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ANNE FRANK AND ME

Name: ANNE FRANK AND ME
Author: Cherie Bennet
ISBN: 0-399-23329-6

by Cherie Bennet & Jeff Gottesfeld ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001

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In this example of history- and literature-lite, teens are given a rather heavy-handed lesson about the evils of the Holocaust. Nicole Burns is a typical 16-year-old who undergoes a life-changing experience after a riot breaks out at the local museum where her class has gone to see an "Anne Frank in the World" exhibit. Nicole is knocked unconscious and wakes up to find herself in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942, now part of a Jewish family and therefore subject to the increasingly Draconian laws against Jews. While in hiding, Nicole and her family are betrayed by a close friend and Nicole ends up on one of the cattle cars traveling east to the concentration camps. On the crowded train, she meets someone who seems eerily familiar, a girl whom she soon recognizes as Anne Frank. Memories stir in Nicole and details about Anne's final years—details that she remembers from her 21st-century life—rush into her mind. Nicole ends up in the gas chamber where, on the point of death, she finds herself back in 21st-century America soon becoming convinced that her experiences were real. What Nicole can remember from one era to another is often confusing and inconsistent. Sometimes French Nicole remembers the future, as when Anne Frank makes her appearance, but other times she seems not to know what the outcome of the Holocaust (and therefore her probable fate) will be. Although admirable in its intent to make the Holocaust relevant to today's adolescents, the story is overly obvious, pounding the reader over the head with its message. It is difficult to imagine this on stage (its roots are in the theater) because the dialogue is so trite and forced. But there may be an audience for it among reluctant teen readers who can relate to these airheads. For a much better time-travel novel involving the Holocaust, stick with Jane Yolen’s The Devil's Arithmetic. (timeline) (Fiction. 11-16)

Pub Date: March 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-399-23329-6

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY

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CUTTING LOOSE

by Michael Z. Lewin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Masquerading as a man, a young woman sets out to find her friend’s killer in New York and London at the turn of the century; disguise proves to be simultaneously liberating and imprisoning in Lewin’s big-canvas historical novel. No one is who she or he seems to be, not the gender-bending heroine Jackie who spends most of her life as Jack so she can play baseball; not her best friend, Nance, a black performer who “passes” as white, and who dies of a stab wound in the opening pages. Cleverly structured and meticulously detailed so that every piece of information neatly clicks into the jigsaw-puzzle ending, the novel runs on two tracks. One chronicles Jackie’s past history starting with her grandmother (whose incredible life both mirrors and influences her granddaughter’s); the other details her current adventures as the avenger of her best friend, along with a surprise unveiling of her father’s murderer. After a vivid trip through 19th-century America, the novel concludes in and around the music halls of London, where Jackie’s past and present converge. The derring-do climax fails to ignite, for this is a book in which the journey surpasses the destination, but overall Lewin produces a grand adventure that readers won’t soon forget. (Fiction. 12-14)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-8050-6225-4

Page Count: 520

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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by Michael Z. Lewin

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by Michael Z. Lewin

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by Michael Z. Lewin

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THE SQUIRE, HIS KNIGHT, AND HIS LADY

by Gerald Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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This sequel to The Squire’s Tale (1998) finds Morris’s affable young hero, Terence, still serving the legendary Sir Gawain. The kingdom of Camelot, where they are living, is in despair over Queen Guinevere’s affair with Sir Lancelot; when Gawain is challenged to meet the Knight of the Green they set off on a new quest. Terence is still young, but he is no longer the novice of the previous novel; when Gawain is imprisoned by the treacherous Marquis of Alva and scheduled for execution, it’s up to Terence to save not only his knight, but the beautiful and spirited Lady Eileen. The three of them come upon an enchanted castle, where the lord of the realm turns out to be the Green Knight in disguise: Gawain is forced to pass two additional challenges in order to regain face. There is a well-crafted but tumultuous unfolding of events, and an author’s note in which Morris explains his abiding affection and respect for Gawain; this personal touch may send readers straight off to Chaucer. Even Arthur and Guinevere make up in this engaging adventure, an ideal follow-up to the first book and just as full of characters who are brave, loyal, and admirably human. (Fiction. 12-14)