Hidden Like Anne Frank, by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis Review

Hidden Like Anne Frank: 14 True Stories of Survival, by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis
Publication: March 25, 2014, by Arthur A. Levine Books
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, War, Historical, Survival, Autobiography
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted
Rating: ½

Fourteen unforgettable true stories of children hidden away during World War II.
Jaap Sitters was only eight years old when his mother cut the yellow stars off his clothes and sent him, alone, on a fifteen-mile walk to hide with relatives. It was a terrifying night, one he would never forget. Before the end of the war, Jaap would hide in secret rooms and behind walls. He would suffer from hunger, sickness, and the looming threat of Nazi raids. But he would live.
This is just one of the incredible stories told in HIDDEN LIKE ANNE FRANK, a collection of eye-opening first-person accounts that share what it was like to go into hiding during World War II. Some children were only three or four years old when they were hidden; some were teenagers. Some hid with neighbors or family, while many were with complete strangers. But all know the pain of losing their homes, their families, even their own names. They describe the secret network of brave people who kept them safe. And they share the coincidences and close escapes that made all the difference.

Books about the war scar me. I mean, the stories are so heart-breaking that I'm unable to stand anything any longer. Books about young children who went in hiding are so sad and this story contained 14 STORIES THAT GOT ME CRYING. Okay, I didn't really cry, but all of my feels were exploding all over the place and I was unable to deal with anything in my life any longer.

When you think about it, this book was a hit. I was overwhelmed with all of the stories, and I was so obsessed with reading on, meeting another character and try to relate to their stories although it absolutely shatters my heart completely. Prins did do a fantastic job on trying to get readers to enjoy the flaws and put themselves in the victims' shoes. It was real to the extreme.

AND YES, IT WAS REAL LIFE. NON-FICTION, GUYS! At the back of the book, you get to see photos of how the victims actually look today, and it warms my heart. They are such important people who have changed the world. The genre was gorgeous and perfect, right to the point. I keep wondering if some things were changed to look different or not, though these were real survival stories that I wouldn't change my experience of reading them for anything else.

This was powerful, it was something memorable. The plot of these stories were a little slow at times, depending on which story I was reading, but it had been a very raw bunch of stories that carried different situations and themes each time, like friendship, survival, abuse and family. And this was a quick read that left me hanging.

I guess from the moment the first story with Jaap began, I was addicted. I don't have a favourite story, and as it's been a while since I finished reading, I can't really remember what had happened in each, though it was truly something invisible to an average person's knowledge of the war and its feelings and events that scarred people.

After reading, I'm left wanting more and researching about the war and other survival stories. I just can't get enough of the subject that it's getting to an obsession that I'm unable to wait for anything else any longer. The stories here are REAL, and nothing's made up, which gives you a larger and broader imagination to want to know what's happening. Go for it, because it's not a read like any other.