This book reminded me of The Watch that Ends the Night because of the various perspectives it seemed to weave in. There are not a huge number of books written about the Holocaust in free verse, so that also makes this title very appealing. It presented a really interesting aspect of the Holocaust: the resistance by exploring the various events and carefully crafting images that allowed readers to feel as if they were a part of the story.

White Rose is proof that a lot can be said by saying less. White Rose sends a powerful message of Sophie and her friends forming this group to survive Nazi Germany and even when Sophie and her brother get captured and charged for treason, she still remains brave and fighting for justice against Nazi Germany. The book was so deep and powerful and written so uniquely brilliant that we could not put this down and we know a lot of our patrons will be interested in the book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will definitely consider this title for our YFiction collection. That is why we give this book 5 stars!

White Rose succinctly tells the story of Sophie Scholl, a member of the White Rose non-violent resistance group during World War II. What I enjoyed about this book are the alternating points of view used to tell her story and not just from her point of view. Using a combination of free verse and letters, the author tells shows us Sophie's life before, during, and after her life in the White Rose. The points of view of other characters, such as her love interest, family, and government officials, show us that while she was bravely standing up to something much larger than herself, that she was just an ordinary teen girl with hopes and dreams. This book is great for readers of WWII history and those who like brief, yet powerful books. White Rose is a great addition to the vast WWII genre!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of White Rose by Kip Wilson. I thoroughly enjoy reading books written in verse by Kwame Alexander and Ellen Hopkins. Kip Wilson did a great job with this book. #NetGalley #WhiteRose

4.5

Thank you NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group, and Kip Wilson for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What initially drew me to this book wasn't necessarily the description of the book itself, but the fact that it is written in poetic form. As an Ellen Hopkins fan, I love reading works written in a poetry style. The problem is, some authors nail the craft, and some are just not good. Great news: Kip Wilson's poetic form is gorgeously dazzling, and not a disappointment! The only thing that makes this a 4.5 instead of a 5 is that there are some stylistic choices that can be executed better, and perhaps in the final version they will be altered. For example, when another person (not the narrator) is talking, the lines or stanza is indented and in italics, but so is the dialogue tag. Having the dialogue tag in italics too threw me off a bit. Another thing I thought was super creative was stretching out certain words with spaces, such as "l o n g," and other words of similar meaning, making the word literally longer or stretched on the page. This happens about four or five times, but the stretch is in a line with other words. This would be an even greater effect if the word was isolated and spaced out even more:

"l   o   n   g"

Aside from a few minute things like that, I loved the poetic form of this piece and the language has amazing flow. It was fun and easy to read, all while being an educational journey. 

This story takes place during World War II in Germany, during Hitler's reign. One of the aspects I love about this novel is its reflection on actual history. The end of the book has a sort of glossary that highlights who the people actually, historically were, as well as defining some of the German words (I didn't see the glossary until I finished the book, since it's e-book and not print. This wasn't a huge deal for me since I'm familiar with German and was able to figure out some words based on context). This historical accuracy and development for the novel is no surprise, considering Kip Wilson's Ph.D. in German Literature. 

The narration features a young girl named Sophie Scholl, an activist in the White Rose group--a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. Although this story is told from the perspective of one living during the events of WWII, I find that, despite there being a number of novels out there that feature this time period, this one is unique in its telling and resonates with events today.

As an English teacher myself, I know a number of educators who would be interested in this book for Literature Circles/Book Club Groups, and it's workable for grades 7-12. This book would also be a nice alignment to read in English class if students are simultaneously studying the Holocaust. Overall, highly recommend to young readers, Holocaust historians, historical fanatics, and educators!