The Kaleidoscope of Destiny
Fourteen-year-old Arakel, driven from his hometown in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, fights to survive a harrowing forced march into the desert with thousands of other Armenians, and must reach out to people from different faiths and backgrounds, whom he considers enemies—Turks, Kurds, Bedouins, Arab camel drivers, Germans, even a wandering dervish—and figure out who to trust in a world of barbaric cruelty, confronting what lies deep within the human heart.
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What people are saying about The Kaleidoscope of Destiny
Kirkus Reviews“This moving account of the Armenian genocide…deserves a place on classroom bookshelves and on reading lists next to Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl.…A beautiful and poignant novel that humanizes the Armenian genocide for a contemporary audience.”
Stephen Kurkjian“If you are Armenian, you are sure to know the story of the mass killings and forced removal of your ancestors that took place during the start of World War I…Sarah Ignatius is a new author but having been raised in an acclaimed Armenian American family knows this story well and tells it compellingly so the rest of the world can understand.”
Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter and editor
Dr. Ümit Kurt“Courageous, tender, and timely. At last, a novel that gives the Armenian Genocide the literary witness it has long deserved. Devastating and quietly luminous.”
University of Newcastle Faculty, Royal Historical Society Fellow, and author of The Armenians of Aintab
Dr. Khatchig Mouradian“A magisterial work of fiction steeped in historical authenticity!”
Columbia University, author of The Resistance Network
Dr. Taner Akçam“This novel offers an important perspective on one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies, restores its human dimension, and renews our faith in our shared humanity.”
Director, Armenian Genocide Research Program, UCLA Promise Armenian Institute, and author of Killing Orders: Talat Pasha’s Telegrams and the Armenian Genocide
Armine Ringer-Afeyan“At a time when it’s all too easy and convenient to forget difficult episodes in history or brush by modern injustices, this story is a powerful antidote that will stay with you.”
CEO, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative
Dr. Pamela Steiner“A heart-wrenching story with deep insight and many impressive (and some very obscure) historical details. Sarah Ignatius has done something remarkable and rare in writing a book that will enthrall and be very meaningful and memorable to readers from young adolescents right through to the oldest adults.”
Senior Fellow Emeritus, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University, author of Collective Trauma and the Armenian Genocide: Armenian, Turkish and Azerbaijani Relations since 1839
Arpi Sarafian“[The] story must be told. Ignatius exposes its horror unflinchingly.”
Review in The Armenian Mirror-Spectator
Frequently Asked Questions
When will The Kaleidoscope of Destiny be released?
Sarah’s debut novel will be released by Koehler Books on 22 September 2026.
Which awards has The Kaleidoscope of Destiny already won?
- Honorable Mention, Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition of the National League of American Pen Women in the Novel Excerpt category
- Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship from the New England Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (NESCBWI)
- Literature Artist Fellowship from the Somerville Arts Council
Immigration Law and the Family
This book on immigration law was co-written by Sarah and Elisabeth Stickney under the auspices of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. The latest edition was published by Thomson Reuters in 2025.
