The Roses Will Bloom Again - Paperback

by Ybeltje De Vries (Author)

This historical, fictional novel takes place in the Netherlands in the city of Zwolle during the last two years of the Second World War, when the country was occupied by Germany. It follows the lives of three teenagers, Hanna and her girlfriend Mary, whose parents are hiding Mary's cousin, Angie, a Jewish girl. Hanna becomes involved with the underground, as she is the only witness to the murder of a German soldier and has to hide this from her parents and friends. The book covers the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, which was lost by the Allied Troops and caused the Hunger Winter in the Western Provinces of the Netherlands.

Author Biography

I was born in the city of Zwolle where I lived for 22 years, and was raised in a Christian family by loving parents. I emigrated to Canada where I got married in the city of Winnipeg. We stayed there for ten years and had two children before we emigrated again, this time to California, where my youngest daughter was born. When the children were of school age, it became possible for me to continue my own education at Riverside City College, where I earned an AA degree, and later at Fullerton State University where I graduated in 1977 with a BA in Art. After I retired from the County of Riverside Health Department, I moved to Los Osos and opened an art gallery for my own art work, as well as the works of other artists. I closed the gallery in the year 2000 to retire permanently, however, when looking back at my life, I realized how much I have to be thankful for that I am able to do this. I would like to dedicate this book to all those young men and women who never had a chance to develop their talents, to the parents who lost their children in far away countries, and to the children who never knew their fathers and grew up without them. They will never be forgotten.