Briar Rose in Around the World in 80 Books

Aug 16, 2010 Sera rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, library, hated-it, children-ya

Warning - A Few Spoilers Here and Some Quotes from the Book that May Offend You as Much as They Had Offended Me

Oy, what a mess this one was. What started out as an interesting premise of the tale of Sleeping Beauty and one woman's experience with the Holocaust quickly went downhill until spiraled out of control.

First, I don't think that Yolen knew whether to slant the book toward younger adults or mid- to older teens. What begins with a younger "did not, did too" tone then becomes peppered with Warning - A Few Spoilers Here and Some Quotes from the Book that May Offend You as Much as They Had Offended Me

Oy, what a mess this one was. What started out as an interesting premise of the tale of Sleeping Beauty and one woman's experience with the Holocaust quickly went downhill until spiraled out of control.

First, I don't think that Yolen knew whether to slant the book toward younger adults or mid- to older teens. What begins with a younger "did not, did too" tone then becomes peppered with foul language and creepy sexual comments.

Second, instead of sticking with a theme of tolerance, which would have worked here, she then begins to run amuck with what sounded to me like a gay slur. Then, she added phrases like "uterus like a teacup", "I don't have sex with women", and one character's comment that he had sex with his lover for the first time that included thrusting that was so rough that he was left bruised, thereby making him think to tell his lover to "be more gentle next time". Uh - gross! Not because the sex involved two males, that didn't bother me a bit, but Yolen took what was to be first love type story and turned into something rough and creepy. How this novel turned from a tale of a Holocaust survivor into a gay man's love story is beyond me.

Then, the worst quote of them all was "I'm a fag. I'm not gay, because there is nothing to be gay about." And then she uses that phrase too many times so that even if there was a message to it, it becomes devoid of any meaning.

At the end, the big secret is revealed and then one of characters asked whether the person who told of what happened was telling the truth - really? Then, Yolen has the characters discuss whether they should believe this person. Was she trying to tell the reader that maybe the tale of survivor's fate during the Holocaust might be construed as fairy tale? Is that the big Sleeping Beauty tie-in? Who knows and who cares. With the lack of respect that Yolen's treats her characters, she doesn't deserve having the reader give any second thought to this book.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless she wants to test her sensitivities. ...more

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Sep 02, 2008 MichelleCH rated it really liked it

This book was a page-turner for me. Although it was a bit unrealistic and the dialogue may have been awkward at times (as noted by other reviewers), I thought that it spun the tale of a horrifying Holocaust experience in a unusual and engaging way. I was able to suspend disbelief and enjoy the flow of the words; I also became attached to the story's characters. It did what a good book should - it made me, the reader, want to find out more. ...more

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Nov 16, 2020 Farhana Faruq rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

I liked this book and I didn't like this book. This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty but it takes place during the Holocaust. Ie: gas chambers equal sleeping. The idea is super creative, unique, and even the story was good. So overall it's a good novel. It's a teen novel.

I didn't like that it wasn't a fairy tale!! (LOL)..I was hoping to read one (I missed the part that says "A novel of the Holocaust" on the cover). There was something else I didn't like, but can't pin point what. Maybe the writ ...more

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Jun 03, 2011 mstan rated it it was ok

Shelves: american, for-young-adults-or-children, jewish, src-summer-2011, fairy-tale-rev

This was just meh. I thought it was poorly written, despite an interesting premise, and found the constant harping on the Sleeping Beauty story (against the backdrop of the Holocaust) grating rather than fitting.

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