrage of explanatory, lyrical sentences that tell us everything without allowing the story to show.

If anyone in the family happens to behave in a way that might seem unpleasant, Hoffman is quick to reassure us that actually, they only behaved that way because of some specific explanation. Then we get metaphorical sentences for at least a paragraph or two before moving on.

The omniscient style extends into the future as well, as throughout the book we learn about events that are yet to come, such as the deaths of certain percentages of Jewish people from a certain city, and the fate of Jewish people in Europe in general.

If the story had been written from the perspective of some otherworldly narrator (like "Death" in <I>The Book Thief</I>) then perhaps this would have felt fitting.

As it is, it only works to further detach <I>When We Flew Away</I> from the realm of historical fiction that seeks to present real people and events and closer into a heavy metaphorical narrative non-fiction.

Due to this style, it is only rarely that anyone in the book feels like a person with real thoughts or behaviors. Everyone almost feels like an exalted metaphorical figure, already knowing their fates and behaving like whimsical metaphors. Anne in this book does not feel like Anne from her diary or the Anne recounted by those who knew her.

There are a few stand out moments where the characters feel real--a moment when Anne is accosted by a Nazi after she stands too long near an ice rink; her father's excitement when he thinks they have finally made progress in seeking refuge in America--but these are vastly outnumbered by the constant metaphors and lyrical prose.

While Hoffman does occasionally allow a little of character to show in Anne, it quickly jumps back to presenting Anne as this sort of vague, whimsical, adult-in-a-child's body character who constantly sees metaphorical black moths encroaching on her world.

Hoffman's writing is not bad. There are some beautiful passages in here. The trouble is that the entire book is written in this fanciful omniscient passive style that feels catered more towards adults who read middle grade than actual middle grade readers who might be looking for an engaging historical fiction story.

When reading the novel, I couldn't help but think about recent social media posts discussing this very issue: how middle grade books are more and more catering to adults who buy them for kids, and not the children themselves.

This might be a perfect read for someone looking for an evocative, lyrical book. Unfortunately, it wasn't right for me.

When We Flew Away describes Anne Frank’s life from her arrival with her family to Amsterdam after they fled Nazi Germany until they went into hiding. While it focuses on what her life was like then, I think the true value lies in the insight into what life was like for the Jewish people in Amsterdam prior to the Nazis arrival and just after they exerted their control over the Netherlands.
This book also differs from Anne Frank’s diary because it is predominantly written in third person. That doesn’t distract from the narrative. It adds to the story’s purpose, which I believe is to provide a context for reading Diary of a Young Girl.
The story additionally gives insight into Anne’s personality. She was a dreamer who hoped for escape to freedom in America and found real freedom through writing in her diary. Anne doted on her father, struggled to understand her mother and gain her approval, was devoted to her grandmother who seemed to understand her better than anyone, admired her sister’s perceived perfection and later grew inseparable from her, and yet yearned to be loved. As a result of that insight, I think in hindsight , Anne’s story is more comprehensible.
I am glad I read this book. I would recommend that it be read up to the point where they enter into the hiding place . I would then begin reading Anne’s diary to its end and then return to When We Flew Away, reading its conclusion and the afterword.

I cannot wait to share this with my middle school students. When we study The Diary of Anne Frank, their biggest questions are “how could this happen?” and “why didn’t they just escape”? This poignant, beautifully written story chronicles the years leading up to the Franks seeking refuge in the Secret Annex. Hoffman does an amazing job bringing Anne and Margot to life, exploring what it must have felt like to lose all control and fall victim to such hate. There is so much figurative language that can be unpacked and analyzed. I highly recommend this for all young adults and teachers of this subject.

Thank your @netgalley, @scholastic, and @ahoffmanwriter for this ARC. I enjoyed it so much! Any chance this book will have a Spanish translation?! I would love it for our Spanish dual language students. 😀

Alice Hoffman’s latest creation, When We Flew Away, is a poignant and historic account of the time leading up to World War II and, more specifically, a glimpse into the life of the beloved Anne Frank and her family before they were forced into hiding. Equal parts breathtaking and horrific, you will surely find yourself remembering the strength and dignity that Anne held onto during this time of absolute and utter devastation and despair. This book is a must read.!