The Upstairs Room

                                                                The Upstairs Room
                                                              

     Premise~ Annie De Leeuw would never expect her life to change overnight. She lives a quiet life with her respected father, her soft spoken mother, and her two, caring sisters. Sure, there is trouble for the Jews in Germany, but eight-year-old Annie and her lives in Holland, so she must be safe, right? Little does Annie know, the power hungry Nazis will drive her family apart, and drive her and her older sister, Sini, into hiding. The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss is the story of Annie's struggle as she lives through suffering and loneliness, and tries to make a stranger's attic into a home.
      
     What I just read~ Annie peered out her window feeling lonely, but felt her mood lighten as her eyes landed on Dini, the little girl whose family was hiding them, making a snowman in the fresh white blanket.if Annie can't play in the new fallen snow this winter, at least she can take pleasure in watching Dini enjoy it. This passage shows Annie's enthusiasm. ""Sini come and look. It's so much fun." But he should be wearing a hat. The ones I used to make always did. Where is Dini? Maybe she has gone inside to get one. Please.  Yes she has one. I laughed. Great." (Reiss, 52) this's passage also shows how she is remembering a time when she built snowmen, and longing for that time again.

      My reaction~ I think that this book is really interesting because it shows the reader that many children knew very little about what was actually going on in the war. Many adults barely even new the whole story. This book really shows what it was like to grow up in a time of confusion and devastation. Annie is separated from her family and thrust into a secretive new life and as she adjusts, it is easy for the reader to relate to her situation. I have to admit, I didn't have high hopes for this book. I mean, it's a story about two girls spending a couple years in an attic, and where is the excitement in that? But this book and the details that enrich it make it so much more interesting, and getting consumed into the fascinating setting and understanding each character gives this book dimension. This classic story of hope is the tale of a family whose love holds it together, even in the darkest times.