I enjoyed this book very much. It was written from a very different perspective than your typical Nazi era historical fiction. Franka ran across an injured American, John, when she was hiking through the Black Forest in the middle of the night looking for a good place to end her life. She had lost her entire family over the last year or so. Her mother died of cancer, her dad was killed in an Allied bomb attack and her brother was killed by the Nazis. She had nothing left and no desire to continue living. Then she met John. He was dressed in the uniform of a Luftwaffe officer. He was unconscious and had two broken legs. Here was someone who needed her help. This gave her a reason to continue living. As the rest of the story unfolded they each learn to trust the other and worked together to accomplish the mission for which John had come to Germany. There are many exciting twists and turns. The reader had no idea until the very end whether or not their mission would be accomplished or if they would actually end up in the hands of the Gestapo. The only reason that I rated it down a star was because of the grammar. Mr. Dempsey occasionally ended sentences with prepositions and there were several dangling modifiers. In spite of that, I still enjoyed the book.

This book captures the experience of Nazi Germany from a citizen's perspective that is not typically brought to light. It identifies how so many average citizens fell so easily into the propaganda that they were fed and how very hard it was for those who so desperately hung on to views that ran counter to the National Socialist movement. It was particularly interesting to largely focus on a female's experience with her own internal conflicts and changing philosophies. At some points it's very sad and at others very tense. Staying true to one's conscience in such horrific times, and the awful struggles to survive in those conditions, made for an emotional sorry that kept me turning pages until the very end.

I gave this book a four star rating as the writing style isn't as sophisticated as it could be but this is an excellent book about war-torn Germany in the grip of Nazi brutality and about a young woman who publicly denies the freedom-loving principles for which her closest and dearest friends give their lives in order to save her own. She redeems herself by saving the life of an Allied soldier dropped behind enemy lines. Together they carry out an audicious plan to prevent the Nazis from developing an atomic bomb. The book admirably develops the themes of the young woman's tormenting guilt and hopelessness and then of the growing love between the American soldier and his rescuer. The story is filled with suspense as the two struggle to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo. This is a very satisfying and exciting book well worth the time to read.

From the beginning, you know this book is based on actual events yet you forget that once you are into the book. We read so often of the atrocities of WWII, and this one deals with those also, yet there was something different here. In White Rose, Black Forest, you really see what it must have been like to live in Germany if you were not a supporter of Hitler and his regime.

I have read lots of WWII books; in fact, so may recently that I almost didn't read this one. I liked the history of what was happening to the small towns and communities with the Gestapo in power. I cannot imagine life there and pray I never have to endure something like this. You have to admire those who stood against the Nazi movement at all costs.

The only reason I gave this four stars is for the ending.....too fairy-tale-ish, in one sense. I want to know more about life after the war. Maybe there is a sequel. If not, maybe there is info somewhere.

This was a quick read, mostly because I couldn't put it down. The story drops you into World War II and gives you a sense of what it was like in Germany then from one person's point of view. I believe it is honest in it's historical accuracy and description of the people and time period. It's a great romance but the historical part is to me, equally interesting. The story is well written with well developed characters and the story flows smoothly. You can read other reviews that will give the story away, I'm just here to tell you that if you are looking for something to read where the story will touch you and at the end you will say "I'm glad I read this", give this book a try.