Rising Hope (Warsaw Rising Trilogy) (Volume 1)

By Marie Sontag

Description:

Category: Teen & Young Adult: Historical Fiction: Europe  "young adult historical fiction" Rising Hope tells the story of six teens that, through loss, find hope as they fight against the Germans when their Scout troops join forces with the Underground Army during the 1944 Warsaw Rising.Looking back, eighteen-year-old Tadzio realized that it all began when his father walked out on him September 8, 1939. That same day, his Scoutmaster challenged Tadzio and his friends to give their all for Poland. At first, thirteen-year-old Tadzio said no. Now, five years later, the Germans still occupied Poland. But at least Tadzio rose to the challenge. And he still had hope. This is how it began. Book trailer at: youtu.be/_AwZhJ9pGBY

Book Takeaway:

Even in the face of naked hopelessness, trust in God's unchanging character provides a firm and secure anchor that can enable us to weather the storm.

Why the author wrote this book:

As a middle grade historical fiction writer, I greatly enjoyed the challenge of writing the young adult historical fiction novel titled, Rising Hope (Sunbury Press, 2015). Rising Hope tells the story of six teens that, through loss find hope as they join forces with the Polish Underground to fight against the Germans in Warsaw during WWII.

I’ve always had an interest in my Polish heritage (my paternal grandfather was Polish), and in 1996 we hosted a 16-year-old Polish foreign exchange student for a year. Later, in 2008, we visited Stas’ in Warsaw and he took us on a tour of what is called the Rising Museum. One of the museum’s exhibits tells the story of brave Polish boy scouts and girl guides who used their scout training to help fight against the Germans during WWII. Facing impossible odds, these teens wanted to show the world that they did not want the allies to give control of their country to Communist Russia after the war. For ninety days these scouts, aged ten to twenty, fought from street to street alongside the Underground Army, hoping their country would emerge as a free Poland once the war ended. Those ninety days are now known as the “Rising.” Seemingly a failure, the Rising did not save Poland from Communist rule. It wasn’t until 1989 that Poland once again had a non-Communist government.

One of things I’ve enjoyed most in writing Rising Hope is meeting people who actually were scouts who fought during the Rising, and seeing that they feel as passionate today about their freedom as they did in 1944. This is what I hope to pass on to my readers. I especially want American youth to know the heights of bravery others their age have reached, inspiring them to dig deep within themselves to find similar causes worthy of such courage, fueled by the same trust in God’s unchanging character held by these historical heroes.