Review of Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Written as a companion piece to Anne Frank's diary, this is the story of Peter van Pels, the boy who was in love with her. The story is written as if by Peter, telling of what it was like for him to be cooped up in the Annex with this strange, eccentric girl amongst a lot of other people. Seeing his life from his sick bed in the Nazi death camp of Mauthausen, from just before arriving at the Annex to his death, this is a beautiful and moving storyline.

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At first when I picked up this book I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as it could be. But as this is a touchy subject to write about, I figured the publishers wouldn't publish it if it wasn't good.
I wasn't disappointed. Completely (well almost) historically accurate, I feel like Peter is now a real person, rather than a boy in Anne's diary. The story that Peter tells is completely believeable and drags you right into that cold, suffocating world of the Annex and tells the story of it's residents. If Peter ever had the chance to write a biography, I doubt it would differ much from this.
There are gaps where we're not quite sure what happens in parts of Peter's life, like where he died for instance, so Sharon Dogar had to guess. I think she did it marvelously.
Beautifully told, I'd recommend this to any fans of Anne Frank, in fact I feel it's a must read. Only bad point I can think of is that this will probably used in schools, so a lot of kids might end up hating it! After all, teachers pick stories to bits...

5/5