Ana's Diary

What it is about

Ana Méndez was eight when the ants began marching south and no one but her would look at the column of smoke above the volcano. For four years she wrote everything down in her notebooks, dated and in her own hand. Three hundred years later, Luna Solari finds them and promises what no one did in time: to listen to her.

Theme

Observing and recording nature's signals (a volcanic eruption) and the value of memory against forgetting.

How it is divided

Chapters and what you learn in each one.

1. PrologueBefore the First PageYou learn: Writing with dates and data turns what you observe into a record others can understand.
2. Part 1The SignsYou learn: Observing and measuring changes in nature; the phenomena Ana records are real, although it is not proven that animals warn of a disaster.
3. Part 2The Mountain ScreamsYou learn: After an eruption, ash can make roofs collapse: no one goes back into an affected area until the authorities say it is safe.
4. Part 3The Broken SilenceYou learn: Science studies the signs, but no one can name the exact day of a disaster; knowing something is coming is enough to prepare.
5. Part 4The FiftyYou learn: There are many ways to document, and writing down people's names protects their memory.
6. Part 5Tell Me BraveYou learn: Bearing witness is a form of courage: memory defeats forgetting.
7. EpilogueLuna, TodayYou learn: A community heals by remembering together: telling the truth, naming the victims and creating places of memory.