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 death.



Written in the second person, a brief passage describes the day the second-person narrator notices the world changing. Some of the changes seem natural and refreshing, like springtime leaves and birds singing. But the narrator also sees dark, unnatural sights, like black moths from under the ground; they have a new understanding that loved ones may be lost during terrible events.

A brief introduction to Part 1, from an omniscient perspective, offers opposing descriptions of two unnamed sisters. One is obedient and lovely; the other studies life closely and writes down her observations—even the dreadful ones: “When you write it down, they cannot pretend it never happened” (xi).

On a beautiful day in May, Anne and Margot Frank walk home after school. Anne, almost 11, wants ice cream from a local shop, but Margot says no. Margot is in high school, earns good grades, and tries to supervise Anne; Anne, a creative and observant learner, attends a Montessori school with less structured lessons that suit her. Anne’s mother Edith would like Anne to stop chattering and daydreaming so much, but Anne’s father Otto (whom Anne calls “Pim,” a Dutch variation of the name William) and Oma (her maternal grandmother) understand her passions, her love of books and stories, and her natural curiosity about everything.