White Rose / Kip Wilson.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"In a searing indictment of silent complicity, White Rose shines a light on one remarkable young woman's insistence on the power of truth, no matter the cost. A timely call to resistance." - Joy McCullough, author of Blood Water Paint



"White Rose is a resonant testament to courage. In a time of horrific brutality, young people found a nonviolent way to resist. Told in the form of poetry, the story of their hopes is honored and brought back to life, still relevant today, when regimes that spread hatred are once again thriving, and words are our most powerful defensive weapon." - Margarita Engle, author of Newbery Honoree The Surrender Tree and 2017-2019 Young People's Poet Laureate.



"Both heart-wrenching and inspiring, Sophie Scholl's story, as retold by Kip Wilson in White Rose, is a stunning reminder to stand against evil, even when you stand alone. This is the kind of book that sticks in your heart long after you've finished. An incredible story of heroism incredibly told." - Mackenzi Lee, author of New York Times Bestseller The Gentleman's Guide to Vice & Virtue



"White Rose is a deftly plotted, absorbing read. A bold tribute to a brave hero of the German resistance during World War II. Wilson's debut is a triumph!"

--Melanie Crowder, author of National Jewish Book Award finalist Audacity



"A graceful, moving portrait of a heroic young woman's defiant refusal to remain complicit with Nazi oppression." - Julie Berry, Printz Honor author of The Passion of Dolssa

A gorgeous and timely novel based on the incredible story of Sophie Scholl, a young German college student who challenged the Nazi regime during World War II as part of The White Rose, a non-violent resistance group.



Disillusioned by the propaganda of Nazi Germany, Sophie Scholl, her brother, and his fellow soldiers formed the White Rose, a group that wrote and distributed anonymous letters criticizing the Nazi regime and calling for action from their fellow German citizens. The following year, Sophie and her brother were arrested for treason and interrogated for information about their collaborators. This debut novel recounts the lives of Sophie and her friends and highlights their brave stand against fascism in Nazi Germany.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

FEBRUARY 18, 1943 Gestapo Headquarters The cars screech to a halt, officers pull us out by the arms, haul us inside and off to           separate rooms, my heartbeat pounding all the while, boom-boom, boom-boom. They swing the door shut, unlock my handcuffs, order me to sit, rush about with coats, hats, cases, papers as I try not to give in to the overwhelming,           sickening knowledge spreading through me: the two of us are trapped in this net because of me. Boom-boom, boom-boom. I take a deep breath and prepare to fight for our lives. INTERROGATION I carefully blend a cupful of lies into the bucket of truth spread out in front of me as Herr Mohr shoots question after question, trying to catch me off-guard.                                                    Fräulein Scholl, why were you carrying                                                   an empty suitcase with you to the university? So I could pick up clean laundry from home.                                                    And why were you at the university                                                    if you were planning to head to Ulm? So I could let my friend Gisela know I couldn't meet her for lunch after all.                                                    Why were you and your brother                                                    in the corridor upstairs? So I could show him the Psychological Institute where I take classes. His eyes narrow, his voice icy, Herr Mohr is good at this, but he doesn't know that I'm good, too. Boom-boom, boom-boom. My voice sounds so calm telling these lies, I barely recognize the words as my own. Excerpted from White Rose by Kip Wilson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Based on historical participants in the nonviolent White Rose resistance movement against Hitler, the events in Wilson's debut unfold in Germany between 1935 and 1943. Sophie Scholl, a non-Jewish German who is 14 in 1935, narrates in candid and absorbing present-tense free verse. One of five siblings, Sophie enjoys a carefree life with family and friends until Hitler begins imposing labor service decrees and arresting teenagers-including her beloved older brother, Hans-for disloyalty to the government. As Hitler's attacks on the Jewish population and military actions abroad snowball, Sophie is also forced into labor service and grows desperate to act against the injustice. Wilson traces the growing rage and rebellion that drive her into collaboration with Hans and university students to publish and distribute leaflets of resistance to the German public-an offense punishable by death. Occasional entries by a Gestapo investigator pursuing the group create mounting tension, even though the book's opening scene reveals the outcome of his mission: Sophie's capture and subsequent trial. Illuminating back matter on the real-life Sophie and the White Rose movement adds additional context to this strong addition to the canon of WWII fiction for young readers. Ages 12-up. Agent: Roseanne Wells, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up-Sophie Scholl was a teen living in Germany as Hitler rose to power; this historical novel in verse is based on her life. As is expected of many young Germans at the time, Sophie joins Nazi youth groups. Over time, as she pays more attention to what is happening around her and learns of the slaughter of the Jewish population, she grows to despise the regime. She realizes being angry isn't enough and being silent makes her complicit. Fully understanding the risks, Sophie turns her outrage into activism. She joins the White Rose resistance, helping to create and distribute leaflets calling out the horrors of the regime. She and other members of the White Rose are caught, interrogated, tried, and, eventually, executed. This difficult, inspiring story is told effectively in verse; the language is spare but powerful. Many pieces of this narrative-demonizing a population, standing silently as people are mistreated, fighting against harmful policies-are timely and relevant. The back matter includes information about key players, a glossary, a list of primary and secondary sources in both English and German, and a helpful author's note giving more context to Sophie's story. -VERDICT This tale based on the real life of a young activist, supported by extensive back matter, belongs in all collections serving young teens.-Carla Riemer, Claremont Middle School, Oakland, CA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

German university student Sophie Scholl of the White Rose resistance movement was murdered by the Nazis on February 22, 1943. She and her brother Hans were guillotined for the crime of creating and distributing leaflets that encouraged people to consider what the Third Reich was doing to European Jews and to oppose Hitler. Wilson's highly effective novel in verse travels back and forth between the time of Sophie's youth ( Before ) and her final days, from her arrest to her death ( The End ). Clearly labeled and well-structured, the two chronologies are interwoven and paced out so that Sophie's growth into a freethinker, encouraged by her brave and loving family, is shown over time. Even as her execution approaches, we see how her strong character and beliefs led Sophie to sacrifice herself. Wilson also addresses Sophie's complicated relationship with her boyfriend, Fritz, noting her ambivalence towards being in a relationship at all. Very few of the passages feel overwritten the phrase boom-boom, used to indicate Sophie's understandable fear, is perhaps repeated to excess but overall, this moving and inspiring novel will provide readers with a great introduction to some of the Righteous Gentiles who resisted the Nazis. Including a glossary and extensive bibliography, this is a model of well-researched and riveting historical fiction.--Debbie Carton Copyright 2019 Booklist

Horn Book Review

This verse novel centers on Sophie Scholl, the real-life German university student and member of the anti-Hitler White Rose resistance movement who was executed by the Nazis in February 1943. The books structure is challenging: readers first meet Sophie near THE END, after she has been caught distributing anti-Nazi leaflets and is being interrogated at Gestapo headquarters; we then go back to BEFORE, beginning in 1935 and moving forward chronologically; with the book then alternating between these sections. Most of the entries are poems in Sophies imagined voice, but there are also letters to and from family members and friends, plus occasional entries by significant figures in Sophies story (including the Gestapo investigator who in June 1942 began the hunt / for the masterminds of the White Rose), which dilute the intimacy of the account but help create a fuller picture of events. Wilson does an exceptional job revealing Sophies inner thoughts and feelings. Readers watch Sophie grow from an artistic, individualistic teen into a young adult desperate to make a difference, one who can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch: How can we expect / justice / in this world / if were not prepared to / sacrifice ourselves / for whats right? The book ends with Sophie facing her imminent death: Footsteps, and the / guard announces / my name / from the hallway / Its then I realize / I need only survive / these / last / moments; an epilogue provides simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking closure. Back matter includes an authors note (but no timeline), a Dramatis Personae (which omits Sophies mother), a glossary, and a list of (mostly German-language) sources. martha v. parravano July/Aug p.140(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Sophie Scholl was a young German student who wanted to see the end of Hitler and the Nazi regime. She gave her life for that cause.As children, Sophie and her brother Hans were enthusiastic members of Hitler Youth organizations. But as the Nazis' chokehold increased and the roundups and arrests of dissenters and Jews escalated, they became determined to resist. After conscription into the National Labor Service, Hans, Sophie, and trusted university friends formed the secret White Rose resistance group. Hans began to compose treasonable leaflets, promoting an uprising against Hitler. Sophie helped get the leaflets out to influential people as well as to other university students. Their work attracted the attention of Nazi sympathizers, who informed the Gestapo of suspicious activitiesand they were ultimately caught by a university custodian. Intensive interrogation and imprisonment, followed by a sham trial led by a fanatical judge, led to the sentence of death by guillotine. Organized in repeated sections that move forward and backward in time, readers hear Sophie's thoughts in brief, pointed, free-verse poems in direct, compelling language. Other poems give voice to individuals such as her boyfriend, Fritz, who served in the German army, and the Gestapo interrogator, adding to readers' understanding of the inevitability of the outcome and the tragic futility of their sacrifice. Real events made deeply personal in an intense, bone-chilling reading experience. (dramatis personae, glossary, author's note, sources) (Verse historical fiction. 12-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.