I haven't read Harry Turtledove before, his books don't tend to appeal to me. However the title to this short story drew me in on the Tor.com blog which I obsessively follow plus Anne Frank has always been of a certain interest to me. Then the concept grabbed me.

Its always a tragic thing when a child dies--whether its from something as horrific as WWII and the surrounding insanity therein or an illness, people tend to react more strongly to a child. Add in Anne's diary, which at the time it was originally published was one of the few widely spread accountings of what the victims went through, well its natural that speculation would occur. What would Anne have been like if she had survived? Where would she have gone? Who would she have become?

Turtledove answers that question in a quiet, pragmatic way. Turtledove's Anne Frank went on to lead a traditional enough life--she was just one of hundreds of thousands trying to recover after their ordeals. Trying to rebuild a life almost taken from her. She had her ups as well as downs. Saw some marvelous things and tried her best to put the past behind her.

She writes, sometimes thinks of that diary left behind all those years ago and wonders just how dramatic she must have come off in that book (and how badly she painted the other inhabitants of that attic). If it was ever found and how it would have been received. Now elderly she thinks back on her life and realizes it was a good one. And when these history classes come by to ask their questions and poke at her past ordeals she answers their questions with only a little discomfort. How could these bright-eyed kids barely a fifth of her age understand?

Turtledove tells this Anne's story simply and without fuss or grandeur. The might have beens and the could have beens, the life of the real Anne Frank doesn't hover over this Anne. She survived and she thanks her stars that she did and that's all there is to it. She lived a life better then most, full of love and adventure, and for her that was enough. ( )

“We had to wear yellow stars on our clothes, with Jood on them. That’s Jew in Dutch,” Anne said. “We couldn’t use trams. We had to give up our bicycles. We weren’t allowed to ride in cars. We had to shop late in the afternoon, when there was next to nothing left to buy. We couldn’t even visit Christians in their houses or apartments. We couldn’t go out at all from eight at night to six in the morning. We had to go to only Jewish schools and Jewish barbers and Jewish beauty parlors. We couldn’t use public swimming pools or tennis courts or sports fields or—well, anything.”

This story is an alternate WWII history tale that hit me like a punch. It's such an important read. Let us never forget the past. Let us never forget what was done to innocent people who deserved life. But this story does something beautiful - rather than painting a grim future, this gives us such a lovely change to the past. In the best, most heartbreaking way. It follows an elderly woman recounting to school kids about how she and her family survived. And the twist will make you cry. I know I did.

This is one of those stories you really wish was real (and perhaps a heartbreaking side-effect of alternative history - all the things that should have been). You know that feeling of joy you get when you reach the end of Inglourious Basterds and just start cheering? It's that sort of closure. ( )

So beautiful and painful. ( )

Nice alternate history tale depicting Anne Frank as a survivor of the war. ( )