Briar and Rose and Jack

April 1, 2019
Sleeping Beauty meets Jack the Giant-Killer in this retelling. Lady Briar and Princess Rose are twins--but neither one knows this. When they were born--Rose with a flawless face and Briar with a protruding brow and drooping eyelid--the horrified king declared he could not raise such an ugly child as his heir. Briar, raised as the orphan of a minor noble, grows up best friends with Rose, though most other children and adults at court treat her with cruelty for her ugliness. Neither girl knows of the fairies who attended their christening and gave them a smattering of blessings, nor do they know of the wicked fairy who laid a curse that will take effect on their 16th birthday. As the girls grow, they become friends with Jack, a devastatingly poor villager. Together they form a secret society: the Giant Killers! The Giant Killers know that when they're big enough, they'll defeat the wicked giant who is always stealing their tiny kingdom's food and treasure, leaving the kingdom poor and the villagers starving. The two intertwined fairy tales, with white characters in a Christian, medieval Europe-esque setting, proceed as expected, complicated only by the presence of Briar. Both plotting and writing feel underdone, with arbitrary plot elements and character swings driving events. Though a pleasant tale of friendship, the melding of the two well-known stories enriches neither. (Fantasy. 9-11)

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May 13, 2019
This intelligently written fairy tale remix of “Sleeping Beauty” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” follows headstrong twins Rose and Briar from their births to their 16th birthday. When Briar, the kingdom’s rightful heir, is born with “a malformed face,” the king bestows the future crown upon beautiful Rose. Though a magical crone midwife intervenes to ensure that Briar is given a fair share of the fairies’ customary gifts, Rose becomes the darling of the castle. Briar, meanwhile, raised by the midwife, experiences cruelty but is gradually embraced by the villagers, especially a dauntless young peasant named Jack. Together, Briar, Rose, and Jack vow to kill the horrible Giant who terrorizes the kingdom demanding gold. There are no real surprises for those who know the two plots, but the sometimes-tumultuous friendship between Rose and Briar gives the story a sweet heart. Unfortunately, text by Coville (Ivy) stays true to many of the traditional—and stereotypical—representations common to fairy tales, particularly with its emphasis on female beauty and white characters. And though a man ends up saving the day, Coville does empower her princesses. Ages 10–12.

May 1, 2019

Gr 4-6-The well-known tales of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Jack and the Beanstalk" blend together in this ambitious retelling of a kingdom plagued by secrets and curses. In the kingdom of Wildwick, the queen gives birth to twin girls: Briar, born with a heavy brow, a drooping eyelid, and a crooked countenance, and Rose, fair-haired, blue-eyed, and graced with perfect "princess" looks. Ashamed of Briar's appearance, the king and queen agree to keep her birth a secret and declare Rose the heir to the throne. At the celebration of her birth, the familiar story of the fairies' blessings and the evil fairy's spindle curse plays out with one difference: Hilde, a midwife/nursemaid, practices her minor magical skills to switch the babies in the cradle but gets mixed up. The result is that Hilde doesn't know which baby the spindle curse landed on. Years pass, and Rose and Briar, who is presented as the orphaned child of a noble family, grow up together as best friends. Meanwhile, the kingdom is plagued by a giant, who demands money and food and destroys portions of the castle with every terrifying visit. The villagers are suffering and starving under the greedy king's giant tax, while the king keeps a secret stash of food and gold. Enter Jack, a village boy who befriends Briar and Rose on one of their adventures into the woods outside the castle. Horrified by the giant's destruction, the three friends, together with other village children, form a group dedicated to killing the giant. Despite an interesting premise and the irresistible mash-up of classic fairy tales, the narrative is marred by too much telling and not enough showing. Characters are never fully rendered, particularly Rose and Jack, making it hard to feel emotionally invested in the outcome. Many sections are unnecessary to the already overstuffed plot, which, along with the elevated vocabulary and tone, may frustrate younger readers. VERDICT While fairy tales are a consistent hit, this overlong and muddled one is a secondary purchase for most collections.-Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood Public Library, MA

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