Hope's War

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Kataryna Balyk, a gifted fine arts student, is hoping to have a fresh start at Cawthra School for the Arts, after a less-than-successful year at the neighbouring Catholic high school.

But her hopes for a peaceful grade ten are shattered when she comes home from one of her first days at Cawthra and finds the RCMP interrogating her grandfather Danylo Feschuk. Kat learns that Danylo is accused of being a policeman for the Nazis in World War II Ukraine, and what’s worse, he is suspected of having participated in atrocities against civilians.

When the story is exposed in the local newspaper, Kat and her family become the centre of a media storm. Her grades in school and her relationships with friends suffer. Her only support comes from her family and Ian, a classmate with whom she discovers she has more in common than just artistic promise.

Genres: Fiction, Canadian Literature

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Marsha Skrypuch is an internationally bestselling children’s author whose books span a century of wars from a kid’s view, concentrating on those stories that have been erased by oppressive regimes. Her best-known book is Making Bombs for Hitler. Her most recent is the Kidnapped from Ukraine trilogy. She has received death threats and honors for her writing. Marsha lives in Brantford, Ontario, Canada and you can visit her online at calla.com

Reviews

[Rhonda Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written and heart-wrenching. I definitely cried. The injustice made me angry, and the harsh realities of the war hit hard. This book got me in the feels.

[Nalani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been working through Marsha's WWII era novels and thought I should get this one under my belt before diving into her latest novel. This one is done a bit differently than her later novels. I would have liked there to be more flashbacks than there were, but I realize that this story's purpose was to reveal the truth about the harsh realities of the trials people like Danylo faced. I think the impact was definitely there, especially since it ended the way it did. I'm not sure how engaging it would be for teens with it being very political and stale at some points. I think it could have been a third shorter and still have been just as effective of getting its point across. I did enjoy the story as a whole, but I definitely prefer the standard setting of historical fiction.

[Jennifer G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story aimed at younger readers. It tells the story of war in a unique way. An old man is sent to a deportation hearing because he is accused of being a Nazi collaborator and entering Canada under false pretenses. This is a story about how we shouldn't jump to conclusions about other people.

[Oksana Bodnariuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was crying like crazy when reading this book

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood stains the walls of Kataryna's home. Protesters march around on her street. News cars pull up into her driveway, and they streams out. Kataryna, age 12 is Ukrainian Canadian. She lives in a -used to be- peaceful neighborhood with kind neighbors. The walls inside her home are light pale all throughout. In her backyard she has a potato garden, where she grows her own potatoes with her grandfather, who had recently moved in with her family after losing his wife. Kataryna lives with her mom, her dad, her grandfather, and her sister Genya. Genya is the exact opposite of Kataryna. In her half of the room she shares with Kat, everything is neat and in its place, while kat's side is like a tornado had passed by and wrecked exactly half of the room, with art projects hanging on the walls, and clothes littered on the ground. Genya and Kat however are very close.

It is 50 years after World War II. In this historical fiction, there is a 12 year old girl named Kataryna ~ also known as Hope ~ who is Ukrainian but lives in Canada. After being forces to leave her nearby Catholic school, Hope starts over at the Cawthra School for the Arts. Hope makes many new friends that are unique in their own ways, but they all are fine arts students, like Hope. She starts thriving in her new school. However; Hope's grandfather Danylo Baliuk gets accused of being a policeman for the Nazis in World War II Ukraine. Hope starts failing in her classes. Not many of people know about her grandfather until it becomes the head of the newspaper and Kat's family becomes the center of attention in media. Hope gets support from her two new close friends: Ian and Lisa who are the "goths" in the school. Can Kat help her family get out of the media storm?

Hope's War is an intriguing novel based in present tense Canada. It leaves you hanging at the end of each chapter, and is hard to put back down on the shelf. I personally like Hope's War because the book makes you feel the characters emotions as they deal with things that could happen to common people like us that we never think of in our daily lives. However, the beginning of this book is a bit hard to follow because of the poor character development and the things the characters say to each other seem directly translated and hard to understand. Therefore I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars because it is overall an amazing novel for teens to read. I think this book is targeted to teenagers 12 - 16 because it is a somewhat complicated read for readers that might be under those ages. Readers can also relate to Kat, because Kataryna is 12 and has to deal with things like school gossip clouds, friend zones, and failing in classes all the while dealing with her grandfathers accusation.

[Westcoast_girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great novel. It is a book related to the Holocaust but it is quite different than the others from that genre.

The story follows Hope, in present day Canada. She lives a normal life until the RCMP knock on her door and accuse her grandfather of being a Nazi. From there, her life unravels.

Their family and Hope get involved in the laws and logistics of such issues and immersed in their grandfather's court case. Meanwhile, Hope is getting bullied at school and her family is receiving threatening phone calls and property defacement.

The book taught me not only more about the Holocaust, Nazi collaborators, and the German government of the 1940s, but also of Canada's legal and justice system and courtroom practices.

The book was depthful and an accurate portrayal of a real issue.

[Joey Gawdyda-Synk · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful. the history behind it was very true. me being ukrainian, and having my grandfather be in the same predicament (minus the being accused of war crimes.) I had trouble finishing this book, after being able to fill in names in roles during ww2

[Christian Tuininga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book, along the lines of Between Shades of Gray....and I didn't even know they were on a similar topic. Total coincidence that I read the two consecutively. :)

[mya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey guys, it's a book set in Cawthra

[Rachel E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I have read this book several times and just can’t get bored of it. I love how all these simple little words have been strung together in such an art. It also baffles me that no matter what, no matter how much I prepare myself, this book will make me feel such strong emotions; from cheering to bawling. I have shed many tears in this book, but that is only one reason it is so good. It also has one of the best storylines, and I learned way more about all the sides of WW2.

[Lbaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting Canadian book focusing on Canada's treatment of accused war criminals, personalizing Canada's actions which have been less than honourable.

The story was fitted into the opinions of the author. The characters had little growth, were varied and interesting though.

I think teens would like the book more than I did.

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

no