For reasons beyond my comprehension, some novels get renamed and re-covered in the U.S., losing their original U.K. title and identity. Personally, I feel the original title, THE TAKING OF ANNIE THORNE is much more intriguing than the vanilla bland THE HIDING PLACE. But, nobody asked me. Also, I loved that original cover! It matches well with CJ Tudor’s brand and her previous hit, THE CHALK MAN. Her favourite films are Ghostbusters and The Lost Boys. Her favourite authors are Stephen King, Michael Marshall and Harlan Coben. Corrie suffers a moral crisis over the lying, theft, forgery and bribery that are necessary to keep the Jews that her family is hiding. Moreover, it is unlikely that her family would get away with helping Jews for long, as they had nowhere to hide them. The Dutch underground arranges for a secret room to be built in the Béjé so that the Jews would have a place to hide during an inevitable raid.

I am not a true believer, but I can appreciate why "The Hiding Place" was so meaningful to my mother. It is a powerful story of love and family and faith, and reading about Good triumphing over Evil should be comforting. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom was actually a very good book, much to my surprise. I expected it to be very boring, very depressing, and very preachy. At times it did drag a little - especially at the beginning - and it was sad, but it could be called preachy, and the hope won out in the end. It won out through much of the book, actually; I never felt truly depressed. I just knew God was there. Corrie and Betsie both showed their belief in this truth in the way they dealt with difficult situations. The Hiding Place is a 1971 book on the life of Corrie ten Boom, written by herself and John and Elizabeth Sherrill. I have also been listening to The Watchmaker's Daughter on Audible, which gives historical context this book does not as well as shares other people's diaries, including Anne Frank. The Hiding Place is not like that at all. The idea for this book began when the Sherrills were doing research for another book of theirs called God's Smuggler. At the time, Ten Boom was already in her mid-70s when the Sherrills first heard about her. Being one of van der Bijl's favorite traveling companions, ten Boom is referenced often in his recollections. In the preface to the book, the Sherrills recount:I think Joe's make up was a bit over the top for me; instead of choosing a few unsavory characteristics to portray his flaws, we get numerous accounts of bigotry and prejudice in the form of racism, ablism, homophobia, etc. These portions didn't further the narrative IMO. I grew irritable and distracted at the constant mentions of "Little Miss Scary", the autistic bartender whom our protagonist felt relieved when she was substituted for the old, bald, white fat guy. I could go on and on about this, and frankly these instances will be a matter of the opinion of the reader and how they react to them, but as a stated above it was an unnecessary distraction for me.

According to the sources I read, this version has had some of the most disturbing details and scenes removed, some of the sentences shortened for easier reading, and some illustrations added. Since I never read the original, I can’t analyze the differences between the two versions. However, I can say that I loved the book, I enjoyed the illustrations, and I didn’t find the writing to be clumsy or particularly “dumbed down.” As far as the serious content goes, I found it very powerful and sobering, but not overly disturbing. A sensitive child might still find it disturbing, since it does describe the suffering at the concentration camps, etc. I think this book is appropriate for kids age 10-12, but with particularly sensitive kids, it might be better to wait until they are teenagers. The book is as much a horror story as a mystery. There are some particularly gruesome scenes. There are ghosts. There are creepy, crawly things that sent shivers up my spine. The story kept me engaged and I kept wanting to read just one more chapter. The ending had a few nice twists, even if it was a tad contrived.Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work." -pg. 116 The town is as much a character as any of the people and Tudor does an excellent job of portraying that small town, claustrophobic, cloying nature.

The author was very honest about the tough things she went through and the things she saw others go through. And yes, it was horrific … but the message of seeing God in it all was incredible! I wish everyone who had to go through anything traumatic or horrific could read this book. It would do them a world of good! After the death of her mother and a disappointing romance, Corrie trained to be a watchmaker and, in 1922, became the first woman licensed as a watchmaker in Holland. Over the next decade, in addition to working in her father’s shop, she established a youth club for teenage girls, which provided religious instruction as well as classes in the performing arts, sewing, and handicrafts. Efforts During World War II Since these are real life people, not characters, and since this is a real life story, not a plot, I won’t critique this book on those points. The writing style was excellent - it was plain and truthful while getting the point across without preaching. Most of you will know the story; Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie are the unmarried daughters of Casper, a Christian watchmaker in Holland during the early 1900's. They could be running a successful and profitable business but, as Christians, are prone to charity and acts of kindness leaving them comfortable but not well-off. The scene is set by the author, Corrie, and a picture of a happy family life emerges. The everyday details and the author's humour are what make the book, indeed she is a marvellous story-teller and none of it is in any way monotonous.Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings... It’s something we make inside ourselves. On February 28, 1944, a Dutch informant told the Nazis of the ten Booms’ activities, and the Gestapo soon raided the home. They kept the house under surveillance, and by the end of the day, 35 people—including the entire ten Boom family—were arrested. Although German soldiers thoroughly searched the house, they didn’t find the half-dozen Jews safely concealed in the hiding place. The six stayed in the cramped space for nearly three days before being rescued by the Dutch underground.