Briar Rose

Author: Jane Yolen

Age: Early Teen to Adult

Genre Explanation:  I'm listing this one with Young Adult literature, but it really could fit into several catagories as you may be able to tell from my descriptions below.

Themes and topics for discussion: Holocaust, post-traumatic stress syndrome, journalism, prejudice

Summary: It's been awhile since I've read this one, so my summary is going to be a bit sketchy.  The protagonist, a small town reporter, is on a self-appointed assignment to find out the truth about what happened to her Jewish grandmother during World War II in Poland.  All she has to go on are pictures, a few documents, and the strange adaptation of Sleeping Beauty that her grandmother used to tell her.  What she discovers in her search is a legacy of prejudice and horror...and facts stranger than the fiction of fairy tale.

Review:  I really enjoyed reading this book.  Its is part detective novel, part fairy tale, and part Holocaust survivor story, beautifully told by a true master.  The thing that has stuck with me the longest is the reception the protagonist receives when she arrives in the town nearest the death camp her grandmother had been imprisioned in; rather than meeting with sympathetic assistence, the townspeople are openly hostile towards her, first as an outsider, but also as a Jew.  I'm truly appauled at the thought that such blatent anti-Semitism still exists in that part of the world and in others (including America).

A Christian Perspective: Although not written strictly from a Christian perspective, everyone can benefit from learning more about the Holocaust.  This novel presents  factual information in a fictional account--my favorite way to be exposed to knew ideas and information.  This would probably be a great way to introduce some ideas to younger students, followed with factual accounts such as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Four Perfect Pebbles and The Hiding Place.  Another good fictional account is The Devil's Arithmatic, which was also made into a movie not too long ago.