![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
A well-told tale that starts gently with a fairy story that starts reaching into the past and gradually becomes a mystery story as Becca searches for the tale of her grandmother's early life.
Although we realise fairly early on that the story will link back to the Holocaust, it's still shocking to be reminded of the bare facts of the era. Yolen handles this well, making us feel the horror, but without giving you nightmares.
There's a careful understanding of human nature, both of the way the partisans dealt (or didn't deal) with their inability to make an impact, and also the inescapable fact that there were people who accepted and even approved of what was happening.
I like the way Yolen gives and ending that allows us to understand that a person can be happy even without the traditional 'happy ending'.
I'd definitely recommend this book, though I'm not sure that I'd want to read it twice - the story will linger in my mind for a long time.
Although we realise fairly early on that the story will link back to the Holocaust, it's still shocking to be reminded of the bare facts of the era. Yolen handles this well, making us feel the horror, but without giving you nightmares.
There's a careful understanding of human nature, both of the way the partisans dealt (or didn't deal) with their inability to make an impact, and also the inescapable fact that there were people who accepted and even approved of what was happening.
I like the way Yolen gives and ending that allows us to understand that a person can be happy even without the traditional 'happy ending'.
I'd definitely recommend this book, though I'm not sure that I'd want to read it twice - the story will linger in my mind for a long time.