2017 North Street Book Prize Semi-Finalist "A tragic and beautiful story that manages to retain a wise and hopeful tone." - Kirkus Reviews " Choose to Rise: The Victory Within is an incredible story about a nearly forgotten moment in the history of the Ottoman Empire, Armenia, and the world." - Portland Book Review Set in a forgotten land in the heart of World War One, Choose to Rise: The Victory Within paints the vividly realistic portrait of one of the most horrific atrocities of the modern world-- The Armenian Genocide of 1915. Told through eyes of an old Armen Hagopian reliving his youth, you will be immersed in this unbelievable story of survival against the merciless Ottoman Turkish government. Through his journey, Armen and his older brother, Vartan, must discover what it takes to overcome the brutality while deciding who will live, who will die, and whether or not they have the strength to save an entire race from total annihilation. Filled with passion, suspense, love, and inspiration, Choose to Rise is a book that is hard to ignore. It questions everything you know about humanity, what it means to be alive, and will stay with you long after you finish. "The most impressive aspect of Mekaelian's historical tale is how it weaves together so many aspects of Armenian oppression into one family's story without seeming implausible... A tragic and beautiful story that manages to retain a wise and hopeful tone." - Kirkus Reviews "Choose to Rise: The Victory Within is an incredible story about a nearly forgotten moment in the history of the Ottoman Empire, Armenia, and the world." - Portland Book Review M. N. Mekaelian's heart-pounding historical fiction novel Choose to Rise: The Victory Within follows two brothers during the crumbling years of the Ottoman Empire as the government begins the systematic execution of 1.5 million Armenians.