Books Like The Diary of a Young Girl

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Selma Blair reads Anne Frank's diary with the careful restraint the material demands — she keeps Anne's voice young and curious rather than retrospectively tragic, which is the only honest way to honor the text. At ten hours, the listen is steady and intimate. Nearly all of these recommendations are highly rated, and they share the same quality of a real person's voice on the page — memoir and testimony where the 's relationship to the material shapes the entire experience.

10 books for fans of The Diary of a Young Girl

  1. 1
    The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank's Heartfelt Testament Amidst Darkness cover

    The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank's Heartfelt Testament Amidst Darkness

    by Anne Frank

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    Anne Frank's diary reveals the extraordinary spirit of a girl determined to find hope and humanity while confined in an Amsterdam attic during the Holocaust.

    4.20 Goodreads (4.2M ratings)
  2. 2
    Born a Crime cover

    Born a Crime

    by Trevor Noah

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    Mixed-race Trevor Noah tells stories of his childhood in apartheid South Africa, where his birth was literally criminal. Hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about his remarkable mother's influence.

    4.49 Goodreads (817.0K ratings)
  3. 3
    The Glass Castle cover

    The Glass Castle

    by Jeannette Walls

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    Walls recounts growing up with nomadic parents whose inspiring dreams and devastating addictions created a childhood of both wonder and profound neglect.

    4.33 Goodreads (1.4M ratings)
  4. 4
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings cover

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Maya Angelou's Autobiography • Book 1

    by Maya Angelou

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    Growing up Black in Depression-era Arkansas, Angelou survives rape, racism, and muteness to discover that words can be weapons against oppression. Her lyrical prose transforms trauma into transcendent art.

    4.30 Goodreads (586.4K ratings)
  5. 5
    North of Ordinary cover

    North of Ordinary

    by Michael Vlessides

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    Life Below Zero's Sue Aikens reveals what it really takes to survive alone in the Alaskan wilderness, where everything wants to kill you.

    4.60 Goodreads (305 ratings)
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    Stripped Down cover

    Stripped Down

    by Bunnie Xo

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    Bunnie Xo chronicles her path from Vegas trailer parks to Nashville success, pulling no punches about addiction, trauma, and the messy reality of rebuilding your life.

    4.59 Goodreads (7.6K ratings)
  7. 7
    Finding Me cover

    Finding Me

    by Viola Davis

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    From a rat-infested apartment to the Academy Awards stage, Viola Davis chronicles her path to finding her voice as an artist and woman. Her memoir confronts poverty, racism, and self-doubt with unflinching honesty.

    4.53 Goodreads (184.9K ratings)
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    Finding My Way cover

    Finding My Way

    by Malala Yousafzai

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    Beyond the international headlines and Nobel Prize, Malala reveals years of private struggle to find herself after surviving assassination and becoming a global symbol while still a teenager. Raw honesty about trauma, identity, and finding purpose.

    4.53 Goodreads (13.6K ratings)
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    Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe cover

    Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe

    by Mike Massimino

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    From zero to 17,500 mph in minutes—Massimino chronicles his journey from earthbound dreamer to space-walking astronaut performing crucial Hubble repairs with humanity's cosmic future hanging in the balance.

    4.53 Goodreads (5.3K ratings)
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    Once a Hussar cover

    Once a Hussar

    by Ray Ellis

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    From teenage patriot to battle-hardened gunner in the Western Desert Campaign, Ray Ellis chronicles his harrowing journey through WWII combat and captivity.

    4.52 Goodreads (146 ratings)