This diary contains important excerpts for comparative literature in the classroom. Readers see a diary significantly different than Anne Frank’s, in that Renia Spiegal was socially living out and about as a Jew in Przemysl, Poland. When Poland was conquered and divided between Russia and Germany under the Nazi-Soviet pact, Renia and other family members were split up for many years. Renia lived in Soviet-occupied Poland, while her mother lived in German-occupied Poland on the other side of the San River. As a result, Renia was able to live more freely as a Jew for most of the beginning of her diary. 

Although under Soviet occupation, we still see a young girl torn by war and desperate to be with her mother again. “My thoughts are so dark, it’s a sin to even think them.” She showers her diary with symbolic poems that mostly mirror her teenage angst, but sometimes reflect a war-torn society.

Like most diarists, Renia Spiegal could not foresee that hers would be published. So, she does regularly sift about her thoughts and mundane day to day affairs: parties, boys, gossip, dancing, crushes, and school. There is more of the day-to-day humdrum than significant events until the Nazi’s invade the Soviet territory in June of 1941 which occurs at approximately 45% of this book. With the Nazi occupation, her life takes a different turn. She must wear an arm band, her family’s possessions are taken, and they are moved to a Przemysl ghetto. 

The last 15% of the book is her sister’s account of what happened and is extremely pertinent in order to comprehend the velocity of all that Renia encountered. 

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. And, thanks to Renia who continued to write with passion amidst a cruel world.

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