Books with author Donna Hess

"[You are] either a German or a Christian; you cannot be both." Adolph Hitler's ominous statements seem only a distant threat to eleven-year-old Rudi Kaplan. But when the Nazi forces invade Poland and bomb his home city of Warsaw, Rudi finds out that he is Hitler's enemy not only because he is a Pole but also because he's a Jew and a Christian. The next few years change Rudi's life forever. With only his imprisoned father's promise that they will be reunited after the war, Rudi must learn how to survive in hiding, how to be truly brave, and how to overcome the hatred of his enemies. He must learn to die to himself and to trust the God who is mightier than any army.

A Father’s Promise by Donnalynn Hess is historical fiction set during WWII. Adolf Hitler’s ominous statements seem only a distant threat to eleven-year-old Rudi Kaplan until the Nazi forces invade Poland and bomb his home city of Warsaw. Rudi finds out that he is Hitler’s enemy not only because he is a Pole but also because he is a Jew . . . and a Christian. Rudi has only his imprisoned father’s promise that the family will be reunited after the war. In this Christian fiction book Rudi must learn how to survive in hiding, how to be truly brave, and how to die to himself and trust the God who is mightier than any army.

In Search of Honor is historical fiction by Donnalynn Hess set in the late 1700s during the violent days of the French Revolution. This Christian fiction for teens tells of young Jacques Chenier who is trapped in a prison stronger than the Bastille, a prison of bitterness. Jacques wants revenge for his father, his mother, his fellow artisans, and for himself. But escaping from a prison of the heart is no easy task. In Search of Honor is the story of this young man’s struggle for justice and truth.

"The only thing the color of a man tells ya is what kinda paint God used when He created him," Jake said with a smile. "An all that really says is that God likes ta paint with lots of colors. But what's inside'll tell ya what a man's really like. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that there's good an bad men in every color." JT Pace was a black sharecropper's son whose ingenuity and determination enabled him to build a successful life. But JT's ability to overcome adversity is only part of this story. Dust of the Earth is also about his pain. Success did not fill the emptiness in his heart, nor did it erase the shame he felt in hiding from others what he considered a humiliating secret: He could not read. This, then, is the story of JT's journey, a journey that eventually led him to Christ and created in him a burning desire that could not be quenched until he could read the Word of God for himself.