Tag: Anne Frank

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The Last Secret of the Secret Annex

The Last Secret of the Secret Annex book coverAnne Frank.

A young Jewish girl who captivated the world through her diary while in hiding during WWII.

If you read the diary and wondered who betrayed the occupants hiding in the annex, The Last Secret of the Secret Annex will interest you.

The world has heard from Otto Frank and several helpers who assisted the people in the annex, but one helper kept her story close to her – Bep Voskuijl. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she usually refused interviews. Now, after her death, her son Joop van Wijk-Voskuijl, inspired by and working with a young researcher Jeroen De Bruyn, brings readers new information in The Last Secret of the Secret Annex coming out May 16, 2023.

Photo of Anne Frank and Bep Voskuijl
Photo of Anne Frank and Bep Voskuijl

Readers will hear another point of view and new stories about the experience of WWII in Amsterdam. Joop tells stories he heard from his mother who, closer in age to Anne Frank than the others, seems to have had a more intimate friendship with her than the other helpers. (Bep, the youngest of the protectors, was 23 when the family went into hiding.) Joop, being Bep’s son, interviewed family and friends that may not have talked to other researchers/reporters.

It is widely known that Anne Frank’s diary was released by her father after he censored certain passages. This new book questions if some of those pages were left out to protect one of the helpers, keeping her family out of the crosshairs. It wasn’t unusual to have both Jewish supporters and Nazi collaborators within the same family. Could Bep have had a personal connection to the betrayer? Joop reveals information that will give readers an interesting theory that someone who has been overlooked was the betrayer.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of The Last Secret of the Secret Annex.

Check out these books!

If this WWII non-fiction book interests you, check out my WWII historical fiction book reviews: The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel, The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris, The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood, The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel, The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel, and Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs.

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Sneak Peek of Upcoming Book Reviews

It’s good to be back! And I’ve got some good stuff for you. I’ve returned with a sneak peek of upcoming book reviews! You see, I’ve been reading a lot. What else was a girl to do while recovering from surgery?Twisty road in Nevada desert

Life is full of twists and turns, valleys and mountaintops. Although I prefer the mountaintops, I’ve been traversing my way through the twists, turns and valleys for the last few months, including surgery for my rotator cuff and bicep. Although I had a similar surgery done two years ago on the other arm, this one has been a much harder recovery. So, three months later, I’m still having pain and I don’t have full range of movement, but I’m working through the PT to recover. I just couldn’t wait any longer to reconnect with you!

When I couldn’t hold my arm up to type yet, I read. So – I have some great book reviews coming up! I’ll spread them out so you don’t have to rush out to get them all at once. I found it interesting that I was picking a wider variety of books, some out of the genres I usually read. But that’s great! Maybe my venturing out will give you something new to consider, too. Some books are brand new and others have been out a few years.

A new book review will come out later this week. Make sure you watch your email for it! If you don’t get email notifications when I write a new blog, why not?  I promise I won’t stuff your inbox. (I normally only write 2-3 blogs per month.)  Don’t put it off. I know how it goes. If you tell yourself you’ll do it later, you probably won’t. You simply need to type in your email address. Sign up on the bottom of any page on my website or go directly to https://robinshelley.com/home/contact-info/.  Do it! Do it now!

And now… (drumroll please), here’s a sneak peek at some of the book reviews coming in the next few months ( in no particular order):

The Liz Taylor Ring by Brenda Janowitz, Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor (for The Great Gatsby fans), The Peachtree Bluff series by Kristy Woodson Harvey, This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith , Big Fish by Daniel Wallace, The Last Secret of the Secret Annex by Joop van Wijk-Voskuijl and Jeroen De Bruyn (for those interested in the Anne Frank story), The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren, Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee, The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel, The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey, and The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry.

Just a reminder:

Mother’s Day is just around the bend. Wouldn’t Mom love a good book for her spring/summer reading? If you order at bookshop.org, your purchase supports small, independent bookstores. You can even pick which store you want to support! (I’ve been supporting MacIntosh Books as they recover from the hurricane that hit the Sanibel Island/Fort Myers area in Florida.)