Briar Rose (The Fairy Tale Series)

Important Message

When you look at the true fairy tales, they were often horrible and scary. The children's stories were often sanitized, friendly versions of much darker tales. Using that model, Jane Yolen has created a masterpiece of Holocaust literature. Very seldom does an author use the vehicle of a children's story to tell an important tale such as this. Yolen should be commended for having the courage to create characters we feel for. It also shows us that the Holocaust was not just a Jewish event, that other groups were murdered by Hitler's madmen. And that is why we must not forget. This novel goes a long way toward helping keep this message alive.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Amazing!

I read this book as an Honors English 10 student. A lot of people in my class didn't like it (so I don't know what their problem is) but it was a very good book, easy to read, and the story opens your eyes to a few of the horrors of the Holocaust. I know it isn't really a possibility, but I would love to read a sequel :)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Amazing!!

I absolutely loved this book. At first I wasn't sure because it seemed to little to contain much of a story, but I was very much wrong. The story really captivated what it was like during the Holcaust. It definetly made me want to find out more about the depressing subject. I would reccomend the book to anyone.

Excellent read!

I loved this book!! I would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially of the WWII era. I loved how she intwined the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty with the story. The story line was good--surprises are in store.

A beautiful retelling of a classic fairy tale

I first read this book in High School and could not put it down and now I remember why. It's a mix of history and fantasy blended together to form the mysterious past of a departed loved one. The subplots are ordinary and predictable but the storyline is quite beautiful and consuming.

An excellent read with a different perspective on WWII and the Nazis

This was a selection of my book club and we all really liked this book. It's a quick but good read and seems to be based on the actuality of life in WWII vis-a-vis the Nazis. It gave us a different perspective of the effect on Germany even years after the war. We'd all recommend this one.

Retold Fairytale Set Against the Backdrop of the Holocaust

In "Briar Rose", Jane Yolen retells the story of "Sleeping Beauty" with the Holocaust as its backdrop. The tale is at once heartbreaking and ultimately, heartwarming. The Prince is a most unusual hero, and many of us who are family historians and work with geneaology will identify with Rebecca's quest to discover the truth behind her grandmother's fairytale story of her early life.

Yay!

I loved this book! It was beautifully written and the story was just so cute and addicting. Good for fans of Holocaust literature and people just looking for a book thta will take them away. Just lovely. I absolutely loved it! The only part I would change was the unnecessary romance bewteen Gemma and Stan. This book was magical!

A reviewer

When I picked up this book I thought it was going to be just another fun retelling of on of my favorite fairy tales. In fact, it is a story told by a holocaust survivor, whose life mirrors that of the tale of Sleeping Beauty. This was a wonderfully written insight into concentration camps and the horrors that really happened. A must read!!!

Sadly, Very Disappointing

I happened upon this book one day and it made me really excited. I LOVE retold fairy tales and learning about the Holocaust. And here was a book that had both! The beginning started out a bit slow, but it was still enjoyable. I thought the whole 'first part' called Home, from Becca's perspective, was good. But once it got to Castle, I hated it. Oh my word, I had to force myself to read it because I hate not finishing books. The whole thing was just a load of nothing, especially the raids. They had absolutely nothing to with the story as a whole. And, in the end, Becca found out hardly anything about her grandmother. No, this book is not powerful, nor is it moving. In fact, I was deeply disappointed about this book. I've never read any of Yolen's work and now I probably won't.

I loved this book!!!!

This book is so wonderful I just loved it. it was enchanted and it made me wonder more it was just wonderful... Thank you for writing it and getting it published so that everyone could read it .. It's amazing!!!

Briar Rose

This is a powerful, moving story, i loved it.

Sleeping Beauty got a Wake up Call

I rate this book four and a half stars, but that is not an option. It was extremely gripping in the beginning, and then when the end drew nearer, it started to bore me a little bit, and the end disappointed me, leaving me with so much higher expectations, but I guess the point was to make a 'happily ever after' ending that was not a perfect one, and in that case the book was an outstanding mixture of fairytale and historic occurences.

How can you combine a fairy tale and the Holocaust?

I wondered that when I purchased this book, and the author successfully does just that. I couldn't put this book down, i read it in about two days. It is a quick read, says for ages 13 and up and I agree. If you are a history buff or love fairy tales, you will LOVE this book. I can't explain it...you have to read it yourself!

WOW!

This book (a fairy tale come to life) was so interesting and moving I couldn't put it down! Some parts of it are sad, especially during the holocaust, but it isn't too depressing for those who don't like depressing stories. This book kept you going right along with the main character, Becca, who is trying to find out about her grandmother's past. You won't be able to guess what Becca finds. I loved it!!

one of the few books I have ever enjoyed

This book was really interesting. It's about a young woman, Rebecca, who is determined to find out about her grandmother's past. And her only clues are the collection of papers and stuff in an old box found in her grandmother's wardrobe. After draining every last drop of information she can from the boxes contents, she goes to Poland to learn the rest of the story if she can. I loved the way the author portrayed the story of sleeping beauty in this book. I liked the feeling it gave me when I began to understand how Gemma, Rebecca's grandmother, really was Briar Rose. I think that whoever reads this book will really enjoy it, even though there are some more inappropiate parts that I, personally, would rather forget.

Absolutely Positively WONDERFUL!!!

This book was and still is wonderful, Its very impactful,it leaves you questioning...this is the side of the holocaust I'm happy was written about,its a fabulous book that I recommend for anyone

An in-dept holocaust novel

This book is quite interesting. I've always been intrigued by the holocaust and WW2, becuase my grandfather had faught in it. Briar Rose is an in-look sight at how horrible the holocaust was. This book caught me with it's creative cover and descriptive text. You'll love it if your a fan of historical fiction or Jane Yolen, as did I.

This is a great book!

Briar Rose is about this twenty-three year old woman who makes a promise to her dying grandmother, and is puzzled by her grandmother's last words.' I am Briar Rose...' Could this statement be connected to her grandmother's favorite fairy tale, Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty? Then Rebecca and her family find a mysterious box, hidden away for years, that belonged to her grandmother. The contents of the box make Rebecca wonder if her grandmother's dying words have truth in them... This novel is both dramatic, and historical as well, with a twist of suspense. I enjoyed this book very much, and I think that you will too.

Pretty good book

All while reading this I was thinking 'This would make for an interesting screenplay.' Perhaps I'll work on that sometime. As for the book itself, I kept wondering why this book was given the genre of 'Fantasy.' Jane Yolen does a good job, nonetheless, with this book. I'm guessing that it's aimed towards young adults and teens, so I suppose that's who I'd recommend it to... especially if you're interested in the holocaust and/or fairy tale retellings.