Hailed as “a deftly written memoir that will hold the reader’s attention from beginning to end” by the Midwest Book Review and described as “a magnificent memoir and an impressive, courageous piece of work” by Writers Digest Magazine, Alice Rene‘s Becoming Alice: A Memoir deserves every word of praise it got…and more. The memoir begins with a description of the Anschluss, when Hitler annexed Austria to the Third Reich in 1938. Becoming Alice describes the impact of these tragic historical events upon Austria’s Jewish population from the perspective of a six year old girl named Isle.

Isle and her family watch helplessly as the Nazi soldiers march down their street in Vienna. Faced with discrimination and the threat of deportation, they’re obliged to flee Austria for fear of worse. Taking only their most basic belongings, Isle and her father, mother and older brother Fredi risk a difficult journey through Stalinist Russia, at war with Germany, to eventually make their way to Portland, Oregon. The memoir reflects historical fact, but it’s as well written as the best of novels. In fact, Becoming Alice is reminiscent in subject and narrative voice of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Alice Rene’s autobiographical narrative skillfully captures the girl’s limited and innocent perspective as she lives through one of the most inhumane and incomprehensible moments in human history. While Isle and her family are quite fortunate to have escaped the Holocaust, finding themselves as new immigrants in the U.S. is no easy matter either. As Isle adapts to the new culture and craves acceptance and assimilation, she becomes increasingly critical of her family dynamics: particularly of the interaction between her overbearing father and submissive–yet also, in some respects, incredibly strong and resilient–mother. By the end of the narrative, when she’s already in her teens, Isle succeeds in Americanizing not only her name–which she changes to Alice–but also her whole identity and outlook. She doesn’t forget, however, her original culture, nor the historical calamity that brought her family to the U.S. This is a riveting story : a memoir that reads like a novel about a moment in history that we should never forget.

Claudia Moscovici, Notablewriters.com ( )

"Becoming Alice" is a coming of age memoir that begins on the day during WWII when Nazi soldier's march into Vienna, Austria and ends in Berkeley, California when a young girl finally finds her true self.

Author Alice Rene recounts her childhood with amazing courage and heart while drawing the reader into her story to the point where I could feel the emotions she must have felt. She was only 6 when her family had to escape Vienna and to see that drama unfold through the eyes of a child was often heart-wrenching but always hopeful. Upon arriving in the US they struggled in a city and culture that was very different from where they came from and Alice found she didn't fit in with the other children her age. I could totally relate to that, although for different reasons, and became embroiled in Alice's attempts to be like everyone else. She even changed her name from Ilse to Alice in an effort to seem more American to those she met.

Eventually Alice realized it would take more than a name change and that what she really needed to do was find her own identity somewhere between her Jewish roots and the American culture. I really think this is something everyone can empathize with, as we all struggle to find our identities, and Alice does an excellent job of describing her battles with her family and herself as she searches for her path in life.

This memoir is a true gem that will have you laughing and crying right along with Alice as she goes through the good times and the bad. Young adults and anyone who had trouble fitting in will relate to her challenges in her new American environment and her journey to be her own person. I recommend this book for anyone interested in WWII Jewish history, young adults struggling to find their place in the world, or anyone who likes good story-telling. ( )

"Becoming Alice: A Memoir" is a first-person account by Alice Rene of her family's escape from the Nazis to America. The family lived in Vienna, Austria, where her father was a doctor. Alice was known as Ilse and her older brother was named Fredi. When the Nazis began to take over Vienna, the family was forced to stay out of sight. Alice's father couldn't work because he was Jewish. The family's bank account was frozen, as were all Jewish bank accounts. Because circumstances became too dangerous in Vienna, the family fled to Memel, Germany, then to Riga, Latvia. Visas were hard to come by, so when one was finally available to the family, Fredi was sent to New York. The rest of the family remained in Riga until they received visas for travel on the Trans Siberian Railway, ending in Kobe, Japan. Then they endured a typhoon on their boat ride to Seattle, Washington.

Upon arriving in America and reuniting with Fredi, the family faced more challenges. Alice's parents had difficulty finding suitable employment. Her mother kept the family afloat with her sewing until her parents were offered a job running a neighborhood grocery store. Meanwhile, Alice enrolled in school and struggled to fit in. She went from "Ilse" on formal documents to "Elsie" at school, "Illy" at home, "Suzinka" by her parents, to "Sally" by local firemen. When she became a U.S. citizen, she chose "Alice" as her new name.

I was enthralled by Alice's story. In Vienna, the family lived a comfortable life; her father was well-respected as a doctor. They had to give it all up to start over in America, but they were among the lucky ones who lived. I had heard about many Jews who came to New York, but didn't realize they also came across Siberia to Japan and then to Seattle. Alice's poignant, well-written memoir will draw readers in to discover the fate of Jewish immigrants fleeing Nazi persecution. The book has won several awards in the young adult and memoir/autobiography categories. I highly recommend reading this one! ( )

Reviewed by Katie Hayes for TeensReadToo.com

Born with the name Ilse, Alice Rene was six when the Nazis took over her hometown of Vienna, Austria.

Her Jewish family was forced to flee, and while many others, including some of her family members, weren't so lucky, Ilse and her parents and older brother eventually settle in Portland, Oregon.

From there, Alice documents her life in America: learning English, her struggles making friends at school, becoming an American citizen. She changes her name from Ilse to Alice and starts calling her parents "Mom" and "Dad" instead of "Mama" and "Papa."

As she gets older, Alice experiences her first romance and watches her older brother go through the pain of heartbreak. She also gains the courage to stand up to her overbearing father for the first time. When high school ends and she starts applying to college, Alice begins to plan ways to forge her own identity apart from her family.

This is an interesting memoir that reads more as a series of chronological anecdotes than a straightforward narrative. While the effects of the Holocaust are an inescapable part of the novel, the focus is more on Alice's experiences becoming American and establishing her own identity.

I would recommend BECOMING ALICE as an interesting coming-of-age memoir. ( )