When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of religious discrimination, graphic violence, and bullying.

In When We Flew Away, the gradual loss of freedom for Jewish people in the Netherlands complicates Anne’s coming-of-age journey. How does this complication impact her character development?

Though When We Flew Away is intended for middle-grade audiences, some atrocities of the Holocaust are reported with brutal honesty. What stylistic aspect counterbalances these bluntly truthful passages? What is the effect of these two juxtaposing styles on the depiction of the Franks’ lives?

How does Anne initially think about New York and California? How does the symbolic value of these places change throughout the story?