One of my favorite kinds of books are books about holocausts, especially stories of Jews and other ethnic and religious groups of people who were planned to be eradicated in World War II. I have read many fictions and non-fiction books about this specific event, and loved every single of them-it shows the victims' effort to retain their faith, to overcome their hardships, and most importantly, to stay alive. In both fictions and non-fiction books I always feel like I am the victim, like I am the main character struggling.
My favorite book of all the holocaust books that I've read-which I all like-is a book called Ann Frank and Me by Cherie Bonnett and Jeff Gottesfeld. I read this 282-page, 40-chapter book in just three days-I just couldn't stop reading! It's a fiction book about a girl, Nicole Burns, in the modern world going back in time to the 1940's and meeting Ann Frank face-to-face, and going back yet again to the modern world. This whole journey of the main character, while I was reading very intently, was just like a film inside my head. It sketched the problems of her-relationships between her and her family and friends, her and her family in need of food and water, and many more.
From this not-famous but inspiring book, I not only learned but felt that I am lucky to be in the 21st century-to be treated equal. Being Jewish, the main character and her family are certainly not treated equally--they are forbidden to go anywhere at anytime or do anything at all. Even if their actions are legal, they are abused and forced, by the Nazis, to go back to their house. Many of their friends are captured and deported for no particular reason, and all this just because they are Jewish. As I read this book, I imagined how I would fell if I was mistreated severely just because of my nationality or religion, or if my friends were. Through this, I understood the characters' feelings more thoroughly. Also, I learned to be thankful for what I have.
Of the many things that I learned from this book, one of them is the importance of family and friends, and how they can help incredibly. In this book, Jacque and Mimi, friends of the main character, bring food to the main character and her family very frequently. They risk their lives to come to the main character's hiding place, and give food. Also, Mimi left messages from the main character all over Paris, messages encouraging people like herself to wait and retain hope. If it weren't the main character's friends, the main character and her family would have starved to death.
This profound book also made me understood again the fact that even if might not be as beneficial, the right thing has to be done in every situation. In this book, the main character's father works in a secret group which is against Nazis, and makes bombs and other weapons. His wife, the main character's mother, tries to convince him out of this as soon as she found out-yes, the father did not tell her-but he, risking his and his family's lives, continue to be in the secret organization.
One of the many unique things about this exhilarating book is that the authors try to prove that Ann Frank and her diary is not a forgery by letting the main character meet Ann Frank herself face-to-face. Even if the book is a fiction, it clearly shows the authors' anger towards the people who are proposing that Ann Frank's diary, Diary of a Young Girl, is a fake and a made-up. I think that one of the many reasons that this particular book is my favorite book is the fact that I cannot agree more with the authors regarding the idea that the diary of Ann Frank is not real.
I recommend Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl!!
About this essay, I think you could add one final sentence at the end that will directly answer the question of how the book changed your life. You explained that you agree with it... but you can also explain how it changed you.
I also made some changes to the first paragraph:
One of my favorite literary genres is history, especially stories of Jews and other ethnic and religious groups who have been persecuted. I have read many fiction and non-fiction books about this specific event, and loved every single of them-it shows the victims' effort to retain their faith, to overcome their hardships, and most importantly, to stay alive. In both fiction and non-fiction books, I always identify with the victims, like I am the main character struggling.
