In Jane Yolen’s retelling of the classic fairytale “Briar Rose,” we are not brought to a medieval castle surrounded by enchanted briars. Instead, we are brought to the brutal reality of the Holocaust.

The main character, Rebecca, is still reeling from the loss of her beloved grandmother, Gemma. Not ready to let go, she goes instead on a search to learn more about her grandmother’s past, starting with the story of Sleeping Beauty that she heard over and over as a child. Gemma’s last words before she died were, “I am Briar Rose.”

As a journalist, Rebecca follows the leads to trace her grandmother’s origins, which proves surprisingly difficult. Before her life as a grandmother, Gemma’s past is a mysterious blank.

All that is really known is that she survived the Holocaust and moved to America, but her name keeps changing. However, she has a nickname from that time: Ksiezniczka, a mouthful of a Polish word. It means “princess.”

Rebecca follows the clues all the way to Poland to find the remains of the extermination camp, Chelmno, and meets Josef, another survivor of the Holocaust, and friend of Gemma’s. For the remainder of the book, he tells his story of being a persecuted homosexual during the Holocaust, and how he met Gemma. We also learn the reason for Gemma’s story always ending with Briar Rose waking up alone in a castle full of the sleeping dead.

The mystery of Gemma is intriguing, although after a while, it is easy to get frustrated with all the clues that almost tell you but don’t. The heaviness of the Holocaust is prevalent throughout the book, and the solemnity of the event and respect for the victims keep you going, just so that you find out what happens.

When Josef tells of the Holocaust, it is difficult to read. Somber and bleak, it doesn’t pull punches and shows you an even darker part of history that you may have never wanted to know. While the story of Briar Rose is filled with horror and bleak reality, there is still a hopeful ending, just like all fairytales should have.