Briar Rose: A Novel of the Holocaust (Fairy Tales)

The book, Briar Rose, by Jane Yolan is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone that can read. The book keeps you interested from the beginning to the end. I was surprised of how good of a book it was. I gained a great love for the book and the main character Becca. Becca is so intrigued by the fairy tale that her grandmother as a child. When her grandmother dies and says she is the princess from the story, Becca is determined to find out the truth. Her passion to find out the truth of her grandmother leads her all the way to Poland where she meets Josef Potocki. As you read when Josef tells Becca the tragic story of his past and her grandmother's past, you will become wrapped up in the story. The pain that Josef feels, you will feel as you read. The ending isn't happily ever after like I thought it was going to be. Becca did find out the truth of her grandmother, but she also had to learn about the horror that her grandmother went through. The book Briar Rose is an excellent book that ties the great fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, and the horror of the Holocaust into a great literary piece.

I grew up LOVING Sleeping Beauty. I mean, I would watch the movie absolutely, non-stop. This novel is perfect for anyone who loved the story when they where younger, but written in a more mature and solemn tone. The characters are good, strong, and believable, the plot keeps the reader at the edge of their seats. Not because it's suspenseful, but you can't help but wonder what Becca's going to find out next. I read this book in 2½ hours-- and enjoyed every minute in it.

This is a copy/paste from my Goodreads review.
Because we have to wait so long for the payoff: the true story of Sleeping Beauty with lots of unnecessary explicit homosexual agenda thrown in, I rate this story as just ok. My library copy had a Fantasy sticker on the spine but I would hardly call this Fantasy as it contains none of the necessary elements of that genre. It contains no magic, a fantastic object or character or even a time slip and themes of love and/or friendship are never fully developed. The female protagonist takes a trip to Europe in search of her family history with nothing but some old 1944 immigration papers and her deceased grandmother's retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty tale to guide her. She learns all the horrific details of the Holocaust that her grandmother was involved in as told to her by the only living survivor of the group, a gay man. In the end, we never learn exactly who this woman really was or where she came from only that she was rescued from becoming one of the 34,000 Polish souls murdered in that area by Hitler.
Due to the more mature themes of sex and murder as told in the flashback story, this book would not be appropriate for elementary grades. I find it hard to believe this is the same author that gave us The Devil's Arithmetic a children's book I recommend to anyone looking for a good story about WWII.
I'm going to try and forget I ever read this one.

I thought Briar Rose was as awesome and chilling story. This story is about a granddaughter who tries to uncover the lost memories of her recently deceased grandmother or Gemma. The only clues Becca has on her mystery are a box of old photographs, newspaper clippings, an old passport, and an entering visa. She also has the story of Briar Rose or Sleeping Beauty, which Gemma used to tell her, as she was growing up. Even with these clues, Becca still doesn't even know her grandmother's real name.
Becca and her whole family are Jewish and were somehow involved with World War II and Hitler's plan against the Jews. Becca looks through her clippings and sees that they were written by the Palladium Times in Oswego off the coast of Lake Ontario in the late 30's early 40's. The Editor of the Times sent Becca more newspaper clippings and the information that there was a war refuge shelter in America and that it was the only refuge shelter. Becca's own Editor, Stan became interested in the story and had recommended that he knew an old collage friend who happened to have lived near Oswego.
Becca and Stan journeyed to Oswego where Stan's friend Sam had invited some of the local veterans over for dinner. That night when Becca passed around the photos, she discovered that Gemma had a nickname in one the camps. It was Ksiezniczka, which meant "Princess". When Becca and Stan drove back home the next day, Becca remembered that the veteran who recognized Gemma said that the camp that was shown in the picture was in Poland, a camp called Chelmno.
Becca traveled to Poland where she visited the town of Chelmno. No one in the town would speak to Becca except the priest in the town who had heard stories in confessions. The priest had given Becca the name of a resident in Poland who was involved in the Holocaust. When Becca met up with this stranger, she unveiled the truth of Gemma's excruciating prior.

"Briar Rose" is and interesting book based upon the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." The two major characters of the book are Becca and Gemma. Becca is Gemmas granddaughter. Gemma used to tell Becca and her two sisters a fairy tale almost every night. The same fairy tale over and over, but there was something special about this fairy tale. The way Gemma told it seemed so real to Becca. Unfortunately, Gemma dies early on in the book. On her deathbed she tells Becca that the fairy tale is true. Becca is not sure whether to believe her or not, thinking that maybe she is delirious. Becca decides to find out who her grandmother really was. She didn't know much about her and has to dig deep to find little bits and pieces. The book takes you through everything Becca finds out. The rest of the book deals with the holocaust and the awful things that happened there. Through the help of people she talks to, Becca finally finds out who her grandmother was. Gemma was sleeping beauty. I highly recommend this book!

If you are a seasoned reader of Holocaust related literature (fiction & non-fic) then you will more than likely leave unimpressed by this tale.

I read this book while in middle school (7th grade). As a 12 year old kid I had never read anything like this. It was the first book that ever made me cry besides "Don't Hurt Laura". It's a very moving tale and one that is wonderfully told.

I would suggest this to parents looking to spark an interest in reading in their kids. There's just enough fantasy to keep the kids interested and just enough realism to make them think!

I still own the same copy I had in 7th grade. I simply love this book!

I have read the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty but never like this. The story Briar Rose combines the fairy tale sleeping beauty with the worrifying story of the Holocaust. The grandmother in the story (Gemma), tells the story of sleeping beauty to her three grandchildren named Sylvia, Shanna, and Becca. When Gemma dies, Becca, youngest of the three, promises to her grandmother before she died that she would look for the sleeping beauty. Not really sure what her grandmother meant on her death bed, Becca goes in search of her grandmothers death in a camp in Poland. There Becca finds a man named Josef who tells Becca the story of her grandmothers trials and tribulations as a jewish person living back during the Holocaust. Becca realizes her roots and just what Gemma went through before she died. The author Jane Yolen did a great job twinning together such opposites. I learned a lot from this book and had a good time reading it. I would recommend this book to everyone.

I thought that the book Briar Rose was great. It was very realistic. I have to admit that at the beginning of the book, I was confused. But, you just have to keep reading. Then you will understand. My favorite part of the book was when Becca found out the entire story. All about how her grandma survived Chelmno, and how she met her husband in the woods, and how she got married in the woods. I also liked hearing parts of the fairy tail every other chapter or so. It gave me an understanding of what Becca and her two sisters's heard almost every day. Of coarse the book wouldn't be complete with out a relationship forming. It was great at the end how Becca and Stan finally got together at the end of the book. It helped make the story more complete. This book is a great of example of the holocaust and how it effected people. If you think about it, Becca and her family owe their existence to something that killed millions of people, because of something so small. If it never happened, Becca's grandma would have never been gassed, then she wouldn't have been thrown in the woods, then she wouldn't have met her future husband in the woods. Nothing would have happened. It's very ironic. They wouldn't be there. This is a great book. I recommend this book to everybody.

Briar Rose is a story related to Sleeping Beauty. The whole concept of this book is, a young woman by the name of Becca is very close to her Grandmother. Her Grandmother, also known as Gemma, always told her stories as she was growing up about a woman named briar rose. Gemma always told Becca that she was Briar Rose. Becca was the only one who believed her stories. The rest of the family believed Gemma to be crazy. After Gemma died, Becca finds a box with a rose carved into the top of it with old papers and documents inside of it. So Becca goes to Poland to learn everything she can about her grandmother and find out the truth.

This book was very moving, touching, and powerful. Briar Rose is a story of survivors and victims.The author, Jane Yolen, did a remarkable job of combining the horror of the Holocaust with the old myth of a fairy tale. The writing flowed beautifully from the past, with the telling of the tragedy in the concentration camps and Becca's childhood, to the present with the desparate search of Gemma's true story.
The vivid depictions Joseph Potocki gave of his struggle made one feel as if they suffered right along with him. When Potocki told Becca and Magda of how he and his companions found Gemma, the words jumped off the page. It appears that Becca's search for her grandmother's story came to a close after she spoke to Potocki. I thought that she would be excited about the news but it appears that it was bitter sweet. Briar Rose is a powerful book that is recommended.

Briar Rose is a story that intertwines the fairytale sleeping beauty and the unforgettable horrifying holocaust. The story begins with Becca Berlin and her sisters listening to her grandmother Gemma tell the fairytale sleeping beauty. As she enchants Becca with a story of castles, mist, and thorns, Becca soon realizes that there is more behind this story than Gemma actually told. Becca and her family realize this when Gemma insists that she is the princess. On Gemma's deathbed she extracts a promise from Becca that her past will be uncovered and the story will come true. Even though her sisters dismissed what Gemma said thinking she was senile, Becca was still compelled to find out exactly what her grandmother was talking about. A few pictures, newspaper clippings and entry forms, along with a man's ring are the only clues that Becca has to begin her journey. This journey will lead her to Poland were she will learn about the horrors of the holocaust.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very well worded and the author created suspense at the right time.

This book is very educational on the holocaust and what those people had to go through. I was tearing up in different parts when it was sad. It must have been awful how those people were treated just because of their religeon.

I would only recommend this book to people who are mature, as it is a bit "graphic" in some places. I really enjoyed it.

A fairy tale intertwined with the nightmares of the Holocaust, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen is a very inspiring novel. The story of Sleeping Beauty becomes the map of one girl's voyage to discover the past of her grandmother. Being unaware of what your family's real heritage is leaves you with an emptiness that won't be filled until finding the answers to all your questions.

In the book Briar Rose, Rebecca Berlin searches for the past of her dying grandmother. Rebecca is the main character and all throughout the book she's an idol; she's someone that everyone wishes they could be. She's loveable, honest, helping, and much more. She would stop her life to help somebody else and that's what makes her such a good person. I believe her determination is the strongest among her traits and I admire her for that. Refusing to give up no matter what, she travels long distances in search of who her grandmother was.

Rebecca's older sisters Sylvia and Shana don't believe that she can go through with all of this. It angered me that they don't support her at all, family is supposed to be there for you, and they weren't. They've had pure jealousy of the relationship that Rebecca had with their grandmother all along. however, she wont' let anything get in her way, not as long as curiosity is left racking at the back of her brain. Rebecca is convinced that the story of Sleeping Beauty that her grandmother alwyas told her ever since she can remember is a metaphor to her life before coming to America. "The prince sang, too, and as he added his voice to theirs it was as if he witnessed all their deaths in the thorns."

The only real possession that she has of her grandmother's is a little box with a man's ring and paperwork from her journey to America, as well as photos inside from around the time of 1945. One was a picture of her grandmother, in a sack-like dress, long red hair resting on her shoulders with a baby in her arms, looking beyond the overseer of the photo with empty eyes. The photow as taken at Chelmno, which was an extermination camp during the time of the holocaust. It made me wonder if her grandmother was one of the people who were tortured during that time. As things start to become clearer she realizes that everything in that box is a piece to the puzzle that she's trying to solve.

I have a lot of respect for Rebecca because she never gave up no matter how hard things god, no matter who didn't support her, and no matter what surprises were thrown at her. The book gave me little pieces of information at a time and remained a mystery. I loved the book's layout and how it kept me turning the pages. Unfortunately, toward the end of the book it started to drag and became boring. I was very disappointed that the author did what she did. It ruined the end of the book. Anyone who likes romance-mystery novels should read this book. This book has sorrow, jealousy, and love tied in with the characters, which makes it a good book besides for the fact that it gets slower at the end.

The present in the story and the flashbacks were very well written, but it was somewhat hard to understand how they both blended in together. The clues to finding how they blended together,were very hard to find. Everything else was very good though. It shows the reader that when you want to find anything, even if it's almost impossible to find,you'll find it if you don't lose hope and faith, and give-up.

Briar rose is Sleeping Beauty with a twist. Becca as the main character tries to find her grandmothers past, and the only thing that she knows is from a box of pictures and clippings, and the stories that Gemma would tell Becca and her sisters when they were young. When Becca was growing up her grandmother Gemma used to tell her stories very similar to Sleeping Beauty. When her grandmother died she had told Becca on her death bed that the fairy tale was true. This led Becca to Poland to research her past. No one ever knew the real Gemma, Becca was determined to find out who she was. Jane Yolen does a wonderful job of taking such a horrifying experience for many people and making it somewhat easy to swallow. Jane does a wonderful job of helping people understand what really went on in the concentration camps.
Even though this book was very touching in some areas and interesting, there was many times that I feel asleep reading it. The book started to drag in the middle chapters. They were trying to establish the plot but took a really long time. I would recommend this book though to others who want an easy read.

My friend bought this book for me, knowing I love fairy tales and the holocaust - and what's better but having them together in one book?! The story was very interesting and I had a hard time putting the book down, wanting to figure out Gemma's secrets. However, the style of writing wasn't very good - she tried too hard at being an adult writer and it wasn't a very good attempt. The sentences were choppy and her descriptions were not very descriptive. I totally liked the comparison between Sleeping Beauty and the Holocaust. But the coincedences weren't very good - Becca "just happened" to run into the guy who saved Gemma's life; she "just happened" to meet the guy who was in the picture with Gemma. I know it's a fairy tale, but in real life, that's a bit too far fetched. Overall, the story was good, but I didn't enjoy the writing style of the author.

Few faerie tales come true, so the fact that Jane Yolen winds reality and fantasy together creating a story that is hard to put down is, in itself, fascinating.
The book is never slow, it reads gently and keeps you turning the pages. The details of some of the Holocaust events are disturbing and moving.
Jane Yolen has taken a childhood tale and made it truly enchanting.

Do you like the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty? If you enjoy Sleeping Beauty, then you will like the book 'Briar Rose'. Jane Yolen not only connects Gemma, a young women who, was involved in the holocaust, to the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, but also tells the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty in the book. The story starts out when Rebecca Gemma's grandchild, begins the search about her grandmothers past. Rebecca finds out that her grandmother a Jewish woman was involved in the holocaust. Rebecca learns how her grandmother survived the holocaust, with help of two very different men and their relationship with her grandmother Gemma. Jane Yolen gives a very detailed look on how people where treated in concentration camps. 'Briar Rose' tells about deaths and survivors of the concentration camps, in a very detailed manner. I found this book very exciting with some twist, and I enjoyed how Jane Yolen related the story of Sleeping Beauty to that of 'Briar Rose'

Jane Yolen splendidly intertwines the classic tale of "Sleeping Beauty" with a tale from one of the most horrific times in history, the Holocaust. This book is intriguing from the begining to the end, continuously holding the reader's attention. Yolen gradually presents both the story and the fairy tale in a manner that is intriguing and suspenseful to the reader. This "Sleeping Beauty" type story is told with an enchanting twist of love, hate, heroism, and fear. Like all fairy tales, even this somewhat grim and surreal story has a happy ending. This story has such an air of truth and believability it is easy for the reader to forget it is only fiction. I found myself consumed in the book and not wanting the book to end. This is a captivating and moving tale for young adults and adults alike, and is well worth reading.

Jane Yolen certainly has a way with words. I loved the
suspense towards the end of the book. Josef was my favorite
character. I loved his mysterious way of ending the story.
I think that Briar Rose really shone a different, yet
beautiful light on the holocaust. I believe that everyone
will love this book as much as I have. Thanks Jane.

Jane Yolen's Briar Rose is a masterpiece of controlled prose. She allows her main charcter to meander as a sort of "offbeat" detective attempting to uncover the secret of her grandmother's early life. It is a holocaust story which illustrates that the gas chamber was neither the only, nor necessarily the most brutal, of the Nazi forms of execution, and it allows the reader to observe the festering process of silence becoming guilt then resentment. The story revisits Yolen's fascination with the fairy tale genre, and allows her to experiment with both allegory and metaphor. This is,however, not a book for academics. It is a powerful tale, easy to read and similarly easy to enjoy. I highly recommend this book to any who realise that the search for the past may reveal skeletons which do not dwell easily in cupboards.

the story of briar rose was extremly emotional and tramatising to me. the fact that so many people died and none of the naztis cared except that they were exterminated. as the girl serches for her grandmothers past she keeps refering to the story her grandmother told her and her sisters when she was younger. as the time goes on she finds out so much more than she asked for. Her grandmother was pulled from a pit of dead bodies and brought back to life by her grandfather. as time went on she learned that her grandmother was gassed and the after affects of the gas caused her to forgett wher she came form and who she was. so many people fought to stop the holocauste but never sussecded untill 1945. When her grandmother was pregnate she was sent to a refugee camp in the united states where she took on the name guien and lived in the land of the free.this is the best book i ever read.

This was a great book it tells about the holocaust in a way that touches the heart. Giving names and faces to people in tragity situations makes the story come to life. If you were to read a doucumentary on it, you wouldn't get the same feeling as if you put the people that went through it in a love situation. With the plot being a grandmother telling her grand-daughter of a love story much like sleeping beauty. When the grandmother dies she tells her stroy listner to "find the castle" and to "find the prince". when the grand-daughter goes to find this so called castle, she finds a tale so struck with love and emotion, yet also with tragity and hate.

BRIAR ROSE BY JANE YOLEN IS A GREAT FICTION STORY OF THE HOLOCAUST. IT STARTS WITH A YOUNG GIRL NAMED REBECCA BERLIN, WHO ALL HER LIFE SHE WAS TOLD THE FAIRTALE BRIAR ROSE,BY HER "GEMMA".
AS THE YEARS GO BY REBECCA AND HER TWO OLDER SISTERS ARE STILL ADDICTED TO THE STORY OF BRIAR ROSE, BUT AS THEY BECOME WOMEN REBECCA IS THE ONLY ONE WHO STAYS CLOSE TO HER GRANDMOTHER AND THE FAIRYTALE. AS HER GRANDMOTHER LAY ON HER DEATHBED, THE OLD WOMAN TELL REBECCA THAT SHE IS BRIAR ROSE AND MAKES REBECCA PROMISE THAT SHE WILL FIND HER CASTLE IN THE SLEEPING WOODS.
AFTER THAT REBECCA IS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT HER GRANDMOTHER'S PAST.SHE SETS OUT ON A JOURNEY TO FIND OUT EVERYTHING FROM THE DEATH CAMPS HER GRANDMOTHER WAS IN TO WHO HER GRANDFATHER IS. BERLIN TRAVELS ALL THE WAY TO POLAND AND ENDS UP FINDING HER GRANDMOTHER'S FRIEND "PRINCE" JOSEF POTOCKI. SHE FINDS OUT HER GRANDMOTHER'S PAINFUL STORY BUT IN THE END, ALL FAIRYTALES HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS.

This book is a beautiful tale of the classic sleeping beauty
set in a time and place that is very real and horrifing. Jane Yolen spins a touching twist, by using the Holocaust as
her setting. I suggest this book to everyone who ever heard
the tale of Sleeping Beautiful and everyone who ever knew the pain of the Holocaust.

BRIAR ROSE is the best . It kept me in suspense . It's more of a girl type book because most boy's wouldn't like to read about a girl trying to find about her grandma's past and where she was from and her real name. I give this book to thumbs up and recommend it to anyone who love books that keep you reading.

"Briar Rose" ia a well written, enchanting book. Yolen combined the famous fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty and the sad story of the Holocaust together into a moving narritive. Although all of the characters in this book are fictional, Yolen created such vivid descriptions of them you feel as if you know each individual personally. The book's only weakness was the description of Josef Potocki's experience of the Holocaust. This was probably the most important part of the book so Yolen could have elaborated more on his life. "Briar Rose" is a book I would reccomend to people from about seventh grade on up. It is a book younger children may not understand. Overall, I think "Briar Rose" is a book many young adults will love just as I did.

Briar Rose is very well worth the read. The story is beautiful, in its unexpected twists and turns.
The book makes you want to both cry and rejoyce at the same time.
Each character has their own background, and Josef's is amazing. Its a whole new point of view.
I recommend this book for all ages.

This is an incredible book. Once you pick this book up you will never ever put it down. This story haunts you at night and keeps you thinking about this story. It is nicely weaved into the story of the Holocaust. It is so interesting. You have to right it. TRUST ME. YOU WILL LOVE IT.

This is an incredible book. Once you pick this book up you will never ever put it down. This story haunts you at night and keeps you thinking about this story. It is nicely weaved into the story of the Holocaust. It is so interesting. You have to right it. TRUST ME. YOU WILL LOVE IT.

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen was an exciting book and normally kept me reading on to find out what would happen next. Some parts I skipped over, though because I didn't agree with the content. In the book, the character's grandmother leaves behind a box with old photos and papers that eventually end up telling her life story. She would always tell her version of the tale of Sleeping Beauty and no one would have ever realized she was actually telling her own tale of when she was taken to a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Her grandaughter takes a trip to Poland to unwind her past since she promised she would when her grandmother was on her deathbed, and plus, no one knew what her past was really like. I think the book was well-written and the author intwines the fairy tale nicely into the horror story of the Holocaust. I learned a lot reading this book and hope other readers enjoy it.

Once upon a time, everyone was worthy of acting how they wanted to act without fearing the grisly consequences. Once upon a time, people from different races, religions and ethnicity's could accept each other's differences and fully appreciate one another's companionship. Once upon a time, murder was taboo, not something that was rewarded fruitfully. Once upon a time...no longer exists.

A fairy tale, a good night story, a legend Rebecca Berlin's been told for as long as she can remember. A story Becca's grandmother Gemma told until her dying day was passed off as her way of showing love. But, is Sleeping Beauty a window into Gemma's horrendous, unknown, past?

Briar Rose is a delicate retelling of an elderly tale as well as a rare combination of Sleeping Beauty and a first hand account of the Holocaust. Vivid scenes keep you reading, but the gory truth makes this book a treasure. Jane Yolen paints a haunting novel that exposes the uncomfortable actuality of what once was.

No matter how bad the story can get, once upon a time always ends with happily ever after, always.

I would have to say Briar Rose was outstanding and exultant! The best thing about this outstanding book was with the twist of Beauty and the Beast! In my opine I would say during the begining was confessing but all the all the way through the book was very beautifully written! Also it was one of my favorite books. Trust me when you pick up Briar Rose you won't want to put it down! The reason why I loved this book so much is when Becca's grandmother dies and there is a question from the past and since she being the only girl to care she finds a secret about the Holocaust. Now if you liked what you just read you have to read this book and get into this story and find the magic in it!!

This book was exciting and it talked alot about the past and consitration camps. It described some things that they did at these camps while also telling a kind of Sleeping beuty story. I would recomend this book to anyone who is looking for a iteresting story.

Even better upon a second reading, there is a decided dearth of words to say about this book: lovingly sensate, yet flawless, jewel-like intertwining of a devastatingly beautiful Holocaust tale with a finely wrought retelling of a much beloved fairy tale; beautiful prose that could only have come from the enchanted pen of the entirely awesome Jane Yolen. A truly blessed reading pleasure.

BRIAR ROSE IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO LEARN ABOUT HISTORY. MANY FEELINGS ARE FELT BY THE READERS BECAUSE OF THE DESCRIPTIVE WORDS. I LOVE THIS BOOK AND HAVE READ IT TWICE, EACH TIME FEELING THE SAD FEELINGS ALL OVER AGAIN. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE, YOUNG AND OLD.

This book is truly great. Yes, the ending may be "told entirely by a third party", but how else could it have been told? If you read the book, there is no other way for Becca to have found out her grandmother's roots. I am wondering if the Kirkus reviewer even read the book. This book is so great. I am in awe of Ms. Yolen. She pulled off an extremely difficult task, intertwining the happy-go-lucky, fantasy story of Sleeping Beauty with the monstrous, bloody, horrific reality of World War II and the Nazi Holocaust. This book is masterfully done and I highly recommend it.

Outstanding novel! I'd recommend it for kids--boys, who will love the war scenes, and girls, who will love the romance--in 6th grade and above. If you're not so sure about reading another version of Sleeping Beauty, put aside your doubts, put away your video games and tv clicker and READ THIS BOOK! You won't be sorry!

While reading Coover's book, you might find yourself confused. This is only appropriate, as Coover wrote an existential masterpiece. The prince's efforts to penetrate the briar hedge lead him nowhere. Beauty dreams of a series of princes waking her, each worse than the last. They seek eachother because they seek the only concept they know will not melt away.

If you consider the phrase "someday my prince will come" sacrosanct, this is probably not a good one to read.

If you need a traditional narrative, this is probalby not a good one to read.

If you're looking for a read aloud for your children...perhaps try a different book.

Otherwise, enjoy.

This was one of the most unforgettable books I have ever read. It made a highly emotional impact on me. I was, quite literally, unable to put the book down, and when I was finished I cried for a long time. There is tragedy here, sheer, horrifying tragedy, and Patrica Wrede does an excellent job of condensing the horror and terror of the Holocaust into 200-odd pages. This is not for young children. It is a story that will stay in your mind and color facets of your life you never knew existed. I re-read many books again and again, but I will never read this one again. It is indelibly printed on my mind.

Usually, I think Yolen makes a much better editor than author. Her sense of prose is quite good, but often her books fail to enthrall.

In Briar Rose, however, she has written a masterpiece. The prose is gorgeous, the story compelling. I have higher standards for tragedy than for happy endings - tragedies need to be on the level of the Greek classics or Lear, and this book has the depth and sensitivity required.

This is not a light and fluffy fairy tale. It is a rich classic.

Again, Yolen has written another sure to be classic for all ages. Yolen's deep passion for people to learn the truth about the holocaust has sparked her imagination once more. The story seems to be s fiction story and grabs you by the scruff of the shirt and drags you in. The story line has immense emotion and symbolism. I would recommend this to anyone interested in hearing about "first hand accounts" of the holocaust or for people trying to find out about their heritage whether they were directly involved with the traumatic history or not. This is an excellent read that you will want to read time and time again!

Becca has always been caught by her grandmother’s interesting story of the fairy tale Briar Rose ever since she’s been little. The journey of the book Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, starts with Becca making a promise to her dying grandmother. Which then lead her to the promise of finding her family’s heritage. I believe that this book would be appreciated by adults who are interested in reading about the Holocaust. Although, learning about the Holocaust usually engages me. I happened not to be fond of this book.

To explain why I wasn’t hugely fond with reading this consists of the fact that as I read further the book started to become dull until right at the end. You could say it didn’t really appeal to me anymore. Many times I found that as reading on I would get confused with a couple of the characters names being ever so similar and sometimes the characters would start to be called something different. For instance, Becca’s sisters names our Shana and Sylvia which appear super similar and I couldn’t tell them apart. Another section of the book that popped out at me took place during imagery that I received from some parts about the Holocaust. I did not enjoy how vivid it came off and some of it would upset me at times.

Despite the fact that I was not fond of a lot of parts while reading this, I did appreciate the way the author would split up the fairy tale of Briar Rose. She would put pieces of it being told by the grandmother to Becca and her sisters when they were younger. The story would show up as a chapter about only two pages long every so often. Everytime that I saw a portion of the story being brought up it made me highly excited to read it because it would be like a little break.

Overall, I do not really suggest reading this book to other people because like I said I found Briar Rose to be confusing, dull, and felt that it wasted my time. In addition, I found it being really hard to read this in one sitting. For example, once I read the required pages for my book club I became thrilled to be able to put this book down. So in conclusion, I would not recommend people to read this book.

While the premise of this book is fascinating and the subject matter really important for history's sake, I just couldn't get beyond the author's stilted, forced writing style. Perhaps this is better for teens and young adults because it had the feel of that genre - and I think was actually written for that age group. The character development is shallow and the beginning premise - that this family is unaware of Gemma's background (and apparently 100% self-absorbed and incurious too!) isn't particularly plausible given the non-fiction I've read on the Holocaust and Eastern Europe.

The book generally gets good reviews so I'm sort of the cheese standing alone here - and enjoying an author's writing style is a personal preference- so I don't mean to be insulting to others who enjoyed this. I just didn't enjoy reading it and I was surprised by how I had to force myself to finish it - I thought I'd really enjoy Briar Rose. If you like this story and subject matter but want just ethereal and riveting prose, check out The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival; the writing is exquisite and the story knocks your socks off (caveat: probably for adults rather than teens though). For younger readers interested in this subject, I'd also recommend Number the Stars.

Two stars for Yolen creatively bringing to the a younger set a story one of the greatest crimes against humanity of the 20th century.

All right! Another Sleeping Beauty take . . . sort of. It wasn't a fairy tale; it was about a girl investigating her beloved grandmother's past. Very poignant and focused on the Holocaust survivors even as it mixed in elements of the famous story.

I kept falling asleep when I was reading this--and all I can remember now, its been a year. Is how weird I found it. It kept giving me weird ideas, that perhaps the author would have loved to seen Sleeping Beauty as a porno flick instead of a fairy tale.

Strange, strange book. Though it certainly has some unique ideas in it.

This is a really dark book, even if it is amazingly short.

I read this as part of a summer reading assignment. I read it while on a plane to a trip in Germany, where I did see some Holocaust stuff.

All of that aside, though, I thought this was a wonderful piece of work. It was heartbreaking, yet filled with hope. It was beautifully written. I would recommend it to anyone. Well worth my time.

This piece, presented beautifully but without a strong basis and plot, outlines a journey of a polish-origin female teen in her early twenties (23yo) discovering her roots.
The story does not contain enough strong-basis for any true conveyance of emotion and heartfelt sympathy for the characters as they were poorly developed and lacking in true realistic character.
With the insertions of picturesque descriptions and what-seems-to-be polish authenticity, the book failed to touch on some of the true aspects of the holocaust and the tragedies that took place.
I believe the author had a much more ambitious goal but lacked the emotional and psychological understanding of the true symbolism of the effects of war and the atrocities that were committed, therefore the result was deviated from it's true intensions. The book, became just another "fairy tale".
If you are looking for something that will truely enlighten you and change your life, a better alternative would be "All quiet on the western front" by Erich Maria Remarque, however if you are just after "girl discovering her family past" quasi-adventure book, this might be more suitable for you. But be warned, this book fails to shock, surprise or entertain, ironically everything that a book shouldn't be!

i thought this book was fantastic. I am studying it in english for my hsc and at the same time researching the holocaust in mdern history for the hsc, so this book has been a great help and because i knew the background of the holocaust, i found it very easy to relate the information to. I found it very difficult to put the book down once i had started it and loved it to the very last page. For anyone thinking of reading it, i suggest you do.

I heard of this story from the 8th grade language arts teacher at work. She thought it would be a good read from what she was told, so I read it to see if it would be appropriate for my 6th graders. The beginning was a little slow; the ending was horrific and will probably be too detailed to give to my kids to read. It is an interesting read because of the premise, but I think I have read better children's novels to describe the Holocaust.