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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Becca Berlin's grandmother Gemma told her the fairy tale of Briar Rose so many times as a child that at 23 she can still remember every word. Following a deathbed promise to Gemma, Becca sets out to learn the truth behind the stories. Gradually, she discovers that Gemma's fairy tales are true, but that there's nothing fairy-tale-like about the truth behind them.
Yolen gives depth to the story by breathing life into several minor characters and romantic subplots. She blends of historical and contemporary narrative to unite the adult Becca with her childhood self and her teenage grandmother.
Although the story was well written, I found it still to be lacking...something—I'm not sure what. Perhaps what bothers me is that the connection between the fairy tale and the history is fairly clear from the beginning, although I don't see any way it could have been obscured. Other readers who are bothered by the main plot being clear from from the beginning might to well to avoid this book.
Yolen gives depth to the story by breathing life into several minor characters and romantic subplots. She blends of historical and contemporary narrative to unite the adult Becca with her childhood self and her teenage grandmother.
Although the story was well written, I found it still to be lacking...something—I'm not sure what. Perhaps what bothers me is that the connection between the fairy tale and the history is fairly clear from the beginning, although I don't see any way it could have been obscured. Other readers who are bothered by the main plot being clear from from the beginning might to well to avoid this book.
I wasn't particularly amazed with the book overall, the writing was a little bland and leaned towards dull sometimes, but it was a good book and a sweet story.
Only nominally a fantasy, Briar Rose re-imagines the Sleeping Beauty story as a poignant allegory, retold by a survivor of the Holocaust. It begins as a peculiar retelling of the traditional fairy tale from a mysterious woman to her three granddaughters, a story she has obsessively told them from childhood to adulthood. When the old woman dies, it is, in fairy tale style, up to the youngest of the three to piece together the clues that she left behind. It is a genealogical treasure hunt that leads her to an elderly aristocrat in Poland, the one man who can provide her with the truth behind the tale.
Briar Rose is a refreshing take on Holocaust stories, framed as it is in mystery and metaphor. The background story takes up about the lsst third of the book, a bittersweet tale that reminds us that nursery rhymes and fairy tales often carry within them deeper truths.
Briar Rose is a refreshing take on Holocaust stories, framed as it is in mystery and metaphor. The background story takes up about the lsst third of the book, a bittersweet tale that reminds us that nursery rhymes and fairy tales often carry within them deeper truths.
This is the first Jane Yolen book I’ve read, and even though the topic of the Holocaust it explores is deeply important and even though she is a renowned writer, I confess that I wasn’t all that impressed. I wanted to care about the characters, but I didn’t. I felt like the story was disjointed, and the vehicle she used to discuss the real concerns of antisemitism and other prejudices (sleeping beauty) was kind of contrived and didn’t really work. The answers the narrator/character was looking for felt unsatisfying, maybe like the end of this review.
Jane Yolen has been a favorite since childhood. She writes well and beautifully. She tackles concepts in a way that teens and young adults can understand. This book is a beautiful weaving of fairy tale and history that gives life to the true purpose of fairy tales while telling a compelling story about the Holocaust. A must read!
This weaves young adult book elements of the Briar Rose story (Sleeping Beauty) into a horrifying Holocaust tale.
"Gemma" has told the tale of Briar Rose to her three granddaughters for as long as they can remember, but on her death bed, in a moment of lucidity, Gemma emphatically informs Becca that she actually is Briar Rose. A box full of Gemma's secret possessions leads Becca to unravel the mystery of her grandmother's past in a harrowing holocaust story.
Imaginative re-tellings of fairy tales can be hit or miss for me, but this book really caught my attention with the way it took the story of Sleeping Beauty well beyond its darker roots. Becca's actual journey, which takes her all the way to Poland, has many interesting and endearing moments, but the magic of this book is how Yolen weaves Gemma’s apparent fairy tale into the reality, teasing out the story of Briar Rose bit by bit, until it reaches its bittersweet conclusion.
Imaginative re-tellings of fairy tales can be hit or miss for me, but this book really caught my attention with the way it took the story of Sleeping Beauty well beyond its darker roots. Becca's actual journey, which takes her all the way to Poland, has many interesting and endearing moments, but the magic of this book is how Yolen weaves Gemma’s apparent fairy tale into the reality, teasing out the story of Briar Rose bit by bit, until it reaches its bittersweet conclusion.
I've taught this book twice, once in a young adult lit course and once in a creative writng class. Both times students were hooked in by the unlikely combination of Sleeeping Beauty and a Holocaust narrative. It's a lovely, haunting story, perfect for young adults and adults alike.