I’m glad I ignored the negative reviews and read the book anyway. I really liked it. The title is a bit misleading as there is very little about Peter’s feelings towards Anne. The book imagines what Peter’s life would have looked like had he survived (he didn’t); how he would have handled the memories; how no one else could possibly understand what it was like for survivors during or after the Holocaust. I could hardly put it down. 5 stars from me!

One of my book groups read The Diary of Anne Frank and this novel for the same meeting... I had found a copy in a used bookstore and was intrigued by the premise... if Peter, Anne's companion and love interest during their time hiding from the Nazi's, survived, what might have happened to him? How would his new life be affected by the publication of Anne's diary, and the play and movie that followed?

In this novel, Peter makes it to the United States and reinvents a whole new life for himself. He denies he is Jewish, marries a Jewish woman, and makes a living building houses. But the veneer he has put over his past is very thin and fragile... one day, his wife comes home with a newly-published book: Anne Frank's diary, in which he is a main character. The author skillfully weaves threads connecting Peter back to the life he has wanted to forget, and Peter has to deal with having untruths revealed about his own parents through the play and movie that followed the publication of the book.

What if Otto Frank wasn't the only survivor of those who hid for years in the Secret Annex? What if Peter also survived the war and went to America afterward, reinventing himself like he'd told Anne he would do if he made it out? This is the story of what could have been, as Peter van Pels keeps his identity a secret, even Anne's diary becomes public and subsequent adaptations are released.

I've had this book on my shelf for a while, but finally read it because my daughter recently read The Diary of a Young Girl (and I re-read it to be able to remember it enough to talk to her about it) and was curious about this book. I think the author handled a very difficult subject well—severe PTSD of a kind that most of us will never be able to understand. The fact that Peter reminded me a bit of the Art Spiegelman's father in the n  Mausn books makes me think that Feldman did a decent job portraying someone who survived the horrors of the Holocaust. However, I think the title is a bit deceptive, in that it gives the impression that the story will delve at least a little into Peter's time in the annex, his time with Anne. Instead, a large part of what Peter does in the book to protect himself is to completely disown his past, even in his own mind, so he considers the day he landed in America as when his life began and doesn't think about the time before that at all. Understandable, but not quite what I expected from this story.

In fact, I think that's a lot of what I felt about this book: understandable, even decently written, but not really what I was expecting or my normal reading preference. So I will just say that if you are intrigued by the concept and stories that delve into psychology, PTSD, dark subjects, etc., definitely give this book a try. I wasn't the right audience, but maybe you will be.

Excelente libro

Una historia real que nos lleva a meditar en lo difícil que debe de ser sobrevivir a un odio tan grande y sin motivo real. Y comprender que la maldad humana no cambia

I recently finished "Anne Frank: Unbound", an anthology about Anne Frank and her continuing influence on the arts and media today. One of the books mentioned as being part of this trend was Ellen Feldman's novel, "The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank: A Novel of Remembering and Forgetting". The book's premise is what if two of the Jews hiding in the Amsterdam Annex survived, not just one. Feldman's novel supposes that young Peter van Pels survived as well as Otto Frank.

In Feldman's story, van Pels survives his stays in both Auschwitz and Mauthausen and is able to emigrate to the United States after the war, sponsored by a distant relative who had emigrated earlier. Van Pets arrives at Ellis Island not knowing exactly what he wants to do with his life, but knowing that he does not want to live it as a Jew. After working in a restaurant for a while, he meets a man who is looking for a partner in a Levitttown-like home building firm. Peter and his (Jewish) partner make a lot of money and Peter emerges as a successful businessman as well as husband and father. Despite his claim of being a Protestant Dutch emigrant who just happens to have spent time in Auschwitz (the tattoo on his left arm gives that away), he falls in love with and marries a young Jewish woman. However, in the late 1940's, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is published and Peter van Pels' life begins to change. He still hides who he is but with the book and then a play and a movie out there in the world, his mind begins to unravel as he remembers things that happened in that Annex attic.

Ellen Feldman's book is a very good read that I think would particularly resound as a choice for a book club. There are a lot of good discussion points as she brings up our identity as both seen by ourselves and the world around us.

This was an interesting book. It is written as if Anne Frank's Peter were never killed, instead immigrating to America where he becomes a successful family man. The fact that it was Anne's Peter was weak, imho. However, Peter is ultimately a man struggling with extreme survivor's guilt as the popularity of the Anne Frank book and play surround him. That part was so well done, that it made this book worth reading. Highly recommended to anyone familiar with Anne Frank's diary, or avid students of the Holocaust.

Lexile: 1100
Historical Event/ Time Period: Holocaust
Liked: I liked how this is a well-known story, but now it is told in a different point of view. Also, you get the story of life after the fact, and the real emotion of what they went through.
Disliked: This is a well-known story, and because of that it got somewhat boring at times. Also, since they were stuck in one place, it doesn 19t describe much of the actual Holocaust and what went on, just the fear they went through and the impact it had afterwards.
Summary: During the Holocaust, many Jewish families were forced into concentration camps. In order to avoid this, many families hid. Anne Frank along with her family and two other families went into hiding in an attic, where they had to be completely silent much of the time. Peter, a young man of one of the families, was in hiding with Anne Frank. There they hid for years and you see the families go through quarrels as well as bond. Anne and Peter start out practically hating each other to falling in love. Usually Anne 19s point of view is the only one seen, but this book takes Peters point of view for a change. It also describes Peter 19s adult hood and his story after they were caught, past the end of World War I.

This book was kind of hard for me to get through. Not because I didn't like it, but because it was a bit slow moving and hard to get into. I liked it though. It was told from an interesting perspective. Everyone talks about Anne Frank (who's diary made me cry I might add, but then again what sad book doesn't? *sigh* I'm such a baby), but Peter was never reported dead or alive. I like the idea of him being alive and still caring about Anne. I didn't regret reading this book, but it was wasn't the most fantastic and brilliant book I have read either.

Una de las personas a las que realmente admiro en la historia es a Anne. Ella fue increíblemente valiente y tenía un espíritu tan asombrosamente fuerte que es capaz de vivir hasta ahora. Su corazón que siempre se negó a perder la fe en la humanidad y sus tremendas ganas de vivir siempre me han enternecido profundamente. Su diario fue uno de los primeros libros que leí y el libro que más he releído. La manera en que logró cumplir su sueño y se volvió inmortal es algo de lo que por alguna extraña razón siempre me he sentido orgullosa.

Encontrar este libro fue como hallar un tesoro. No paré de dar saltos de emoción por toda mi casa antes de empezar a leerlo. Siempre he tenido curiosidad por el chico de Anne. Constantemente investigaba y buscaba información sobre él. Cuando este libro llegó a mis manos había olvidado que ya había leído sobre el informe que decía que Peter no había sido uno de los sobrevivientes; mi romántica mente había suprimido la información y por un segundo pensé que él había logrado vivir, por un momento creí que él realmente había pasado todo lo que narra este libro, y que tal vez este fuera su diario.

El profundo sentimiento de tristeza que se instaló en mi pecho cuando terminé este libro y leí en los agradecimientos que Peter no había vivido solo puede ser superado por las tremendas emociones que este libro revivió en mí, la admiración hacia Anne que solo cobró más fuerza, la vergüenza de formar parte de un grupo que se hace llamar "humano" pero al parecer por momentos carece de sentimientos o pensamientos.

Agradezco a Ellen Feldman por crear un final feliz para Peter y por dejarnos ser parte de él.

This doesn't really strike me as a YA book; there is a lot about marriage and parenthood that I think would be difficult for younger readers to relate to. However, part of the book deals with Peter's reaction to the play by Goodrich and Hackett that was a dramatization of Anne's diary (the play we read in class). It was interesting to see how "Peter" reacted to the portrayal of himself and his parents. If you've read the play, it would be worthwhile to read this novel just for that comparison alone.

I’ve always wondered what Peter’s life would be if he had survived and this book does just that!

This book is based of the premise that Peter van Pels survived the Holocaust and immigrated to America where he started life over. He basically supresses every memory he ever has before coming to the US even counting the date his passport stamped as his birth date (in his mind). He marries, has children and a successful business and everything seems to be working well for him.... until "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" is published. Then slowly his world begins to fall apart. Memories come back like landslides and he begins to suffer.
It was an interesting read-- basically stating what we all know-- that trying to keep traumatic events buried inside doesn't work. It will find a way to the surface one way or the other.