Briar Rose | Social Concerns

Briar Rose Social Concerns

In Briar Rose, Yolen tries to bring the reader to terms with the atrocities and consequences of the World War II Holocaust. She does so through a fairy tale and the modern-day character of Rebecca Berlin. Becca for short, seeks the true identity of her beloved immigrant Jewish grandmother, whom the Berlin children call Gemma. Becca's clues consist of Gemma's unique and sometimes frightening version of the only tale she would ever tell her grandchildren, "Sleeping Beauty in the Wood," also known as "Briar Rose."

The process of discovery leads Becca to the past horrors of a Nazi extermination camp in Poland and the anguish of those who now reside near its ruins.

Along with concerns about Jewish identity, the novel treats the general issue of fragmentation in families.

Becca's quest places her in conflict with two older sisters, who exhibit reluctance to visit...
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