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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Holocaust violence including execution, gassing, and forced labor depicted in documentary detail
Language
Barely any
Period language; mild profanity
Sexual Content
Some
Sexual content related to the protagonist's survival at the camp; a gay man's identity is part of the story
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Holocaust survival and the psychological cost; atrocity depicted directly through survivor testimony
What this book is about
Rebecca's grandmother Gemma always told Sleeping Beauty as if it were her own story. When Gemma dies, she whispers "I am Briar Rose." Rebecca follows the clues to Poland and the Chełmno death camp, where she pieces together what really happened to Gemma in 1942. Yolen's YA/adult crossover novel embeds the Holocaust inside a fairy tale, using the two modes to illuminate each other.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Holocaust depicted including mass execution and gas chambers
Sexual assault implied in survival
Historical atrocity throughout
Reader Verification
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