I've owned this book for so long I have no memory of when I bought this. When I finally read it this week, I was amazed that I hadn't read it when it came out in 1992, because I was both the right age for it and exactly the sort of 12-year-old who would have read it. But I know I didn't, because this story would have stayed with me if I had.
Briar Rose is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale through the horrors of the Holocaust and the hope, however faint, found through survival. The main character is Becca, whose beloved grandmother dies and leaves behind the mystery of her past for her granddaughter to solve.
The writing and pacing and overall structure of this book is masterful. There is not a word or a moment out of place, the entire story rolling out with the sort of inevitability that reflects its meticulous crafting. The ending is beautiful and contains just the right amount of joy before the Author's Note smashes your heart in a way I can't recall any Author's Note ever having done before. It is a beautiful, haunting book. One I will not forget.
Grade: A
Briar Rose is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale through the horrors of the Holocaust and the hope, however faint, found through survival. The main character is Becca, whose beloved grandmother dies and leaves behind the mystery of her past for her granddaughter to solve.
The writing and pacing and overall structure of this book is masterful. There is not a word or a moment out of place, the entire story rolling out with the sort of inevitability that reflects its meticulous crafting. The ending is beautiful and contains just the right amount of joy before the Author's Note smashes your heart in a way I can't recall any Author's Note ever having done before. It is a beautiful, haunting book. One I will not forget.
Grade: A
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