Rachel-Briar+Rose

= = = = == =**Briar Rose ** =

**Biography**
Jane Hyatt Yolen is the renown author of Briar Rose. She was the first born child of Will Hyatt Yolen and Isabel Berlin Yolen on the date of Fed. 11, 1939. She was born in New York City in Beth Isael Hospital and she had one sibling Steven Hyatt Yolen, who was three and a half years younger than she. The middle name Hyatt is handed down in this family because it use to be the last name of Will Yolen's cousin whom only had girls, so to keep the family name living on they used it as a middle name. Her father Will Yolen joined the army as a second lieutenant and was shipped out to England for World War II and came home a hero after being injured. Jane Yolen went on to marry David W. Stemple (9/2/62). He pasted in 2006 but not before giving Yolen her 3 children, all of which are now married, She is currently the proud Grandmother, or Nana of 6 grand children. She has wrote many other great science fiction books including [|Devil's Arithmetic]. [|learn more about Jane Yolen here!]

=PLOT SUMMERY =

Briar Rose is a captivating novel geared towards young adults. It is also the winner of the annual [|Mythopoeic society] [|fantasy award for adult literature] in 1993.This is a story based around a young women, Rebecca Berlin or Becca. Becca grew up listening to her grandmother's, Gitl Mandelstein's, (referred to as Gemma) bedtime stories. These stories where closely related to the age-old tale of Sleeping beauty. The tale had it all, the Castle, the Thorns, and the Mist. This was the only story Gemma would tell her three grandaughters. Many years later as the three granddaughters grew to be young adults Gemma came to be on her death bed. This is when Gemma's obsession with the tale grew to be a bit wild. She had started to claim she was the princess in the tale. Becca's sisters thought these claims to be nothing but an old woman's dying wish to leave a grand story in her name, but Becca had thought differently. After the dramatic promise Gemma forces Becca to make Becca finds herself believing, or wishing to believe, her grandmothers silly claims: "’Promise me you will find the castle. Promise me you will find the prince. Promise me you will find the maker of the spells‘" (Yolen 20). This promise will take Rebecca on an amazing, and eye-opening mission to find the truth behind the tale. After consulting with her good friend Stan, whom happens to be a journalist, together they find a few interesting historical facts behind the grand tale. Photos, newspaper clippings and entry forms, and a man's ring are among the few leads they have. Leads that bring Becca the ruins of the concentration camps in Poland. She finds herself at the Chelmno extermination camp, she learns the truth of how her Grandmother was sent to this camp. Finding her grandmothers hidden past as a Holocaust survivor. This book is an amazing tale that uses the beautiful story of sleeping beauty to unmask the horrors of the Holocaust. This novel has a very dark side to it, the is a quote that displays that: "’Five thousand corpses?’ Josef murmured, still not believing" (Yolen 149)


=**CRITICISM **=

Yolen's Briar Rose has been described as many things. These are all quotes about Yolen and her masterpiece: Briar Rose

"unflinching and Brutal honesty"

//"// A terrifically moving story of the Holocaust, one that finds hope and bravery behind the barbed wire and reminds us of love's power to heal even the most terribly and enduring wounds...Briar Rose takes on the timeless quality of a true myth, with its depiction of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the face of nearly incomprehensible evil." -- The Washington Post

"This is one of the series's most ambitious efforts, and only a writer as good as Yolen ( Sister Light, Sister Dark ) could bring it off. . . .Yolen has created an engrossing novel. She handles a difficult subject with finessein a book that should be required reading for anyone who is tempted to dismiss fantasy as a frivolous genre"--Publishers Weekly

"Surpassing feeling and resonance."--Analog

"Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, Yolen's novel is a compelling reminder of the Holocaust as well as a contemporary tale of secrets and romance."--Booklist

**TECHNIQUES**
Yolen used man different techniques in this book making it a very interesting read. one of those techniques is onomatopoeia : "...fear and anticipation so mingled with the woosh of the rocking seat being lifted, that the story was forgotten" (129) for those who do not know the technique of onomatopoeia it is a group of words like boom, swish, and the word Yolen used, woosh

Literary Information



This book is directed toward young adults. Briar Rose was published in 1992 and won the annual Mythopoeic society fantasy award for adult literature in 1993.

**Why you should read this book? **
This book is full of historical fact and fairy tale beauty. It is creatively woven into a tragic realistic tale that brings you on an extraordinary journey. A journey that takes you to Poland where you feel an overcoming dread of what has happened there. This book is an outstanding book for it's ability to really get into the story and into the characters mind. I recommend this book because it as an easy, quick, interesting read that pulls at your heart strings and brings you on a roller coaster ride of bittersweet memories of a horrifying past.

A Few of Jane Yolen's other books
Young Adult Novels ARMAGEDDON SUMMER tk CHILDREN OF THE WOLF THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC DRAGON'S BOY THE GIFT OF SARAH BARKER THE MAGIC THREE OF SOLATIA THE MERMAID'S THREE WISDOMS PIT DRAGON TRILOGY: DRAGON'S BLOOD HEART'S BLOOD A SENDING OF DRAGONS THE STONE SILENUS TRUST A CITY KID Novels BRIAR ROSE CARDS OF GRIEF ONE-ARMED QUEEN tk SISTER, LIGHT, SISTER DARK WHITE JENNA

=LINKS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT =

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[|FOR ALMOST FULL LIST OF JANE YOLENS WORKS]

[|OFFICIAL WEBSITE]

[|Blurbs, informationg, quotes]

QUOTE FROM THE BOOK :]

'Will you write the story?' 'If there is one.' 'Happy ending or no?' He was serious. She attempted a smile. 'Fairy tales always have a happy ending.' He leaned back in his chair. 'That depends.' 'On what?' 'On whether you are Rumplestiltskin'"