I loved this book! My school actually ended up purchasing a set of this title to use with our book clubs. I can't wait for students to read it!

It is so wild to realize that the Scholl family home on Olgastraße is within walking/biking distance from my Opa's childhood family home on Shützenstraße in Neu Ulm (Bavarian side of Ulm separated from plain old Ulm just by the Danube river). Our families could have realistically done their market shopping at the same time on the Münsterplatz. The anti-Jewish sign on the bridge over the Danube is something I have come across in my geneaology research & I have a photo of it saved somewhere in my files. I know exactly what Wilson is referencing. Such a small world out there.

I have been to many of these locations....the Ulm Münster, Augsburg, and the very hall at the University of Munich in which the leaflets were thrown off the ledge. They have a whole exhibit on the White Rose in that lecture hall building, but even in the 21st century it isn't advertised AT ALL....more of an if you know, you know type location without any signage. Germany still feels shame. You can even see her "Freiheit!" written in blue pen on the back on that paper while she was in jail. Chills, man, chills.

This book was okay. It was kinda weird to have someone else pretend to be Sophie when her writing and drawings do already exist. That being said I will never complain about a way to expose more young people to my personal hero.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

I tried to get into this book numerous times but it just doesn't seem to be the right time whenever I try. I actually own the hardback now so I will be trying again in the future. The cover is gorgeous and the plot sounds good so I hope I am in the mood soon.

This book gave insight (albeit quick, given its format) into a possibly-unknown resistance movement during World War II. In a "fake news"-crazy era, this books comes off as exceedingly timely and left me wanting to know more about Sophie Scholl. I'm always looking for more WWII-era YA books to recommend, and am happy that this title has been added to my mental list! I would say it's also appropriate for middle school readers, while still being enjoyable for older readers.

I love novels in verse, but I rarely read historical fiction, so I was interested to see how those two things combined when I picked up White Rose by Kip Wilson. This novel is the based on the true story of Sophie Scholl, a college student living in Nazi-era Germany who joins the White Rose resistance movement, distributing leaflets speaking out against the regime. The book switches between Sophie being interrogated after her arrest, and the years leading up to that moment. I’m not sure if flipping between timeframes was supposed to increase tension, assuming you don’t know the true ending of the book, but it did not work for me. I really wanted want to know how Sophie became motivated to act, and I feel like the character growth and progression was really lost by only having these snippets and having some of the oldest moments at the very end of the book (especially when it came to her brother, Hans).

While I love the style of writing novels in verse, the issue with White Rose as historical fiction is that the format lends itself really well to internal dialogue, such as Sophie’s thoughts while she is in prison. It doesn’t work so well when it comes to really creating a setting, which meant the story lacked as much context as I would have liked. There are also a few snippets from random other characters, like the judge, which just felt a little odd. Despite these issues, I appreciated that Wilson retold such an important story about an incredibly brave girl. I really appreciated Sophie’s voice and as much as I can’t imagine being in that situation, her thoughts came across as authentic and the emotions were captured well. While I definitely wanted a little more from White Rose, I’m not deterred from potentially picking up another book by Wilson in the future, but I’ll be a little more skeptical of historical fiction in verse next time.

I read this book in one sitting and stayed up late to finish it! I love that the author told the story of the White Rose group in poetry and I think it's a fitting form for the story. This was heart wrenching and incredibly emotional--I cried at multiple parts. I also think this is such an important book for our time, and I hope that high school teachers will use this novel in the classroom, especially when educating about the Holocaust. I will be recommending this book often!

I struggled to get into White Rose. I love WWII books, but this one fell a little flat for me. I think others may love it, the cover is gorgeous. I DNF at 13%

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for honest review.

I don't often read books in verse but I was so intrigued by the topic of this one that I thought I'd take a chance on it and I'm really glad I did. Since learning about Sophie Scholl and her friends who lead an underground resistance movement against the Third Reich a few years back I've been really interested in her story. Scholl was not someone I learned about in school so when I learned about her story I was shocked she had not been mentioned in the curriculum and most of what I found was just a few articles about her life. I think Kip Wilson did a great job creating a novel that takes readers into the mind of Scholl and to help readers understand what she was up against and what was at risk if she was caught.

This book is a great example of YA historical fiction done right. Encapsulating all of the vivid, heart breaking, tense, and triumphant beats of the story in a way that flows and carries the reader along in its tide is no easy feat; White Rose delivers on this and more. Kip Wilson definitely has an earned place in my YA HF loving heart (and on my YA HF loving shelf!).

I generally don’t read a lot of books written in verse. I tend to struggle with them. But the buzz for Kip Wilson’s White Rose was so strong, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did.

White Rose is a historical fiction novel based on the story of Sophie Scholl, a German college student who challenged the Nazi regime during World War II as part of a non-violent resistance group.

For Sophie, Germany was once a place of peace and freedom. A place where education and literature were valued. But as the Nazis took over, those things slowly started to disappear. As the Nazi rhetoric amped up, Sophie began to see the regime for what it was.

Hoping to bring the government down from the inside of Germany, Sophie joined her brother and his fellow soldiers as part of the White Rose, a group that wrote and distributed anonymous letters criticizing the Nazis and calling for action from their fellow German citizens.

The following year, Sophie and her brother were arrested, tried and executed for treason.

White Rose follows Sophie and her friends in the years leading up to her death.

Too often we tend to blame people for their complacency when in fact their situations are varying shades of gray. The fact that I’d never even heard of the White Rose before reading Kip Wilson’s book seems to confirm that.

White Rose unfolds across different times and from occasional differing vantage points. You’d think that would be disjointing, but paired with Wilson’s verse, the narrative flows smoothly.

And while this book could have easily been written in prose rather than verse, I don’t think it would have had the emotional punch that Wilson has created. His verse creates an immediacy that pushes you forward, making it a fast and intense read that’s well worth your time.

Man, these historical fictions are getting me in all the feels. I had read a lot of adult historical fictions prior to this one, and they were just weighing heavy on my heart. I thought that maybe if I picked up a YA H.F. that it may be a little less emotional and intense. Boy, I was wrong. This book was heartbreaking, and beautiful, intense, and soft. It was so well written, I flew through this one! I loved the characters, I hurt with them, I cried with them, I cheered with them. I felt like part of them is forever ingrained on my heart.

This book was fascinating but I struggled to connect with the main character. That being said I love that this book dealt with real events and a real person as well as being in verse. There were times where it felt like it was trying to do too much but I think it would be a great example for my students of how poetry can tell diverse stories and how poetry can be used in a long format to tell a story.

This wasn't an easy story to read. I knew the ending far ahead of looking at the book. Still, I admire Sophie and her friends and I wanted to read her story and remember.
Poetry is an interesting choice as a medium for Sophie's story. Sometimes the back and forth with the present and "the end" made things a bit difficult to understand, as well as the back and forth between Sophie and her pursuer. I think this could have benefited from just a bit more.
I felt deeply for Sophie's parents at the end and for Fritz. I wish I knew more about Fritz's feelings about fighting for Germany and what kind of conflict that created for him internally.
Wilson's use of lengthy German words make this book too difficult for the majority of my junior high students, and that's a shame. I understand the choice in using them, but English would be preferable in the YA market, I believe.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book before its publication in exchange for an honest review.

Spare, beautiful, arresting. Even if you know the story of the Scholls, reading a first person accounting of their heroic resistance will move you.

I'm on a roll with historical fiction this year! I think the total amount I've read this year is more than the last two years combined! And I've actually liked them! Including this one!
Sophie Scholl is a German college student who challenged wht Nazi regime during World War II with a non-violent resistance group, White Rose. They wrote anada distributed letters telling everyone what was wrong with their regime and trying to get them to rise against them. They were unfortunately caught and convicted of treason.
This book came out just in time. Right on the tail-ending of International Women's History Month and the beginning of National Poetry Month.It gives a better chance for this book and Sophie Scholl to be talked about and discovered. I picked up this book on a whim (after we had lost power and I wanted to save my battery in my Nook) and I hate to be cliche, but I'm so glad I did. I did not know who she was and now because of this book I did my own research and found out more about this extraordinary woman and her family. Definitely a verse novel I plan to recommend to the teens.
But even still, most times when I finish a book I feel satisfied. That's exactly why I couldn't give this one 5 stars. I felt like I didn't get enough of her story and didn't find out more about her. I flew through the book but still had to go and read more about her because I still didn't know enough. It could just be me, so I only took off one star.
It's rare that I read a historical fiction novel (even moreso one in verse) and actually like it. But when I find one I do like, its hard to let go of. I find that I get distracted easily when I'm reading novels in verse. I don't get trapped in the story like I do when I'm reading prose. HOWEVER, this one was different. I even found myself in tears at the very end. Maybe its because by then I knew it was based on a real person, Idk, but for whatever reason this one hooked me and didn't let me go. I even found that een when I could read something else, I still didn't. I was hooked and I had to finish this one before moving on to something else.
This book wasn't even on my TBR but it still found its way there. I'm glad I was able to fit it in. There is so much that I have yet to learn. This wasn't an easy read by any means, but it most definitely a necessary one. This strong woman deserves to be talked about.

This novel in verse tells the story of the White Rose movement mainly through the eyes of Sophie Scholl. While I have read other books on the topic including We Will Not Be Silent which was on the MSBA list a few years ago, I found this to be very touching and compelling. Verse has a way of making a text seem simple and yet profound as well. I really enjoyed the format of the book which went back and forth in time, especially at the end which went back to the mid 1930s and Sophie and her brother's initial feelings toward the Reich. Very well done.

An important topic discussed in verse. While I appreciate the approach the author took, I don't think books written in verse are for me. I did however really enjoy the shifts in perspective between "the end" and "before" as it really enforced the sad, but true events.

I'm picky about historical fiction and novels in verse, but this one nailed it. We are thrown into the heart of Nazi Germany, and not from the perspective of a Jewish family or an English spy as is usually the case in fiction, but from the point of view of an ordinary, Gentile German family who has nothing to fear from the Nazis...except the restlessness of their own consciences.


I love Sophie, love the complicated relationship she has with her brother, and love how Kip Wilson is bringing us a real-life heroine little known on this side of the Atlantic. And I was super-impressed both with how seamlessly she weaves German words and phrases into the narrative and with how she manages to fit the wording of actual Nazi documents and propaganda into her free-verse style.


Since it's written entirely in free verse, this one has a read-in-one-sitting pace (the fact that it flashes back and forth between the past and present where our heroes are being interrogated by the SS with their lives on the line certainly helps). In spite of the breakneck speed though, it doesn't feel rushed; we get a good sense of the climate of fear and oppression, of the ideological manipulation by the Nazis. I especially appreciate the time that Wilson dedicates to the ideological attitudes and nuances of the time period--even within the marginal White Rose resistance group, the members can't agree on the path to a better Germany.


The one thing I would have liked a little more was greater background on Sophie--most of what we know about her is as a direct result of her resistance attitudes--but Wilson makes up for that, in my opinion, by providing us nuanced portrayals of several Nazis themselves. Even the judge and interrogating officer have to wrestle with their consciences, no matter how hard they try to suppress them. Not only do these portrayals help explain how people managed to throw themselves wholeheartedly into such a despicable regime, but it also reminds us that even Nazis were real people, not just two-dimensional monsters. That's something that books don't always remind us, but something that makes the party's rise and actions all the scarier.

I am so grateful to Versify and Houghton Miffilin Harcourt for the eARC of this powerful book.
White Rose focuses on the life of Sophie Scholl as she realizes that she needs to do something to resist the Nazi regime. She joins the efforts of her older brother and his friends to send out leaflets protesting the war, Hitler, and Nazi policies.
Kip Wilson’s novel in verse does an incredible job with the structure and format to let Sophie tell her own story. You really get a sense of who she may have been as a strong, independent young woman.
I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the White Rose resistance in Germany during World War II.