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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Don't be fooled - this is NOT a fairy tale retelling. Well, not in the classical sense, and I lOVE fairy tale retellings in the classical sense, so I was. Fooled that is. And disappointed. I don't even know if this book was any good because I was disappointed I wasn't reading a fairy tale retelling. *sigh*
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Thought it was going to fantasy retelling but that was a very good historical fiction with the "sleeping beauty" fairytale used as an important motif-theme in the kid protagonist's investigation.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A simple tale that casts a spell as haunting as it is heartbreaking about survival and true evil as much as it is about Briar Rose, aka Sleeping Beauty during the Holocaust. The protagonist, Becca has been told by her grandma on her death bed that she is Briar Rose and Becca promises to recover her grandma's lost past. The very end with it's fairy tale kiss along with how easily Becca's adventure is compared to her own grandmothers are what make this more of a four star. However I highly recommend this book for youth who are just learning about the Holocaust as it explores the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis towards the LGBTQ folk of their time and have the feeling this would have been amount my favourite books if I had read it at an earlier age. Still a great read for all ages!
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This retelling of Sleeping Beauty is actually a disturbing Holocaust novel. It's an important story that needed to be told, but there is a lot of somewhat objectionable content in it. I know what you're thinking-of course there is! It's about the Holocaust! And for part of it, that's true. But some seems like she put it in there just to be controversial or button pushing. In any case, I could never read it again. Haunting.