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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I initially read this book for a summer reading project in high school and I remembered enjoying it. It’s still a great story, and a unique perspective on the Holocaust, but reading it again I realized finding out Gemma’s story is sort of rushed. We spend so much time with Rebecca as she plans to find out more about her grandmother’s life, and then it just tumbled out as a retelling sort of monologue toward the end of the book. I would have loved a little more from the ending and from finding out who Gemma was.
A beautiful story of survival as told through the lens of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale.
This book was praised by critics, and I laud its ambition but I wasn't captivated by the story.
The introduction of this book was wonderful. It made me excited to read the book and it gave me ideas for other things to read, as well as explaining that the Sleeping Beauty I know and love (the Walt Disney version) does leave out the fact that the prince carries the princess to his castle, where his ogress mother tries to cook their children. This sort of sets the scene for this very dark Holocaust version of Sleeping Beauty.
I wish I had read this before I had children, because the scenes involving the brutality against children in particular was hard to get through. It's a young adult novel, so nothing was overly graphic, but since becoming a mother I've become much more sensitive about things involving children being hurt. I read the entire thing in one day and enjoyed the quick pace, although it meant that the romantic scenes between Becca and her boss felt a little rushed. I didn't really feel that Stan was needed in the book at all, that it was distracting and unnecessary. Becca's sisters felt wooden and were very annoying, almost too immature to actually be the ages they were supposed to be. Overall, I did like the book, though I felt a few minor character changes would've made it a lot better.
I wish I had read this before I had children, because the scenes involving the brutality against children in particular was hard to get through. It's a young adult novel, so nothing was overly graphic, but since becoming a mother I've become much more sensitive about things involving children being hurt. I read the entire thing in one day and enjoyed the quick pace, although it meant that the romantic scenes between Becca and her boss felt a little rushed. I didn't really feel that Stan was needed in the book at all, that it was distracting and unnecessary. Becca's sisters felt wooden and were very annoying, almost too immature to actually be the ages they were supposed to be. Overall, I did like the book, though I felt a few minor character changes would've made it a lot better.
There's a lot of potential for an amazing book with this premise, but the choice to make the Sleeping Beauty story such an obviously spelled-out metaphor kind of weakens the book for me. It's just a little too neat, tidy, and cute for my tastes.
This book is a very loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Like, very loose. A young woman must find out why her grandmother's life revolved around the tale of Sleeping Beauty, and her research takes her to Poland, where she finds the truth.
To start off with, the pacing of this story was really hard to follow. At times, it was easy to get into, and then it would abruptly change into something dull and tedious, and I'd feel compelled to skip past it. I noticed that the slow parts occured when nothing of value or interest occured, and things would just drag on. Until the second half of the book or so, when we get the perpective of Josef. It seemed as if Yolen had added in those unnecessary tidbits to lengthen her already short novel.
The writing itself is nothing impressive, was sometimes slow and unclear. It distracted me from the story sometimes, which is obviously not a good thing. It only started to get better--more fast-paced and intriguing-- when it started following from the perspective of osef, instead of Becca.
That being said, the characters were quite flat and annoying, except for Gemma, when she was still alove. The dialogue of all the other characters was frustrating and made me groan. I really disliked Becca, she seemed like the worst, most boring protagonist ever. I couldn't understand her thoughts most of the time, which was incredibly annoying.
I found the romance between her and Stan to be non-existant. It was disappointing, slow and lacked that special something, that spark that made it work. It just seemed like some boring, awkward friendship between two very awkward people who didn't want a relationship. When they finally kissed at the end, I was bored and unimpressed, taking no interest in the event due to the very poor build up of their relationship.
The only character that I found to be tolerable was Josef, during the second half of the book. It was also the time that the story started picking up, when I finally found myself unable to put the book down. When Josef tells Becca and Magda his story and his survival in Poland during the war, and the story of Gemma, Becca's grandmother, it was touching, and really played on my emotiions. It was then that I really started to care for this book and for the characters. That was one of the two things that redeemed this book for me.
The other redeeming quality was the story in itself. It is a really sweet Sleeping Beauty retelling. That, combined with the Holocaust made it a really strong and emotional story that really hit close to home. Both my parents are from Poland, so I know so many stories about the war. Holocaust stories are something very special to me, I just love them. Stories like Night by Elie Weisel and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak really make me emotionally attatched to them, simply because I understand them. I've had grandparents and uncles and parents and family friends tell me every memory of the war that they have.
So, that made it a really good book for me.
If the story hadn't have started so late in the book, and the other characters (especially Becca, the main character) then I would have given this novel a rating of 5. But alas, it doesn't get that.
I'd definitely reccomend this story. Slow or not, it is a brilliant retelling.
To start off with, the pacing of this story was really hard to follow. At times, it was easy to get into, and then it would abruptly change into something dull and tedious, and I'd feel compelled to skip past it. I noticed that the slow parts occured when nothing of value or interest occured, and things would just drag on. Until the second half of the book or so, when we get the perpective of Josef. It seemed as if Yolen had added in those unnecessary tidbits to lengthen her already short novel.
The writing itself is nothing impressive, was sometimes slow and unclear. It distracted me from the story sometimes, which is obviously not a good thing. It only started to get better--more fast-paced and intriguing-- when it started following from the perspective of osef, instead of Becca.
That being said, the characters were quite flat and annoying, except for Gemma, when she was still alove. The dialogue of all the other characters was frustrating and made me groan. I really disliked Becca, she seemed like the worst, most boring protagonist ever. I couldn't understand her thoughts most of the time, which was incredibly annoying.
I found the romance between her and Stan to be non-existant. It was disappointing, slow and lacked that special something, that spark that made it work. It just seemed like some boring, awkward friendship between two very awkward people who didn't want a relationship. When they finally kissed at the end, I was bored and unimpressed, taking no interest in the event due to the very poor build up of their relationship.
The only character that I found to be tolerable was Josef, during the second half of the book. It was also the time that the story started picking up, when I finally found myself unable to put the book down. When Josef tells Becca and Magda his story and his survival in Poland during the war, and the story of Gemma, Becca's grandmother, it was touching, and really played on my emotiions. It was then that I really started to care for this book and for the characters. That was one of the two things that redeemed this book for me.
The other redeeming quality was the story in itself. It is a really sweet Sleeping Beauty retelling. That, combined with the Holocaust made it a really strong and emotional story that really hit close to home. Both my parents are from Poland, so I know so many stories about the war. Holocaust stories are something very special to me, I just love them. Stories like Night by Elie Weisel and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak really make me emotionally attatched to them, simply because I understand them. I've had grandparents and uncles and parents and family friends tell me every memory of the war that they have.
So, that made it a really good book for me.
If the story hadn't have started so late in the book, and the other characters (especially Becca, the main character) then I would have given this novel a rating of 5. But alas, it doesn't get that.
I'd definitely reccomend this story. Slow or not, it is a brilliant retelling.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Becca's grandmother Gemma always claimed she was the princess of Sleeping Beauty, wakened from her cursed sleep by a prince's kiss, and on her deathbed makes Becca promise to find and awaken all those left sleeping in the castle after she left. Becca, a small-time journalist, starts to investigate her enigmatic grandmother's origins, tracing her to a small corner of Poland called Chelmno, and slowly pieces together a harrowing story of the Holocaust that eerily mirrors details from her favourite fairy tale.
Though Gemma's story did get me, I found I didn't much like the protagonist, Becca. She came across as a little passive and kind of prissy, the way she pussyfooted around her emotions and her boss (who I also didn't warm to, though I think he was meant to come across as lively and charming). The short afterword was good, though, especially that strong last paragraph.
Though Gemma's story did get me, I found I didn't much like the protagonist, Becca. She came across as a little passive and kind of prissy, the way she pussyfooted around her emotions and her boss (who I also didn't warm to, though I think he was meant to come across as lively and charming). The short afterword was good, though, especially that strong last paragraph.
I love fairy tales. I love it when an author twists and turns it in lots of wonderful ways. I love Jane Yolen. Her young peoples books are some of my favorites. Although this telling of Briar Rose is thoughtful and unique, it was not at all what I hoped for. As noted, I filed this book under "yet another war book." Yep. World War II. Not my favorite books at all, but I will read them when my book club makes me. This wasn't even a bookclub pick. So, for those of you who like war books and fairy tales, read this book. For those of you who just want a fairy tale, don't.
I don't know why I keep reading holocaust books, but this one sucked me in because it is a fairy tale, and it is by Jane Yolen. I liked the book, but I didn't necessarily enjoy reading it. It was well written and structured, and had some great moments, though.