Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Briar Rose

     Everyone knows of Briar Rose.  The Sleeping Beauty awoken by her true love's kiss.  In a way this book is a retelling of that classic story.  In a way it's a completely new story. And it's not a happy one.
     Becca's grandmother Gemma has told her and her sisters the story of Briar Rose over and over.  She always tells the story like it's her life.  Then when Becca is 23 her grandmother dies.  On her deathbed she makes Becca swear that she'll find her castle.  Becca promises and starts researching her grandmother's life.  The only problem is no one really knew Gemma.  Even her own daughter didn't know her real name.  But Becca keeps looking and digging deeper into the past and what she finds will take her to Poland, a place called Chelmno, and an elderly man with an important story.
     This book is by the author of The Devil's Arithmetic and it's another unconventional Holocaust story. It's an interesting look at a lesser known part of the Holocaust and it's definitely worth reading. (Plus there's a little bit of romance, who could resist?)