Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike Iyimide

 

  

   If you are going to read only one mystery book this year, make sure you pick Where Sleeping Girls Lie. Don’t be deterred by the fact that it is in the Young Adult fiction book category. I could not put this outstanding novel down. It is the kind of masterpiece that leaves me speechless, and there are many reasons why I recommend it strongly.

 

 Why do I love Where Sleeping Girls Lie?

   Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a refreshing read because the author does not taint the novel with clumsy gender stereotypes that suit the wishes of the patriarchy. The story has strong female characters who defy the patriarchy in several ways. Characters don’t need to be perfect, but I appreciate that they are relatable and interesting, and it is easy to feel a strong sense of connection with them. Unlike Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates, where the so-called “smart girl” turns out to be an insane product of the patriarchy, the smart girls in Where Sleeping Girls Lie challenge the system through their wits, humor and determination. They are smart because they can see what is wrong and they act accordingly. The female teenagers somehow band together and confront injustice.  

 

   It is liberating to read Faridah Abike-Iyimide after putting up with novels that claim to be different while falling flat into a stream of prejudices and stereotypes. For example, in The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak the female characters (Ella and Rose) cannot be brave without the feedback of men. (Rose is a sex slave but the author does not even seem to acknowledge that Rose is a slave). Ella is constantly patronized by a stranger. In The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak, the eccentric ladies she presents turn out to be unreliable and cruel by the end of the novel and the author makes sure that the reader feels more empathy for the rapist than for the female characters she portrays. I find it disappointing and disturbing. On the other hand, in Where Sleeping Girls Lie Faridah breaks new ground. She sets the reader free from the trend of throwing the “smart” women under the bus. Faridah shows how women can  band together to protect themselves. After I finished reading it, I continued thinking about the outcome of the story and about how all the pieces fit together.

    Faridah is a new kind of writer, free from the prejudices that influence other writers. How liberating! How refreshing it is to meet this author!

   

     Characters and Plot

     Like in Carthage, a female character disappears, so the puzzle revolves around her disappearance and the chain of events that ensue; there are many secrets to be discovered throughout the story…

     Sade is a sixteen-year-old new student in a boarding school in England: Alfred Nobel Academy (ANA). Before joining ANA, she had been homeschooled. It is fascinating to read about her new life in the school and how she connects with the other students. The main characters have unique personalities, and Faridah makes them jump out of the page, offering vivid settings and concise descriptions.

     The mystery starts with the sudden disappearance of a female high school student of Asian ethnicity. Her name is Elizabeth Wang; she was Sade Hussein’s room-mate. The teenager vanishes on Sade’s first night at ANA.

   The gothic buildings of the school create a dark, intriguing atmosphere. Each building has the name of a historical figure from the past… Sade and her new friends navigate an oppressive system of racism, misogyny, greed and corruption, but they challenge it in multiple ways.

  Getting to know the characters well was a riveting adventure. I appreciate how the author makes the suspense grow. She keeps the reader actively engaged through the planting of enigmatic clues. Some of the characters are teenagers I would be happy to befriend, like Basil, Persephone, Elizabeth and Sade. Unlike Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, a novel in which all the teenagers portrayed are shallow, uninspiring and boring, Faridah offers characters that you are willing to meet in-person. (Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed reading Nineteen Minutes, but I did not like the characters in that story).

      As you read Where Sleeping Girls lie, you may consider asking questions about the study of history:

         Who do we celebrate when we study history? Who do we honor?

         Who do we ignore and why? How does a biased selection shape our present? How does this impact our future?

         How can we improve the study of history to make it inclusive and relevant to our times? How do we learn new perspectives to comprehend the past?

           I do not want to reveal too much because this book is amazing, thought-provoking and incredibly relevant. I also appreciate that the ending offers hope, and we need hope more than ever.

          I dare say this is my favorite mystery of the year and my favorite Young Adult fiction of the year. I am thankful that the universe made me cross paths with this masterpiece. Encounters with books are like little miracles that make us fall in love with the magic of reading.

       I came across this book at my local library and I look forward to reading more works by this author.

 

           A brief note about the author

         Faridah Abike-Iyimide is the award-winning, instant New York Times—and internationally bestselling author of Ace of Spades. She is a graduate from a university in the Scottish Highlands, where she received a bachelor of arts in English Literature. She also has an MA in Shakespeare studies from Kings College London. You can learn more about Faridah by checking her website:

Faridahabikeiyimide.com

 

  

 

Comparative analysis between Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates and Where Sleeping Girls Lie (along with some commentary on other recent reads).

   

    If you have already read Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates, feel free to read this analysis.

    It was fascinating to realize that these two books landed on my desk at the same time. When I had to choose which one to read first, I selected Carthage, but I did not know that Where Sleeping Girls Lie would be more satisfying and even more insightful. Unlike Carthage, it is also free of prejudices.

   In both mystery novels a woman disappears. In the case of Where Sleeping Girls Lie the female character who disappears is a teenager. Both stories expose the normalization of male violence and how the forces of the patriarchy shape the way people judge women and men differently.  In both stories there is a conflict between two sisters…

    Where Sleeping Girls Lie highlights how patriarchal forces enable the abuse of women while Carthage suggests that women are in part responsible for these abusive behaviors by doing nothing to set themselves free from the abuser or by supporting and admiring violent males. I think Carthage could have been instead an opportunity to expose how the system does not believe women and how it puts them in danger, but Joyce Carol Oates did something similar in We Were the Mulvaneys. In this novel, Oates shows that Corinne Mulvaney condoned her husband’s abusive behavior. I think there is a clear bias against the female gender in these two novels. Why is the author so persistent when it comes to placing the onus on women? The author is clearly interested in revealing the internalized misogyny of her female characters. To make matters even worse, Corinne Mulvaney did not provide support to her daughter after she was raped and even drove her away from her home because she could not deal with the reality of the rape.  I know I am digressing here, but it is hard not to see the analogies.

   Writing about this brings to mind the tragic experience of Gabby Petito. Somebody reported the physical abuse perpetrated by Brian Laundrie by calling 911, so the police officers in Utah were summoned up. She was clearly asking for help and distressed when the police officers encountered the couple. Gabby Petito received no support or help from the police officers. The abuser was in control. She was considered the “crazy” one, even though she was the victim. Soon after she asked for help, she was strangled by her boyfriend.

   The most important differences between Carthage and Where Sleeping Girls Lie manifest in the ways in which the female characters respond to the demands and injustice of the patriarchy. In Where Sleeping Girls Lie the female characters can see the problems and advocate for change. In Carthage, women adopt a more submissive attitude, even when they can see some of the problems.

    Religion appears to appease and comfort Arlette. It helps her accept her reality and to forgive and be kind. The Catholic Religion in Carthage is something that guides people to be kind to others, to be more tolerant. The context triggers a compelling question: Can people be kind without religion? Joyce Carol Oates shows that Cressida is non-religious and inconsiderate, so the author here seems to associate religion with being kind to others, which can be misleading. Women are expected to be charitable, and religion appears to be the medium that facilitates this. Is the situation suggesting that religion is essential to count on a moral backbone? This suggestion has the potential to implant a form of bigotry.  Arlette’s husband, on the other hand, is the one involved in politics. He is not religious, but he tries to hide his lack of faith, and Arlette cannot fully trust her husband, which reinforces the bigoted idea that without religion a person cannot be trusted. Yet he is the one Cressida puts on a pedestal.

   Cressida is labeled as a “smart” girl, but she treats her mother in condescending ways and admires her father. Cressida’s attitude is a product of the patriarchy despite her rebellious nature.  Cressida also suffers because she does not meet the beauty standards demanded by the patriarchy. Unfortunately, the author does not care too much about sowing empathy for Cressida either. Take a moment to read the reviews to confirm this. You will read that some reviewers state that they would like to “throw Cressida into the river.” Yet they express that they do feel sympathy for Brett Kincaid. They are not bothered by the fact that he had physically attacked his girlfriend, Juliet, and had hung out with rapists… What does this tell you about the society we live in? Joyce Carol Oates paints “smart Cressida” as mischievous and unreliable. Yet Cressida volunteered to help boys by tutoring them in math. Then the boys labeled her as the “homely” one, which means “ugly” in American English. From that point on, she refused to volunteer, which means that being smart did not protect her from being overly concerned about the opinions of others. Being smart as a woman did not protect her from being objectified either. Her sister, Juliet, was considered “the beautiful” one, so Cressida was jealous.

    To make matters even more distressing, Cressida was considered “too smart.” Think about that for a moment. I’ve never heard of a man being accused of being too smart. Intelligence is celebrated, irrespective of the man’s looks. Cressida’s father even warned her about the possibility of being attacked because of her blunt remarks, hinting at the idea that being smart was considered dangerous. I have already explained the stereotyping of the “smart woman” here, so I will not delve into this again. Feel free to read my post on this here.

     Carthage is a very depressing novel in which women adapt to their situations without really changing anything. They do what women are expected to do: they are charitable, but Zeno is the politician. He is the leader, the one with power, and the ending does not seem to muffle the sharpness of the contrast between Arlette, the submissive wife, and Zeno, the politician. There is some growth in most of the characters in Carthage, but it does not make up for the stereotyping and prejudices that pervade the novel. By the end of the novel Arlette may not be the subservient wife she was at the beginning, but she is still docile in many ways. She is wise, but she is not vocal. She acts in accordance with the words from the New Testament: “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.”

     Faridah does not let us lose hope for her female characters in Where Sleeping girls Lie.  She gives them agency to have their own thoughts from the beginning of the novel. The author trusts the smart girls. I do not see any signs of internalized misogyny here. Faridah is a new kind of writer who believes in the power of her female characters to understand and be vocal; they summon up courage amid adverse circumstances and set creative solutions in motion. The author has genuine faith in women and refuses to succumb to any type of prejudice. The women and teenagers in this novel will surprise you... They are alert; they know that things can change, and they work to make change happen…

A relevant link to share with crime analyst Laura Richards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2pp1vfPWmI

Here's an informative article about domestic violence and the need to debunk myths about it:

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/23/pauline-hansons-comments-about-domestic-violence-are-more-than-vile-they-are-dangerous-for-women-ntwnfb

Unstoppable Native American Women by April Riverwood

 

                                                        

 Why do history textbooks fail to share the contributions of so many amazing women? I have witnessed the frustration that girls experience when they study social studies in middle school. They feel excluded. Two or three lines are not enough to share the struggles of women throughout history, for women had to work harder than men. Most women received little or no recognition for their accomplishments.

 Have you ever heard of Susan La Flesche Picotte? She was born in 1865, shortly after the Civil War. She saved lives and delivered babies, but she was not allowed to vote or call herself a citizen because she was Native American.

 Dr. La Flesche Picotte made house calls on horseback in all kinds of weather, risking her own life to reach her patients. Yet she earned around one tenth of what her male colleagues made.

 Dr. La Flesche Picotte educated patients on preventative care and personal hygiene; she advocated for public health and promoted respect and cooperation between races and cultures.

 Dr. La Flesche Picotte belonged to the Omaha Reservation of Nebraska, where she was the only physician to more than 1200 patients in an area of 1350 square miles.

 

April Riverwood put together the engaging stories of various Indigenous women. Their experiences will inspire the readers to persevere despite the setbacks and obstacles imposed by prejudices, discrimination and social rejection.

Maria Tallchief (1925-2013) was a ballerina who did not allow public humiliation and rejection to deter her from following her dreams. Her incredible spirit will find its imprint in a coin in the year 2023. I was in awe to learn about her challenges and how she persisted throughout her ordeals, even after she retired.

  Have you ever heard of Mary Golda Ross? She was a Cherokee woman born in 1908 in Park Hill, Oklahoma. Mary Golda Ross was proud of the Cherokee tradition of equal education for boys and girls. Her passion for math and science propelled her to work toward her goals. In addition to being unstoppable herself, she supported other women in her field.

After spending ten years teaching math in a public school, she went back to college and earned a Master’s degree in mathematics in 1938.

 Among other accomplishments, she contributed to create the first fighter plane to exceed 400 miles per hour during World War II. You can learn more about her from April Riverwood’s book.

I was fascinated to learn about the life of Wa Wa Chaw, a poet, artist and activist whose works are blatantly ignored by the educational system.

 April Riverwood’s book is an invaluable resource for educators, and it should be present in every school library. Girls deserve to learn about these women and many others. It is the students' right to celebrate their lives and to explore their views and experiences in depth.

 We are used to listening about the same women as if they were exceptional cases, and this situation creates a bias against the female gender in the study material. 

 Knowledge and respect are the tools needed to discard old prejudices and stereotypes that limit the perspectives of people and their opportunities. We can build healthier societies when we acknowledge the beauty of diversity, and the need to embrace the wonder of what the future can hold when we treat everybody with equal respect.

If you enjoyed this post, have fun reading my writing on Hyphened Nation, a book by Nicole Draffen.

Here’s a list of articles related to the need for an inclusive comprehensive school curriculum:

 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-schools-teach-womens-history-180971447/

https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/january-2022/missing-women-tackling-gender-imbalance-in-social-studies-textbooks

https://lanetechchampion.org/10990/opinion/women-are-constantly-being-overlooked-in-history-classes-and-its-an-issue/

https://daily.jstor.org/what-we-lose-when-we-lose-indigenous-knowledge/

"1984" by George Orwell

"Of course the people do not want war... But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them that they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism. " German Field Marshall

 A reader of this blog took the time to e-mail me the post I deleted by accident. Thank you , Claire. I appreciate your time and cooperation.

 Today I’m publishing my post on “1984” again, with a few “upgrades”.

  If there is something about the plot and/or characters that offends somebody, please bear with it. George Orwell is now dead so you can’t bully the author. Excuse my sense of humor here. I know, I know. Women are not expected to have this kind of sense of humor (unless they use it to pester a woman who opposes the bully in power).

 Thankfully, I’m married to a man who loves my sense of humor.

 Do people get annoyed by the use of pen-names? Hopefully not because George Orwell is a pen-name. Ladies and gentlemen: live and let live.

Here’s my essay on “1984” by George Orwell.

 ‘1984’ is a dystopian novel about a country called Oceania. (The name Oceania probably alludes to the isolationist nature of its people).  Oceania  is constantly at war, but its citizens do not know why it is at war. They do support it, though, because anybody who is not a supporter is considered a traitor.

  Hatred and rage fuel the support of this endless war. 

 Anyone who dares to oppose the dictator’s ideas or think differently is vilified and will disappear. Those who work for the party are instructed to manipulate the truth as needed.  In fact, nobody is expected to  care about the truth because their lives would be at stake if they did. Freedom is considered to be blind obedience to the leader. 
 Physical movements and facial expressions are closely monitored by screens in people’s homes, political prisoners are treated worse than criminals and love does not exist; hatred and fear condition everybody’s behavior. Blind obedience to Big Brother is what matters.

 Torture and starvation await anybody who dares to challenge the system in any way.  Another strategy of the ruling Party is to destroy words. “We’re cutting the language down to the bone. Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?” “There will be no thought as we understand it now. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”

  Winston is a thirty-nine year-old man who works for the Ministry of Truth. He helps to change the historical facts but, in reality, he is a free thinking person who would like to sabotage Big Brother’s dictatorship. He falls in love with a woman, and they both challenge the system by loving each other and having secret encounters that they must plan in advance.

 When Winston becomes a political prisoner a member of the inner Party confesses to him, “Our civilization is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy - everything. Already we have destroyed the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. ..”

   “There will be no loyalty, except loyalty toward the party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science”.

“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power”. “We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power”.

 The truth is distorted to meet the leader’s interests; conformity becomes the rule.

 The society in which the authoritarian regime thrives is designed carefully to disregard critical thinking and to believe blindly in their leader. His authority is not to be questioned, and those who dare do it are punished and labeled as enemies. George Orwell portrays the dynamics of this society with striking details.

 The features that make Big Brother powerful are the following:

-Fanaticism

-Scapegoating

-Exacerbated nationalism

-Mindless slogans and repeated lies

-The destruction of language

-Use of songs and ceremonies to venerate the leader

  The past becomes mutable for the government can manipulate history by rewriting the historical facts and changing the data to keep the dictator in power.  This is done because the omnipotence of the dictator can only be preserved through lies and irrationality. 

  In Oceania the proletarians - also called “the proles”- are the majority of the population. The Party claimed to have liberated “the proles”, but, in reality, the dictator does not care about them.

“So long as they continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance.”

“All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer working hours or shorter rations”.

   Contradictions are at the heart of the regime. In ‘1984’ the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. 

    The question that lingers in my mind is whether these totalitarian leaders succeed because of the ignorance and/ or apathy of the masses or the conformism of the intellectuals. I think it is a combination of both. As Albert Einstein said, “Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”

Anne Frank

“We cannot change what happened anymore. The only thing we can do is to learn from the past and to realize what discrimination and persecution of innocent people means. I believe that it’s everyone's responsibility to fight prejudice.”~ Otto Frank, 1970

 Fighting all kinds of prejudice is and will always be one of the themes of “My Writing Life”. A few weeks ago I heard a statement from a political candidate who bashed the people of a certain nationality, and I wondered about this man’s education.

What did he learn in school?

 A prejudice is nothing but a lie. It is an unfair judgment. What did his supporters learn from the past? They do remind me of those who supported Adolf Hitler when he imposed a segregation system in the thirties and early forties.

 In the year 1942 Anne Frank and her family had to go into hiding. The diary that she’d received as a birthday present went with her. She named it Kitty.

 Why is her diary so important?  In addition to being a source of inspiration, comfort and strength to millions of people all over the world, it is a historical document. Anne cared to record details about the war and about their life in hiding: she mentions the atrocities and horrors to which human beings were subjected as a result of the cruelty of those who believed they were superior to others. She also poured out her heart on it by revealing her intimate thoughts and emotions.

   Anne did not feel understood, so it was only her diary she confided in. I admire Otto Frank for having the courage to publish it in the year 1947. Some parts had to be omitted. (For instance, passages about sexuality had to be left out because it was not customary to discuss sexuality openly in the forties).

  I recently finished reading the latest edition which includes all the parts that had been censored in previous versions. Anne exposes her vulnerabilities, sorrow, joy, dreams and conflicts with the people who lived in The Annexe.

  Of the group of eight people who lived in The Secret Annexe for two years, Otto Frank was the only survivor, and he committed the rest of his life to combating discrimination and prejudice. He died in 1980.

  
There are historical details  that you may not find in your conventional textbooks:

“Morale among the Dutch can’t be good. Everyone’s hungry; except for the ersatz coffee, a week’s food ration doesn’t last two days. “

“The Children are ill or undernourished, everyone’s wearing worn-out clothes and run-down shoes. A new sole costs 7.50 guilders on the black market. Besides, few shoemakers will do repairs, or if they do, you have to wait four months for your shoes, which might very well have disappeared in the meantime.”

 “People have to queue for vegetables and all kinds of goods; doctors can’t visit their patients, since their cars and bikes are stolen the moment they turn their backs; burglaries and thefts are so common that you ask yourself what’s suddenly got into the Dutch to make them so light-fingered. Little children, eight-and eleven-year-olds, smash the windows of people’s homes and steal whatever they can lay their hands on. People don’t dare leave the house for even five minutes, since they are liable to come back and find all their belongings gone.”

“The electric clocks on street corners are dismantled, public phones are stripped down to the last wire.”

   The veneration of wars and violence that we hear about on a regular basis reminds me of the mindless slogans that George Orwell describes so well in 1984 and Animal farm, so it is timely to cite Anne Frank’s insights. They still resonate today:

“What’s the point of the war? Why, oh, why can’t people live together peacefully? Why all this destruction?

“The question is understandable, but so far no one has come up with a satisfactory answer.”

“Why do people have to starve when mountains of food are rotting away in other parts of the world?”

“I don’t believe the war is simply the work of politicians and capitalists. Oh, no, the common man is every bit as guilty; otherwise, people and nations would have rebelled long ago! There’s a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder and kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes a metamorphosis, wars will continue to be waged, and everything that has been carefully built up, cultivated and grown will be cut down and destroyed, only to start all over again!”

   Despite their confinement, Anne found moments of joy.  She read, wrote and studied. Her dream was to become a writer and a journalist. She had a special interest in art and history and crafted short stories.  Her diary is a lovely tribute to the helpers who risked their lives as they brought the much needed supplies to the two families hiding in The Secret Annexe.

  Anne's fortitude and the energy that kept her active against all odds are inspiring to me. She strove to find the rays of sunshine inside every dark spot while she longed to play outdoors.

 “Every day I feel myself maturing, I feel liberation drawing near, I feel the beauty of nature and the goodness of the people around me. Every day I think what a fascinating and amusing adventure this is. With all that, why should I despair?”

  She disagreed with her mother when she said that they had to feel thankful for not being in the concentration camps.

 “This is where Mother and I differ greatly. Her advice in the face of melancholy is: ‘you’re not part of it’. My advice is ‘Go outside, to the country, enjoy the sun and all nature has to offer. Go outside and try to recapture the beauty within yourself; think of all the beauty in yourself and in everything around you and be happy.

“I don’t think Mother’s advice can be right, because what are you supposed to do if you become part of the suffering? You’d be completely lost. On the contrary, beauty remains, even in misfortune.”

 “A person who has courage and faith will never die in misery.” 

  As she writes about the suffering of others, she expresses her emotions of guilt, sadness and fear.

   Anne becomes infatuated with Peter, and the couple get together in the attic to whisper to each other and contemplate the sky. She reflects on love in her diary:

 “Love, what is love? I don’t think you can really put it into words. Love is understanding someone, caring for him, sharing his joys and sorrows.”

 Their relationship is stunted after her father’s advice:

“Well, you know I understand both of you. But you must be the one to show restraint; don’t go upstairs so often, don’t encourage him more than you can help. In matters like these, it’s always the man who takes the active role, and it’s up to the woman to set the limits. Outside, where you’re free, things are quite different. You see other boys and girls, you can go outdoors, take part in sports and all kinds of activities. But here, if you’re together too much and want to get away, you can’t.”

 Anne Frank’s introspective nature makes the reading compelling. Her honesty leads her to explore her identity:

“As I’ve told you many times, I’m split in two. One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things. By that I mean not finding anything wrong with flirtations, a kiss, an embrace, a saucy joke. This side of me is usually lying in wait to ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper and finer. No one knows Anne’s better side, and that’s why most people can’t stand me. Oh, I can be an amusing clown for an afternoon, but after that everyone’s had enough of me to last a month. Actually, I’m what a romantic film is to a profound thinker—a mere diversion, a comic interlude, something that is soon forgotten: not bad, but not particularly good either. I hate having to tell you this, but why shouldn’t I admit it when I know it’s true?”

 Anne explains that she conceals her deeper self because she fears that she will be ridiculed.

As the diary progresses the people in The Secret Annexe are challenged by starvation. Dangers abound.  Yet she continues writing until August 1 1945.

 After receiving an anonymous tip the German Security Service raids 263 Prinsengracht on August 4 1944. Having been betrayed, the eight people in hiding and two of their helpers are arrested.

 If you are planning to visit Anne Frank House in Amsterdam be prepared to stand in line for a while. Reading her diary, however, does not require a visit to Amsterdam and it is far more powerful.

 Anne Frank’s diary is not only the narration of somebody’s life journey. Her message is the voice of the victims of war anywhere today.