Although Gemma always identified strongly with Briar Rose, the sleeping princess, no one had thought it anything but a bedtime story. But when a mysterious box of clippings and photos turns up after Gemma's death, hinting that the accepted version of Gemma's origins is untrue, Becca begins tracing the real story, which bears striking resemblance's to Gemma's fairy tale. Becca then sets off on a journey to Europe to discover her grandm

I loved the detail that Yolen put into "Briar Rose". It felt like I was actually there, staring down at the mountain of bodies below. Smelling the putrid smell of week old rotting corpses. Sleeping in a trench covered with branches and leaves, with nine to thirteen other escapees, aching for a shower and food in my stomach. I felt for the poor, vulnerable prisoners who were forced to strip and roll in the freezing cold snow, while the drunken guards laughed and ridiculed them.

Now that I think about it, this is actually a great book for young adults to read. It teaches them a little about the holocaust and the terrible tragedies that had occurred. It even teaches them a bit about homosexuality. Though the gays were not treated very well i

Some common words found in the essay are:
Briar Rose, Jane Yolen, Jane Yolsen, briar rose, Sleeping Beauty, book adults,
Approximate Word count = 500
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)