Reading Journal Post 1: Chapters 1-3

       What World Is Left starts with Anneke waking up in the barracks of Theresienstadt, her dream of home broken by the nip of bedbugs and the press of other prisoners sleeping at her side. As she vigorously scrubs the giant cauldrons in the diet kitchen at day, Anneke feels as if the war will never end.

The first three chapters outline her experiences in entering the concentration camp through flashbacks up until the present point in the story. Events from Annke’s healthy life in her Holland home are also described as she yearns for her recent past. For example, she talks about a gold brooch she received for her  birthday and how she hid it in her bags for Theresienstadt. The brooch is taken by the entry soldiers assigned to root through the prisoner’s luggage, and this event leaves her crestfallen. Instances such as this are littered throughout the book, and the small occurrences help the reader see her perspective judging by her day-to-day experiences.

     This book is written in a format that incorporates unpretentious but fulfilling forms of imagery and style. The simple format and descriptors used in the novel make it an easy read, but not so much so that the story-telling is limited. The protagonist is a fourteen-year-old girl, so the linguistics used enhance the story’s authenticity and relatability.  This style is evident when Anneke describes her initial thoughts of the camp in Chapter 1. She angrily expresses that Theresienstadt is

Some model city!  I shake out my arm to make the cramping go away. It is Father and Mother's fault we ended up here! How could they have been so foolish? Why hadn't we left Holland when it was still possible for Jews to leave the country? Parents were supposed to look after their children, but Father and Mother haven't done a very good job of it, have they? (6)

     Anneke didn't know where to turn when she found out where the family had been taken to, and her first thoughts are feelings of resentment towards her parents. Soon after, these feelings of blame fade away as she realizes the reality of the situation at hand. Her problem is addressed when she tries to make friends Hannelore, who later becomes her very best friend, and continues to search for hope in her dark situation.