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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin
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BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.kipwilsonwrites.com/
CITY: Boston
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL
Married.
EDUCATION:Holds Ph.D. (German literature).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and editor. YARN (Young Adult Review Network), poetry editor; Laboratory Phonology (linguistics journal), editorial assistant.
MIILITARY:Served in New York Army National Guard.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:Fulbright scholarship.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Black Fox Literary, Cobblestone, Faces, and Lunch Ticket.
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Kip Wilson is an author of verse novels that portray courageous young women who play a part in the unfolding of history. Reflecting a European bent, Wilson enjoyed learning German as well as French in high school, earned her doctorate in German literature—writing her dissertation on the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke—and ended up marrying a Spaniard. Wilson joined ROTC, the military preparation program, during college, and upon proceeding to graduate school she served in the New York Army National Guard. It was after earning her Ph.D. that Wilson found herself in Austria on a Fulbright scholarship teaching high school. Making the acquaintance of the music teacher, she was asked to adapt one of Shakespeare’s well-known comedies as a musical titled A Midsummer Night Club for the school’s drama program.
With her interest in writing for young adults piqued, she made her first attempt at a young-adult novel and started seeking an agent in 2003. Wilson would complete half a dozen novels that failed to sell before alighting upon her breakthrough effort. She originally tried to write a story about World War II’s teenage German resistance heroine Sophie Scholl as youth nonfiction. When that failed to pan out, she reshaped the story as a young-adult verse novel and at last succeeded in publishing it as White Rose. Speaking with the American Booksellers’ Association, Wilson recalled hearing from successful verse novelists that the format is perfect for “emotional, tragic subjects,” and she said of her debut book: “The real history is chilling, and the combination of sparse words and white space on the page gives the reader the necessary breathing room to process the story.” She told interviewer Michelle I. Mason, “I have to admit, I’d always struggled to write in prose, but writing in verse was the first time that writing felt completely natural, so I knew I was on to something.”
White Rose introduces German university student Sophie Scholl, who narrates most of the novel’s poems, at “The End”—when she is being interrogated at Gestapo headquarters for disseminating anti-Nazi pamphlets. The scenes then shift back and forth between “The End” and “Before,” with Sophie and her friends taking note of the discomfiting changes in German society from the mid-1930s on. Jews, the disabled, and others are discriminated against, youths are forced into Nazi youth organizations, and—as war begins at decade’s end—Sophie’s brothers and boyfriend are sent into battle. When one brother returns with information about the atrocities being committed as the Holocaust unfolds, he, Sophie, and others form the White Rose, a secret organization that publishes and distributes screeds condemning the Nazis and fomenting resistance. When the members of White Rose are captured, they are convicted and sentenced to death.
In Voice of Youth Advocates, Etienne Vallee appreciated how Wilson’s “effective research” reconstructs Nazi-era Germany and how Sophie’s “feelings are raw and capture the tension that Germans must have felt as their world changed for the worse.” In Kirkus Reviews, Michael Valinsky found Wilson’s verse “infused with deep compassion and a meticulous language economy.” Reviewing White Rose in Horn Book, Martha V. Parravano affirmed that Wilson “does an exceptional job revealing Sophie’s inner thoughts and feelings” as she matures from an “artistic, individualistic teen into a young adult desperate to make a difference.” Parravano also appreciated the epilogue’s “simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking closure.”
Wilson’s next verse novel is The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin, set in the Weimar era just before Hitler’s ascension to power in 1932. Hilde, an eighteen-year-old Catholic orphan, is ready to set off on her own, even it means enduring homelessness and poverty. Her fortunes improve when she happens upon Café Lila, a queer nightclub where she finds work as well as an open-minded and welcoming community. Before long Hilde falls for Rosa, an enchanting Jewish waitress and performer who welcomes Hilde into her home. When brown-shirted Nazis appear, Hilde’s and Rosa’s futures get cloudier. As with her first book, Wilson includes an informative author’s note and accounting of sources in the back matter.
A Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that Wilson’s “free-form verse is inviting and masterfully captures the mood and times in sparse poetry.” A Publishers Weekly reader appreciated Hilde’s “disarmingly joyous” growth as a character but suggested “it’s the era’s politics—and their connection to the present day—that give the Cabaret-tinged story its urgent momentum.” In School Library Journal, Mary Kamela proclaimed that Wilson’s verse “shines with evocative descriptions, poignant emotions, and authentic German phrases,” the latter clarified in a glossary. Kamela concluded by celebrating how The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin “highlights the positive, liberated experience of queer people in Weimar-era Berlin before its abrupt and devastating end.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Horn Book, July-August, 2019, Martha V. Parravano, review of White Rose, p. 140.
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2022, review of The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin.
Publishers Weekly, January 10, 2022, review of The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin, p. 63.
School Library Journal, March, 2019, Carla Riemer, review of White Rose, p. 110; March, 2022, Mary Kamela, review of The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin, p. 113.
Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2019, Etienne Vallee and Desiree Deery, reviews of White Rose, p. 67.
ONLINE
American Booksellers Association website, https://www.bookweb.org/ (April 15, 2019), “An Indies Introduce Q&A with Kip Wilson.”
Greer MacAllister website, http://www.greermacallister.com/ (March 19, 2019), “WomensHistoryReads Interview: Kip Wilson.”
KidLit411, http://www.kidlit411.com/ (March 15, 2019), “Author Spotlight: Kip Wilson.”
Kip Wilson website, https://www.kipwilsonwrites.com (September 15, 2022).
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (April 5, 2019), Michael Valinsky, review of White Rose.
Michelle I. Mason website, https://michelleimason.com/ (March 4, 2019), author interview.
Once Upon a Bookcase, http://www.onceuponabookcase.co.uk/ (April 2, 2019), “Once upon a Retelling: White Rose by Kip Wilson.”
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15
2019
INDIEBOUND
An Indies Introduce Q&A With Kip Wilson
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Kip Wilson is the author of White Rose, a Winter/Spring 2019 Indies Introduce young adult selection and a Spring 2019 Kids’ Indie Next List pick.
White Rose coverA novel in verse, The White Rose tells the story of Sophie Scholl and the group of German youth who formed a nonviolent resistance movement against the Nazi regime during World War II.
Wilson has a PhD in German literature, and her work has been published in Lunch Ticket, Black Fox Literary, Faces, Cobblestone, and various other publications and anthologies. She is the poetry editor at YARN (the Young Adult Review Network) and an editorial assistant at the linguistics journal Laboratory Phonology.
Alicia Michielli of Talking Leaves...Books in Buffalo, New York, noted the novel’s “spare but powerful verse,” while Jen Pino of Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, California, said the book “provides stunning imagery and feeling to those wanting a fresh take on World War II” and “will leave readers in chills.”
Kip Wilson (Photo credit: Rosanne Samson)
Katherine Warde of Micawber’s Bookstore in St. Paul, Minnesota served on the panel that selected Wilson’s book for the Indies Introduce program. Warde recently had the opportunity to ask Wilson about her research and writing process and about the importance of Sophie Scholl’s story.
Katherine Warde: In your author’s note, you mention you started the book over a decade ago, but that it didn’t come together until you approached it in verse. What was it about this format that made the story work better for you?
Kip Wilson: I originally wrote White Rose as nonfiction for children, but it turns out that I simply don’t possess that (very different) skill set, so I set the project aside. I’d been fascinated by Sophie Scholl since I was a teenager myself, though, so I never forgot her story. Years later, during a chat with two verse novelists, they both mentioned that verse is well-suited to emotional, tragic subjects. Hearing this was like a billion lightbulbs going off in my head. I don’t know why I hadn’t considered writing a novel in verse before — as a poetry editor, I love reading verse — but as soon as I began writing the first poems, I knew it was the right format for White Rose. The real history is chilling, and the combination of sparse words and white space on the page gives the reader the necessary breathing room to process the story.
Warde: You studied German in school and hold a PhD in German literature. How did you choose German to study? Has knowing a foreign language influenced your writing career?
Wilson: I wish we placed more of an emphasis on learning multiple foreign languages in the United States. I can’t even begin to express the ways in which knowing other languages has expanded my horizons, but I can certainly say that it’s benefitted me professionally, creatively, and personally. As far as my specific affinity for German, I actually studied both German and French in high school, but fell in love with German literature, especially the poetry, early on, and decided to focus on it during college. However, after all this, I married a Spaniard, so I probably use Spanish more than any other language at the moment. Figuring out how to express myself with new sets of rules and doing my best to understand others in a variety of situations has brought with it all kinds of unexpected benefits.
Warde: Was there any information you came across in your research that you wish you could have included in your book but that didn’t make it in?
Wilson: So many things! My original draft went much deeper in the points of view of both Hans Scholl and Christoph Probst. While it made so much sense to focus the story on Sophie, it was still hard to leave most of their sides of the story behind. One specific piece of information that didn’t work without Hans’ point of view was his bisexuality. Because Sophie wasn’t aware that Hans was attracted to boys as well as girls, I couldn’t include anything other than vague hints about this from her point of view. Another piece of information I had to leave out was Christoph’s spiraling depression — and for the same reason, that Sophie wasn’t aware of this.
Warde: Did you include any quotations (from letters, interrogation transcripts, or other primary sources) or are all the words fictional?
Wilson: Because White Rose is in verse, the material isn’t quoted verbatim, but I did begin from primary and secondary source documents, including letters, diaries, transcripts, published interviews with family members and survivors, and numerous biographies and books about the White Rose group. With the letters, for instance, I selected what I felt were the most important snippets and translated them from German to English, versifying them along the way. I requested and received permission to use excerpts of letters from Sophie’s boyfriend Fritz from Fischer Verlag, who had originally published his letters (the letters from Sophie and Hans are no longer under copyright and were free to use).
Beyond all of this material based in fact, I did also at times delve deeper into Sophie’s thoughts and emotions. While those lines are necessarily fictional, I let what I’d learned from my research inform those passages so that she hopefully comes across as authentic as possible.
Warde: What is the most important lesson you feel Sophie Scholl can teach your readers given the present-day political climate?
Wilson: The most important lesson Sophie imparts is the same one she herself learns: listen to your conscience. Delve deep. Is what you support good for everyone, or simply good for you? Does what you support cause harm to others? Sophie Scholl’s conscience drove her to act, and doing so now is what will make a difference in the current climate. Do not wait until they come for you, but use your voice to stand up for others. Words have power. Use them wisely.
YA Interview & Giveaway: WHITE ROSE by Kip Wilson
POSTED MARCH 4, 2019 BY MICHELLE I. MASON & FILED UNDER INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, YOUNG ADULT REVIEW.
Friends, I am so excited because today I get to share a book with you that I have a close personal connection to–WHITE ROSE by Kip Wilson. Kip and I have been critique partners since 2012, and so I’ve walked with her through this journey to her debut book. I couldn’t be more excited to see WHITE ROSE hit shelves next month (April 2), and I will be giving away a pre-order to one lucky reader.
From the moment Kip first told me about WHITE ROSE when we were sitting in a hotel room at NESCBWI in 2016, I was immediately gripped by the story. It’s compelling, heartbreaking, and moving. I could keep adding more adjectives, but instead, I’ll carry on to the description, followed by the interview, and let Kip tell you more about the book.
White Rose by Kip WilsonDisillusioned 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.
1. This story is so powerful, and while you give an explanation in your author’s note within the actual book, could you share here why you felt compelled to tell Sophie’s story?
Back when I first learned about Sophie Scholl in high school German class, I was so inspired by her courage. A girl not much older than I was standing up to the Nazis? I was all over it. After reading everything I could about the White Rose over the years, I was further driven by a curiosity to really get to know who this girl really was, so I read more and more, went to Munich and Ulm on more than one occasion, and became frankly obsessed with the details of her life. She’s of course very well known in Germany, but here many people in the U.S. haven’t heard of her, and I’m convinced she’ll be a great inspiration to others as well, especially teenagers.
2. While WHITE ROSE is classified as historical fiction, it’s based on actual events and people. How did you balance staying as true as possible to Sophie and the other characters while adding voice and details to the story?
This was definitely the hardest part! In my original draft in verse, I was determined to stick as close to all the facts as possible, but one astute beta reader (the oh-so-wise Joy McCullough) noted that this was hindering me from getting at the heart of the story. Only after her critique was I able to let my firm grip on the facts relax a tiny bit and experiment with imagining what Sophie might have thought or felt in specific situations. The good thing is that because I’d already done so much research, I discovered I actually knew her well enough to be able to make this leap. This is what really brought me—and hopefully readers of the book—closer to Sophie.
That having been said, I was quite obsessive about the facts, and maintained a spreadsheet that lists each poem, the source or sources that informed it, and did multiple rounds of cross-checking. I did have to make some decisions without knowing certain facts (things that only Sophie herself would have known), and I made those based on what I had learned about her as a person and what I knew about the historical setting.
3. You decided to tell Sophie’s story in verse, a shift from previous manuscripts you’d written. What made you choose verse for Sophie? (An obviously perfect choice!)
Well, back in 2005, I wrote a completely different manuscript about the White Rose that was nonfiction, but it wasn’t working, and I ended up setting it aside for ten whole years. It was always there bubbling in the back of my mind though, so when a couple of verse novelists happened to mention to me in a chat that tragic, emotional subjects are often well-suited to verse, it was like a billion light bulbs going off in my head. Once I began writing WHITE ROSE in verse, I couldn’t believe I’d never tried it before. I have to admit, I’d always struggled to write in prose, but writing in verse was the first time that writing felt completely natural, so I knew I was on to something.
4. I love how the story alternates between timelines. It’s so seamless and provides a perfect forward momentum for the story. How did you determine where each scene would go?
Thank you! Since you were one of the few people who saw the first draft, you probably remember that I initially drafted the story completely in reverse, starting at the end and making my way to the beginning. Unfortunately, this didn’t work—it was too confusing to readers. But I didn’t feel like a straightforward linear timeline would do the story justice either, and when one of my critique partners (the fabulous and brilliant Beth Smith) suggested two timelines, I began experimenting with ways I could make it work.
As far as where to place each individual scene, I really enjoyed figuring out this puzzle. I am a huge fan of index cards. I use physical ones, and move them around a board until it feels like the right order, but I’ve also used the Scrivener cork board in the past for the same thing. Either way, finding the right order was actually a lot of fun.
5. I appreciated how real the protagonists are. They aren’t just heroes charging to change the world automatically. They stumble and don’t always make perfect choices right away—I’m sure because they are based on real people. Was that an important consideration for you as you were writing?
This was actually one of my most important considerations. The thing is that Sophie and her brother and their friends were absolutely real people, who made mistakes and weren’t perfect. They were members of the Hitler Youth! And their initial motivations for resisting weren’t all that altruistic, either. They weren’t initially as concerned for Jewish people and others being persecuted by the Nazis as for themselves and what this war meant for them and their friends. However, what makes their story so compelling is that they’re proof that it’s never too late to change, and it’s never too late to do the right thing. After word began to leak out about the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes, Sophie and the others realized that their government was a criminal one and that the core of their fight wasn’t an intellectual one, but a moral one. In the end, their courage speaks for itself. They certainly knew what their consequences for their actions would be, and yet they did it anyway. So even if they weren’t your typical heroes, they became heroes to me at least in part due to the rocky path they took to get there.
Thank you, Kip! Rafflecopter link
If you can’t tell, I absolutely adore this book, and I urge you all to go out and buy it yourselves! Or ask your library to order it. However, I will give away one copy (a pre-order) here on the blog. North America only, please. Leave a comment below or click on the Rafflecopter for additional entries. Open until next Monday, March 11. Whether you win the giveaway or not, definitely add WHITE ROSE to your TBR list!
Note: This giveaway has ended.
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Author Spotlight
Kip Wilson
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: KIP WILSON
Mar. 15, 2019
We are pleased to feature author Kip Wilson and her new book, WHITE ROSE (Versify-April 2, 2019)
Enter to win a copy (will be mailed out in mid-April)!
Cover design & illustration @ David Curtis/ Sharismar Rodriguez
Tell us about yourself and how you came to write for teens.
Like many authors, I was a nerdy kid who loved to read and write. My favorite thing about my graduate school program (German Literature) was that it became my job to read books and write about them. When I finished writing my doctoral dissertation, I was living in Austria on a Fulbright award to teach in a high school, where I got to know the music teacher. He asked me to write a musical in English based on Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM called A MIDSUMMER NIGHT CLUB. Working on that project was a lot of fun, and when it finished up, I started to write my first (terrible) novels for teens.
Congrats on your debut YA verse novel, WHITE ROSE. Tell us about it and what inspired you.
Thanks! WHITE ROSE is historical fiction based on a true story about German kids using their words to lead the resistance against the Nazis. I first learned about the White Rose resistance group in high school German class, and I found Sophie Scholl, one of the leaders and the only female member of the core group, to be incredibly inspiring. She’s well known in Germany, but less so here in the United States, so I’m thrilled to be able to bring her story to American teenagers, especially now when we so badly need role models who stand up for others.
Was your road to publication long and windy, short and sweet, or something in between?
My road to publication was most definitely not short. I started writing seriously after the musical I mentioned above finished up, and sent my first query to an agent in 2003, so that’s what I generally consider my starting point. I didn’t get an agent until 2015 with my sixth novel. That one didn’t sell, but as soon as I started drafting WHITE ROSE, I felt like it would be “the one.” It’s my seventh completed novel, but first to be published, and I couldn’t be happier about how it worked out. Of course, I wish there were some way to go back in time to my querying days and whisper in my ear that it would be worth it, so instead, I’ll happily share that same encouragement with other writers. Stick with it!
What projects are you working on now?
I’m working on a couple of different projects that take place in Berlin, so I’m planning a research trip there this summer. I’m a bit superstitious, so I don’t have much beyond that to share at the moment, but I’m really looking forward to visiting key sights, talking to experts, and soaking in the atmosphere there.
What are the one or two things that you did that best prepared you to write a verse novel? What advice would you give to other aspiring poets who want to write a verse novel?
One thing is for sure a love of poetry. I wrote my dissertation on the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke and have always loved German poetry in particular. But another thing I did to prepare myself to write in verse was to read mountains of recently published novels-in-verse. My local librarians got to know me as I came back week after week to check out a new stack (and they cheered when I came in to tell them my own novel-in-verse was going to be published). For an entire book of advice for poets, I absolutely recommend reading Rilke’s LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET.
What is one thing most people don't know about you?
People tend to be surprised to learn that I was in the U.S. Army—maybe because this isn’t something typical for children’s authors, especially female children’s authors. I joined ROTC during college, which is how I discovered that 5 a.m. is my favorite time of day (I’m now a regular member at the #5amWritersClub). I didn’t get assigned active duty upon graduation, which was when I decided to go to graduate school to instead, but I continued to serve in the New York Army National Guard: one weekend a month and two weeks a year, as the ads say, until being medically discharged for a knee injury.
Where can people find you online?
Website: http://www.kipwilsonwrites. com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kiperoo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kipwilsonwrites/
Kip Wilson is the author of “White Rose,” a YA novel-in-verse about anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl. Kip holds a Ph.D. in German Literature and is the poetry editor at YARN (Young Adult Review Network). She’s lived in Germany, Austria, and Spain, and currently calls Boston home.
Kip Wilson
BY MICHAEL VALINSKY • APRIL 5, 2019
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Kip Wilson
Photo courtesy of Rosanne Samson
Over the past decade, artists have taken to unpacking the horrific tragedy that fell upon five students and a professor seeking to organize a nonviolent resistance movement against Hitler’s totalitarian regime. In 2006, the German film Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, directed by Marc Rothemund, was released, and in 2015, Kirkus Prize finalist Russell Freedman published his children’s book We Will Not Be Silent. And now debut YA author Kip Wilson is publishing her novel, White Rose.
The White Rose was headed by two siblings, Hans and Sophie Scholl, as well as fellow students at the University of Munich. The group gathered behind closed doors to draft leaflets that called for virulent opposition to the Nazi state. The leaflets made their ways through the halls of their alma mater, into the mailboxes of neighboring towns, and into the hands of Nazi officials. What ensued was a witch hunt to find the culprits; the Nazis did end up finding the Scholls.
In American high schools, the White Rose movement is often left off the syllabus, perhaps because before arriving at such resistance movements, teenagers must first learn about the scope of Hitler’s influence and key players, like Anne Frank, who have come to shape our understanding of the Holocaust. “When so few Germans actually resisted the Nazis, and when so many were guilty of indifference, it's easier to lump the entire population together and mark them all as evil, so it's understandable in a way that the White Rose hasn't been so well-known here,” says the author.
White Rose But Wilson has now given both adults and teenagers a new form through which they can begin to understand the White Rose. Wilson takes us through the inner workings of the woman of the group, Sophie, as she considers the implications of resistance, the role women had in a society that killed off so many, and academic and professional ambition amid the turbulence of a totalitarian regime. Structured as a crisscross narrative, the novel offers a simultaneous perspective of the events that led up to the drafting of the first leaflet and Sophie’s eventual death sentence.
If the subject matter isn’t alluring enough, Wilson’s poetry might attract those readers interested in renditions of history in verse. Wilson wrote her dissertation on the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke but never tried writing in verse until, as the poetry editor for YARN, she talked to a couple of novelists who write in verse. “They both mentioned that novels in verse are particularly well-suited to tragic, emotional subjects, and that moment was a real epiphany for me,” Wilson says. She began working on White Rose in verse the very next day.
Infused with deep compassion and a meticulous language economy, the poems offer fragmented glimpses into the episodes that populated Sophie’s life, from her initial exclusion from the group because of her gender to the fire in her gut pushing her to join the movement to her final thoughts right before her beheading.
Michael Valinsky is a Los Angeles–based writer whose work has been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books and Hyperallergic, among others.
Once Upon a Retelling: White Rose by Kip Wilson
07:00 Jo No comments
Once Upon a Retelling
Welcome to Once Upon a Retelling! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I'm really interested in hearing about authors' own love of the original stories, and what inspired them to retell those stories. And so Once Upon a Retelling was born, a feature in which I interview authors about their versions of well-loved tales.
Today, I'm really excited to have Kip Wilson stopping by the blog to talk about her retelling of the life of Sophie Scholl, White Rose.
Kip Wilson - Photo credi: © Rosanne SamsonCan you tell us a little about White Rose? What kind of a retelling of Sophie Scholl’s life is it?
Most of the books available about Sophie Scholl are either biographies that cover her entire life or non-fiction about the White Rose resistance group in general, and furthermore, most of them are in German. I personally love non-fiction and biographies, but I find both verse and first-person retellings more engaging, so that’s why I decided to focus White Rose on Sophie’s young adulthood in very close first-person verse (and in English, which is my native language).
Why Sophie Scholl’s life? What drew you to this historical person? And what inspired you to retell her story?
When I first learned about Sophie Scholl and the White Rose in high school German class, I found in her an incredible role model. A young woman, not much older than I was, standing up to the Nazis in spite of the danger? Yes, please. Her courage has inspired me to dare to do difficult things in my own life, and it stewed for a long time in the back of my mind as I researched and researched until I finally was able to tell her story the right way.
What do you bring to the story of Sophie Scholl’s life story with White Rose?
What a great question! Obviously one factor that helped is that I speak/read/write German, because many of the most thorough resources about the White Rose are only available in German. Also, because I was a young teen when I first learned about Sophie, her rebellious mindset really attracted me to her, and I strove to maintain this connection as I researched and filed away information about her. Finally, having studied poetry, once I realized that telling her story in verse was a possibility, I knew I had to try it.
White Rose by Kip WilsonHow does White Rose differ from other retellings of Sophie Scholl’s life out there?
Probably the best-known retelling of Sophie Scholl’s life is the award-winning 2005 film Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, written by Fred Breinersdorfer. This film was meticulously researched and expertly shot, and honestly, I can’t recommend it enough. It really paints a thorough and moving picture of the White Rose group and what they stood for. Where it differs is that this film focuses only on the last days of Sophie’s life, including the Gestapo interrogations, short time in prison, sham trial, and executions, whereas White Rose goes back and forth between these final days and Sophie’s teenage years that led her to act.
Were there any difficulties in tackling a retelling of a story already known, over writing an original story? Anything that was easier?
The main difficulty is of course keeping it fresh, but because Sophie isn’t as well-known in the United States, that’s less of a problem. On the writing side, the plotting was certainly much easier with specific dates and events to plug in to an outline.
What do you hope readers get from White Rose?
Sophie Scholl’s story is so important today because history repeats itself. As anyone who studies World War II and the Holocaust knows, human beings are capable of terrible things, but we also hold the capability to question, to resist, to stand up for others, especially those from marginalized groups. As anyone who pays attention to the news knows, young people today need role models like Sophie Scholl more than ever to know that fighting for justice and equality for all is more important than anything.
What do you think makes a good retelling?
A good retelling for me is a fresh take that includes just enough similarities that the story feels new, but still familiar.
Are there any retellings you would recommend, either of Sophie Scholl’s life, or in general?
In general, I tend to love YA novels-in-verse that retell historical events, so some of my favorites have been To Stay Alive by Skila Brown (about the Donner party) and The Watch that Ends the Night by Allan Wolf (about the Titanic), but I also love everything by Anna-Marie McLemore, and her Blanca & Roja is a great example, inspired by Snow White and Rose Red.
Anything you would like to add?
Thanks very much for having me!
Thank you, Kip, for such awesome answers! Doesn't White Rose sound so good?! I don't really know anything about Sophie Scholl, so White Rose sounds like a much needed story!
Be sure to visit Kip's website, follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and check out White Rose, which is published today!
White Rose by Kip WilsonWhite Rose by Kip Wilson
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. From Goodreads.
WomensHistoryReads interview: Kip Wilson
MARCH 19, 2019 IN WOMENSHISTORYREADS
I’ve interviewed historians, novelists, biographers, and many other types of writers for my WomensHistoryReads series, but today’s Q&Q&Q&A is a first for me: interviewing a “verse novelist!” Kip Wilson’s White Rose is a debut YA novel-in-verse about Sophie Scholl, a young student who fought the rise of the Nazis with passionate political activism and, unfortunately, paid a high price. Early reviews have been excellent and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. White Rose is slated for release on April 2, 2019.
Kip Wilson
Kip Wilson
Greer: How would you describe what you write?
Kip: Content-wise, I tend to be drawn to tragic stories that feature courageous young women, which is a pretty accurate description of Sophie Scholl and WHITE ROSE. In general, I’m fascinated by the first half of the twentieth century, an era still rife with such stories yearning to be told. Most all of my projects take place during this time.
Beyond this, as a verse novelist, my writing is necessarily sparse. I need to be able to distill what might be a page or even pages of prose into key phrases, emotions, and images. This might not seem like a good fit for historical fiction—often known for lengthy description and detailed settings—but I’ve found that verse allows me to go deeper into the protagonist’s head and emotions. The brevity of poetry lends itself really well to tragic situations, and the whitespace helps balance the heaviness of the words on the page, giving the reader room to breathe.
Greer: What’s the last book that blew you away?
Kip: I recently read FLYGIRL by Sherri L. Smith and it was amazing in every way (starting with the gorgeous cover). FLYGIRL tells the story of Ida Mae Jones, a white-passing WASP during World War II. When we look at some of the difficulties women faced throughout history, we have to remember how much more difficult all of these things were for women of color, and this novel does an excellent job of placing the reader in that exact situation, highlighting the triumphs along with those difficulties. The story is based on what real WASP went through during training and beyond, along with the racism POC faced both in the military and civilian life. Ida Mae and the other characters are so rich and nuanced—I’d follow them anywhere.
Greer: Play matchmaker: what unsung woman from history would you most like to read a book about, and who should write it?
Kip: I would love to read a novel about Freddie Oversteegen, her sister Truus, and their friend Hannie Schaft, Dutch resistance fighters during World War II who seduced and killed Nazi soldiers. I think bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp would do a fantastic job researching and writing their story.
And a question for you: we hear about certain women from history again and again while others have all but faded into the archives. How do you find the ones you think aren’t overdone but might garner enough interest from readers? For instance, how did you come across Kate Warne and decide that GIRL IN DISGUISE had the makings of a compelling story?
Greer: I love this question! I hope that one day there are so many books about Kate Warne that when a new one comes out, people groan and say, “Oh, not another one!” But we’re a long way from that, aren’t we? Kate’s an interesting case because there’s just so little in the historical record about her. Which is a common problem with researching women in history. But even with World War II history — arguably the most popular era for historical fiction in our time — there are women who have inspired a handful of tales, like the Russian night bombing squadron known as the Night Witches, and some whose names are still rarely heard, like Nancy Wake, the White Mouse. And records really can’t be an excuse there. I literally just learned last week that Christian Dior’s sister Catherine Dior was a spy for Polish intelligence and was imprisoned in a concentration camp before being freed and testifying against her Nazi captors. Now isn’t that a story we should know? I think nearly any story can be compelling if told expertly, but there are definitely some that are easier to tell than others. I’m just glad that we’re writing in a time where people are open to historical fiction as a way of learning more about the past. I think it’s an amazingly powerful tool.
YA Interview & Giveaway: WHITE ROSE by Kip Wilson
POSTED MARCH 4, 2019 BY MICHELLE I. MASON & FILED UNDER INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, YOUNG ADULT REVIEW.
Friends, I am so excited because today I get to share a book with you that I have a close personal connection to–WHITE ROSE by Kip Wilson. Kip and I have been critique partners since 2012, and so I’ve walked with her through this journey to her debut book. I couldn’t be more excited to see WHITE ROSE hit shelves next month (April 2), and I will be giving away a pre-order to one lucky reader.
From the moment Kip first told me about WHITE ROSE when we were sitting in a hotel room at NESCBWI in 2016, I was immediately gripped by the story. It’s compelling, heartbreaking, and moving. I could keep adding more adjectives, but instead, I’ll carry on to the description, followed by the interview, and let Kip tell you more about the book.
White Rose by Kip WilsonDisillusioned 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.
1. This story is so powerful, and while you give an explanation in your author’s note within the actual book, could you share here why you felt compelled to tell Sophie’s story?
Back when I first learned about Sophie Scholl in high school German class, I was so inspired by her courage. A girl not much older than I was standing up to the Nazis? I was all over it. After reading everything I could about the White Rose over the years, I was further driven by a curiosity to really get to know who this girl really was, so I read more and more, went to Munich and Ulm on more than one occasion, and became frankly obsessed with the details of her life. She’s of course very well known in Germany, but here many people in the U.S. haven’t heard of her, and I’m convinced she’ll be a great inspiration to others as well, especially teenagers.
2. While WHITE ROSE is classified as historical fiction, it’s based on actual events and people. How did you balance staying as true as possible to Sophie and the other characters while adding voice and details to the story?
This was definitely the hardest part! In my original draft in verse, I was determined to stick as close to all the facts as possible, but one astute beta reader (the oh-so-wise Joy McCullough) noted that this was hindering me from getting at the heart of the story. Only after her critique was I able to let my firm grip on the facts relax a tiny bit and experiment with imagining what Sophie might have thought or felt in specific situations. The good thing is that because I’d already done so much research, I discovered I actually knew her well enough to be able to make this leap. This is what really brought me—and hopefully readers of the book—closer to Sophie.
That having been said, I was quite obsessive about the facts, and maintained a spreadsheet that lists each poem, the source or sources that informed it, and did multiple rounds of cross-checking. I did have to make some decisions without knowing certain facts (things that only Sophie herself would have known), and I made those based on what I had learned about her as a person and what I knew about the historical setting.
3. You decided to tell Sophie’s story in verse, a shift from previous manuscripts you’d written. What made you choose verse for Sophie? (An obviously perfect choice!)
Well, back in 2005, I wrote a completely different manuscript about the White Rose that was nonfiction, but it wasn’t working, and I ended up setting it aside for ten whole years. It was always there bubbling in the back of my mind though, so when a couple of verse novelists happened to mention to me in a chat that tragic, emotional subjects are often well-suited to verse, it was like a billion light bulbs going off in my head. Once I began writing WHITE ROSE in verse, I couldn’t believe I’d never tried it before. I have to admit, I’d always struggled to write in prose, but writing in verse was the first time that writing felt completely natural, so I knew I was on to something.
4. I love how the story alternates between timelines. It’s so seamless and provides a perfect forward momentum for the story. How did you determine where each scene would go?
Thank you! Since you were one of the few people who saw the first draft, you probably remember that I initially drafted the story completely in reverse, starting at the end and making my way to the beginning. Unfortunately, this didn’t work—it was too confusing to readers. But I didn’t feel like a straightforward linear timeline would do the story justice either, and when one of my critique partners (the fabulous and brilliant Beth Smith) suggested two timelines, I began experimenting with ways I could make it work.
As far as where to place each individual scene, I really enjoyed figuring out this puzzle. I am a huge fan of index cards. I use physical ones, and move them around a board until it feels like the right order, but I’ve also used the Scrivener cork board in the past for the same thing. Either way, finding the right order was actually a lot of fun.
5. I appreciated how real the protagonists are. They aren’t just heroes charging to change the world automatically. They stumble and don’t always make perfect choices right away—I’m sure because they are based on real people. Was that an important consideration for you as you were writing?
This was actually one of my most important considerations. The thing is that Sophie and her brother and their friends were absolutely real people, who made mistakes and weren’t perfect. They were members of the Hitler Youth! And their initial motivations for resisting weren’t all that altruistic, either. They weren’t initially as concerned for Jewish people and others being persecuted by the Nazis as for themselves and what this war meant for them and their friends. However, what makes their story so compelling is that they’re proof that it’s never too late to change, and it’s never too late to do the right thing. After word began to leak out about the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes, Sophie and the others realized that their government was a criminal one and that the core of their fight wasn’t an intellectual one, but a moral one. In the end, their courage speaks for itself. They certainly knew what their consequences for their actions would be, and yet they did it anyway. So even if they weren’t your typical heroes, they became heroes to me at least in part due to the rocky path they took to get there.
Thank you, Kip! Rafflecopter link
If you can’t tell, I absolutely adore this book, and I urge you all to go out and buy it yourselves! Or ask your library to order it. However, I will give away one copy (a pre-order) here on the blog. North America only, please. Leave a comment below or click on the Rafflecopter for additional entries. Open until next Monday, March 11. Whether you win the giveaway or not, definitely add WHITE ROSE to your TBR list!
Note: This giveaway has ended.
Wilson, Kip THE MOST DAZZLING GIRL IN BERLIN Versify/HarperCollins (Teen None) $18.99 3, 29 ISBN: 978-0-358-44890-7
"I shiver. / How much has changed / in a week." And we all shivered with her.
Recounting the months before Hitler's rise to power in 1932, Catholic orphan Hilde, an 18-year-old resident of Berlin, documents her life in a series of free-verse poems. Her story begins as she leaves the orphanage and follows her through a brief period of homelessness and unemployment before she finds the Caf� Lila, a queer nightclub that ultimately provides employment, security, and a sense of community previously missing from Hilde's life. It also brings her in contact with gorgeous Rosa, a Jewish performer and waitress with a vivacious attitude who quickly captures Hilde's heart. Astute readers will understand what horrible fates await many of the characters but will be captivated by the events that Hilde observes, many of which still echo today. Book clubs will find a lot to discuss in Hilde's story, and educators won't need to work hard to generate conversations about equality, authoritarianism, and the role of minorities in democracy. The free-form verse is inviting and masterfully captures the mood and times in sparse poetry, making this work equally appealing for pleasure reading. Educators and history buffs will appreciate the thorough and informative backmatter, which includes selected sources in both English and German, a glossary of terms, and an author's note that provides valuable context and recommends more information about the time period.
Wunderbar! (Verse historical fiction. 12-adult)
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"Wilson, Kip: THE MOST DAZZLING GIRL IN BERLIN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A690892130/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f1bc5d5e. Accessed 15 June 2022.
The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin
Kip Wilson. Versify, $18.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-358-44890-7
Loss and discovery twine throughout Wilson's (White Rose) bittersweet historical novel, ser in 1932 Berlin. Written in economical free verse, rhe story is narrated by Hilde, a cued-white Catholic 18-year-old who gains a warm and welcoming found family when she leaves rhe orphanage where she was raised, snapping up the opportunity to work as a waitress at Cafe Lila, a nightclub in Schoneberg, the city's LGBTQ hub. A gifted singer, Hilde dreams of overcoming her stage frighr to perform. She also dreams of moving from friendship to romance with lovely, laughing Rosa--a Jewish girl, also cued white, who serves drinks and performs at Cafe Lila, and has opened her home to Hilde. Meanwhile, Nazi brownshirts appear first as a distant threat and then develop into a frightening, violent force. While Hilde's predictable internal growth is disarmingly joyous, it's the era's politics--and their connection to the present day--that give the Cabarettinged story its urgent momentum. Readers eager ro learn more abour queer life in the Weimar era will find plenty of avenues to explore in the densely packed author's note. Ages 12-up. Agent: Roseanne Wells.Jennifer De Chiara Literary. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 2, 10 Jan. 2022, p. 63. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A690146838/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8fbb8699. Accessed 15 June 2022.
White Rose
by Kip Wilson
Middle School, High School Versify/Houghton 358 pp.
4/19 978-1-328-59443-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-04917-3 $9.99
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 book's 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 Sophie's imagined voice, but there are also letters to and from family members and friends, plus occasional entries by significant figures in Sophie's 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 Sophie's 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 we're not prepared to / sacrifice ourselves / for what's right?" The book ends with Sophie facing her imminent death: "Footsteps, and the / guard announces / my name / from the hallway ... / It's then I realize / I need only survive / these / last / moments"; an epilogue provides simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking closure. Back matter includes an author's note (but no timeline), a "Dramatis Personae" (which omits Sophie's mother), a glossary, and a list of (mostly German-language) sources. MARTHA V. PARRAVANO
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Parravano, Martha V. "White Rose." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 95, no. 4, July-Aug. 2019, pp. 140+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A592556193/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d1468f23. Accessed 15 June 2022.
Wilson, Kip. White Rose. Versify, April 2019. 368p. $17.99. 978-0358049173.
4Q * 4P * J * S * NA
Sophie Scholl is growing up in a 1930s Germany that has changed dramatically since Hitler gained power. The Nazis remodeled society, and Jews, handicapped folks, and those who are opposed to the regime become oppressed. Sophie and her brothers and sisters are at first proud of their new uniforms and look up to Hitler, but requirements to conform and book burnings have turned Sophie against the Nazis. War starts, and her brothers and boyfriend are sent to the front. Sophie wants to fight back, and an opportunity presents itself when her brother returns and prints pamphlets denouncing the Nazis and their actions. Sophie joins wholeheartedly, knowing that her participation in this conspiracy could lead to her death. Desperate to save Germany from Hitler, Sophie is willing to risk it all.
The White Rose--a group of friends who attended university together--distributed anti-Nazi information in 1942 and 1943 before they were arrested and executed. Told in terse verses, Sophie's life is presented in alternating sections of "Before" and "The End." An economy of words helps the reader focus on Sophie's actions and emotions. Effective research reconstructs Sophie's world and clearly demonstrates her dedication to defeating Hitler. Her feelings are raw and capture the tension that Germans must have felt as their world changed for the worse. White Rose will appeal to fans of historical fiction as well as those who wonder how far they would be willing to go to stand up and defend their beliefs.--Etienne Vallee.
A definite must-read, White Rose takes the reader back to the time when Hitler reigned supreme and discrimination was prominent. The story follows Sophie, a girl with a big heart and mind. Told in poems, Sophie's circumstances spark rebellion in her, and it becomes a wildfire. White Rose keeps readers glued to the page with suspense and true-to-life characters. 4Q, 2P. --Desiree Deery, Teen Reviewer.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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Vallee, Etienne, and Desiree Deery. "Wilson, Kip. White Rose." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 42, no. 1, Apr. 2019, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A587973914/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f8e4f4ce. Accessed 15 June 2022.
WILSON, Kip. The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin. 416p. Clarion/Versify. Mar. 2022. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780358448907.
Gr 9 Up--In this historical novel in verse, 18-year-old Hilde moves out of her Berlin orphanage in 1932 in search of a home to call her own. Struggling to find her footing in the turbulent Weimar Republic, she fortuitously wanders into Cafe Lila, an LGBT-friendly club in the neighborhood of Charlottenburg. Here she finds a new job as well as an accepting adoptive family. Rosa, a waitress and singer who is Jewish, takes Hilde under her wing and provides the shelter and companionship Hilde so desperately needs. T hrough her work at Cafe Lila, Hilde finds the courage to be herself, a queer woman, both onstage and off. Just as Hilde is finally finding her footing, the political climate in Berlin reaches a tipping point with the fateful election of 1932. Suddenly everything Hilde has come to know and cherish--her home with Rosa, their blossoming love, and Cafe Lila's liberated atmosphere--hangs in the balance. Wilson expertly uses short, poetic chapters to set the tone of the novel. While the prose is minimalist, it shines with evocative descriptions, poignant emotions, and authentic German phrases (clear in context and found in the glossary). Wilson crafts a beautiful coming-of-age story that captures the joy of young independence against a backdrop of fear and foreboding on the precipice of the Third Reich. The story, as well as the author's note and extensive resource list, highlights the positive, liberated experience of queer people in Weimar-era Berlin before its abrupt and devastating end. VERDICT An essential purchase for YA collections; recommend to fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo.--Mary Kamela
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Kamela, Mary. "WILSON, Kip. The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 3, Mar. 2022, pp. 113+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A695376131/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e0d01633. Accessed 15 June 2022.
WILSON, Kip. White Rose. 368p. bibliog. glossary. HMH/Versify. Apr. 2019. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781328594433.
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 complied. 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
KEY: * Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre | Tr Hardcover trade binding | lib. ed. Publisher's library binding | Board Board book | pap. Paperback | e eBook original | BL Bilingual | POP Popular Picks
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Riemer, Carla. "WILSON, Kip. White Rose." School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 2, Mar. 2019, pp. 110+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A576210330/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4b81405c. Accessed 15 June 2022.