I have always been fascinated by Anne's story, and I have spied this book in my local library a few times, so decided to pick it up today. This is a memoir written by Anne's best friend, Jacqueline. Depending on which version of the diary you read, you may know her better by her pseudonym, Jopie. 

Generally speaking, I find I fall into the same trap when picking up this type of book; I expect that the narrative will be centred around the author's relationship with Anne, perhaps offering a more personal insight into her personality and her life before the Secret Annexe. Invariably, I am disappointed and find that Anne is only tangentially included, with the author telling their own story. I appreciate that Anne's is certainly not the only story or experience of that awful period in history and that as many people as possible should give voice to those experiences before they are lost in time, but when it is her name and image on the cover of such book I cannot help but feel that some people look to exploit their connection to her. 

That being said, in this case Anne does take more of a central role for much of the book. I don't believe it adds much to what we already know of her, but it is a very good opportunity to see Anne and her friend as a 'normal' pre-teen. The author doesn't appear to be looking back with rose-tinted glasses; it comes across as a simply stated, factual account of their friendship without the weight of Anne's fate or fame influencing her memories.

However, the book is predominantly about the author's wartime experience. As she was in a privileged position of being able to claim her mother was a Catholic, there was little danger of her being deported and so her experiences don't stray too far from 'normal' (for wartime, that is). I know these experiences are just as important as those who went into hiding, those on the front lines and those in the camps, but it does leave very little scope for writing something engaging. It's interesting, but there's nothing that screams 'this is a story that MUST be told'.

The style is a bit odd for a memoir too. The first section is written in the third person, and reads more like the introduction of a novel rather than a factual account. There's no explanation as to who the people mentioned are, and although it's not hard to guess, it's still quite jarring and unexpected, which in turn made it hard to settle in. Likewise, the last section written in the same way. You now know who is being talked about, but there's suddenly a time shift which again jolts you as it's not clearly marked. And I have to admit to not understanding the author's choice of ending at all.

There are definitely better accounts of Anne out there, but IMO every story about her is worth reading.