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Briar and Rose and Jack
Sumptuous storytelling combines Sleeping Beauty with Jack and the Beanstalk in a magical exploration of prejudice, justice, and the meaning of true love.
Lady Briar is scorned for her appearance. Princess Rose is adored for her looks. Unbeknownst to them, one or both may bear a curse that only true love can break. But the girls have little time for curses anyway—along with their friend Jack, they are busy plotting the downfall of the evil giant who plagues their kingdom. But how can children succeed when the adults are afraid to even try? And what if the curse manifests? Whose love could be true enough to save the day?
Lady Briar is scorned for her appearance. Princess Rose is adored for her looks. Unbeknownst to them, one or both may bear a curse that only true love can break. But the girls have little time for curses anyway—along with their friend Jack, they are busy plotting the downfall of the evil giant who plagues their kingdom. But how can children succeed when the adults are afraid to even try? And what if the curse manifests? Whose love could be true enough to save the day?
360 pages, Hardcover
First published June 11, 2019
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286 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
June 2, 2019
A gorgeous and thoughtful retelling of Sleeping Beauty and Jack In the Beanstalk. Exploring themes like love, loyalty, prejudice and justice, this new middle grade novel should be popular with the fairytale set. It would make a delightful classroom read aloud.
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 24, 2019
Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville is a fairytale retelling that mashes up the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, and maybe even a few more. The tale is so classic and all encompassing that it reminded me of Snow White, Cinderella, and even a little bit of Frozen. If you have a favorite fairy tale, I'll bet yours is referenced in here, if not outright then in the spirit or moral lessons somewhere.
Briar and Rose are twins, but they don't even know it. Almost nobody does. Rose, the second born was the picture of perfection from the minute she arrived whereas Briar suffered a deformity of the face. Because of this issue of appearance, her parents made the shallow decision to pretend the girl was nothing more than a noble orphan of a neighboring kingdom that they so graciously took in.
Although the girls aren't aware they're sisters, this doesn't keep them from bonding and becoming the best of friends. It's hard not to feel for Briar who has a tormented upbringing. I spent most of the book eager for her to get some justice. When Jack comes into the picture the combination of characters really make the story.
I've never been a super fan of fairy tale retellings, but this was one of those beautiful books that made me feel young again as I read it. I'd recommend it to anyone who is young in years or just young at heart.
Briar and Rose are twins, but they don't even know it. Almost nobody does. Rose, the second born was the picture of perfection from the minute she arrived whereas Briar suffered a deformity of the face. Because of this issue of appearance, her parents made the shallow decision to pretend the girl was nothing more than a noble orphan of a neighboring kingdom that they so graciously took in.
Although the girls aren't aware they're sisters, this doesn't keep them from bonding and becoming the best of friends. It's hard not to feel for Briar who has a tormented upbringing. I spent most of the book eager for her to get some justice. When Jack comes into the picture the combination of characters really make the story.
I've never been a super fan of fairy tale retellings, but this was one of those beautiful books that made me feel young again as I read it. I'd recommend it to anyone who is young in years or just young at heart.
May 9, 2023
Lady Briar and Princess Rose are inseparable. Rose is the most beautiful girl in all the kingdom, while Briar is often made fun of for her appearance. Despite this, they love each other and have bigger problems to worry about – how to destroy an evil giant who is harming their kingdom. They make friends with Jack, a brave peasant boy, and together try to do what none of the adults are capable of – saving their kingdom and those they care about.
This book was a retelling of two classic fairytales: Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. The author included themes of love, loyalty, bullying, and prejudice in a way that added to the plot and the characters. There wasn’t much character depth or growth throughout the work. And unfortunately, the only things that made Rose and Briar special were magical gifts given to them by the fairies – the boys who loved them loved them because of these gifts. This was a little disappointing.
I would have loved to see the brunette be the beautiful character and the blonde be the plain girl. It would have been great for the author to break away from the blonde hair/blue eyes trope of “standard” beauty. I also would have loved to see a more interesting setting – there wasn’t much detail included in relation to this, except for some small moments dealing with magical music found in nature (which wasn’t explained very well). The author also chose to tell this story in the present tense using the third person, which didn’t feel like the right choice.
This work is written for children/young adults, but it felt like it was written more for an adult audience based off length/wordiness, vocabulary, and the detailed child abuse. Overall, it was an easy read and would likely be enjoyable for readers who like western fairytales.
This book was a retelling of two classic fairytales: Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. The author included themes of love, loyalty, bullying, and prejudice in a way that added to the plot and the characters. There wasn’t much character depth or growth throughout the work. And unfortunately, the only things that made Rose and Briar special were magical gifts given to them by the fairies – the boys who loved them loved them because of these gifts. This was a little disappointing.
I would have loved to see the brunette be the beautiful character and the blonde be the plain girl. It would have been great for the author to break away from the blonde hair/blue eyes trope of “standard” beauty. I also would have loved to see a more interesting setting – there wasn’t much detail included in relation to this, except for some small moments dealing with magical music found in nature (which wasn’t explained very well). The author also chose to tell this story in the present tense using the third person, which didn’t feel like the right choice.
This work is written for children/young adults, but it felt like it was written more for an adult audience based off length/wordiness, vocabulary, and the detailed child abuse. Overall, it was an easy read and would likely be enjoyable for readers who like western fairytales.
July 8, 2021
I’m biased when it comes to fairytales and it doesn’t take much for me to give a fairytale an above average rating of 4 or 5 stars. But I knew I would give this one 3 stars or fewer within the first couple chapters of this book. Why? Because I am SICK of the outdated trope that “blonde is beautiful and brunette is plain or ugly”. As soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis, I immediately thought, she better not make the brown haired girl the disfigured one, and guess what? She did lol!
This is an extremely outdated trope in every book genre but ESPECIALLY in fairytales, where the beautiful storybook princess is almost always blonde haired with blue eyes, and the brunette is plain (or in this case, disfigured and so horrible looking that people call her a monster when she runs through the village). Come on, haven’t we moved past the fact that blonde is the ultimate standard of beauty? God forbid we make the blonde girl the ugly disfigured one! 🙄
As soon as I saw that this author has chosen to follow the outdated, untrue, and problematic trope of beauty that blonde for some reason will always be the ultimate definition of beauty, I immediately soured towards this book. Like, way to make more than half of the population feel shitty by using this outdated and untrue trope? Also, I googled it just to see and surprise surprise, the author of this book just happens to be blonde too. Of course she is lmao.
This book wouldn’t have been offensive if the whole classic princess beauty=always blonde weren’t so overdone already. Like, you could’ve changed it and given other people a chance? Why is blonde always the beautiful one and the brunette is the plain or ugly one? Pissed and offended to be honest, that blonde is already so often used as the ultimate standard of beauty in older works of literature, yet this author chose to bring this outdated notion back for a recent fairytale. This would’ve been 4 stars if this book wasn’t so backwards. And if I weren’t extremely biased towards the fairytale genre this may have even gotten 2 stars. Just saying.
Shoutout to the author for feeding into the already overdone notion that brunette women are seen as less than and less beautiful than blondes! Thanks!
This is an extremely outdated trope in every book genre but ESPECIALLY in fairytales, where the beautiful storybook princess is almost always blonde haired with blue eyes, and the brunette is plain (or in this case, disfigured and so horrible looking that people call her a monster when she runs through the village). Come on, haven’t we moved past the fact that blonde is the ultimate standard of beauty? God forbid we make the blonde girl the ugly disfigured one! 🙄
As soon as I saw that this author has chosen to follow the outdated, untrue, and problematic trope of beauty that blonde for some reason will always be the ultimate definition of beauty, I immediately soured towards this book. Like, way to make more than half of the population feel shitty by using this outdated and untrue trope? Also, I googled it just to see and surprise surprise, the author of this book just happens to be blonde too. Of course she is lmao.
This book wouldn’t have been offensive if the whole classic princess beauty=always blonde weren’t so overdone already. Like, you could’ve changed it and given other people a chance? Why is blonde always the beautiful one and the brunette is the plain or ugly one? Pissed and offended to be honest, that blonde is already so often used as the ultimate standard of beauty in older works of literature, yet this author chose to bring this outdated notion back for a recent fairytale. This would’ve been 4 stars if this book wasn’t so backwards. And if I weren’t extremely biased towards the fairytale genre this may have even gotten 2 stars. Just saying.
Shoutout to the author for feeding into the already overdone notion that brunette women are seen as less than and less beautiful than blondes! Thanks!
April 24, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville was not what I expected. It was much better. When you pick up a middlegrade novel, I feel like you have certain developed expectations for how the novel is going to be, but Briar and Rose and Jack surprised me. A lot. And as much as I love the cover here, I don't quite think that it does itself justice. I feel as though it really leaves you with ideas about the book prior to reading it that just don't actually come true. Admittedly, this is entirely based on my own expectations about the novel, but at the end of the day the book I read was not the one I had pictured I would be reading and I'm actually pretty glad for it.
The first thing that surprised me about this book was not that it was written in present tense, but rather that the present tense itself didn't bother me in the slightest. I've always been rather against books that are written in present tense, so much so that I almost always rate them lower. And despite the fact that I've almost always found present tense massively annoying, I barely noticed it at all while reading this book. Next was the fact that this novel is middlegrade as there were a great many words that even I didn't know the definition of, let alone a young kid. The reading level is definitely more advanced for the age that it's written for.
The story follows the lives of twin sisters Briar and Rose from their birth, where Briar is immediately cast out and disowned at the urging of a vicious priest, to the time of their sixteenth birthday where the curse cast on the infant children for the slight of not having extended an invitation to the grey fairy. In a kingdom plagued by a selfish and angry giant who comes down from the mountain and regularly smashes a hole in the castle wall as he demands gold and destroys the homes of the peasants and a villainous bishop whispering lies to the king and the people while harboring an extra special hatred for young Briar, the two young Princesses grow up in a world with plenty of injustices.
Among them lies the injustice of poor Briar being disowned and mistreated. Both Briar and Rose have no knowledge of their relation, though they grow up exceedingly close. It is in this portion of the novel that I find the book was most difficult to read as there are unfortunate incidents in which Briar is described as being "beaten" by the bishop. This was the most uncomfortable portion of the book for me because, despite being about a fictional world in a time period where such treatments were unfortunately acceptable, it didn't sit well with me.
But overall, the story was thoroughly engaging and the characters were wonderful in so many ways. I found myself invested in their stories almost instantly, eager to learn where the story was going and how the problems would all be solved. The girls end up forming a secret Giant Killers club with a young boy called Jack whom they meet on an adventure into the woods. This club slowly branches out to include some of the nobles' children who live in the palace and a great many of the young kids from the village outside the castle and the rest of the kingdom.
I've always loved retellings and I found it especially fun to read this one, a mix of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk blended more beautifully than I could have imagined up on my own. I was thoroughly pleased and impressed with the ending, to the point that I definitely want to get a physical copy of this one as soon as I can. Seeing as it won't be out until around the summer of next year, that'll probably be a while. Briar and Jack and Rose is definitely a book to have on your radar, just keep in mind if you're giving this to a young reader that they might not know all the words.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville was not what I expected. It was much better. When you pick up a middlegrade novel, I feel like you have certain developed expectations for how the novel is going to be, but Briar and Rose and Jack surprised me. A lot. And as much as I love the cover here, I don't quite think that it does itself justice. I feel as though it really leaves you with ideas about the book prior to reading it that just don't actually come true. Admittedly, this is entirely based on my own expectations about the novel, but at the end of the day the book I read was not the one I had pictured I would be reading and I'm actually pretty glad for it.
The first thing that surprised me about this book was not that it was written in present tense, but rather that the present tense itself didn't bother me in the slightest. I've always been rather against books that are written in present tense, so much so that I almost always rate them lower. And despite the fact that I've almost always found present tense massively annoying, I barely noticed it at all while reading this book. Next was the fact that this novel is middlegrade as there were a great many words that even I didn't know the definition of, let alone a young kid. The reading level is definitely more advanced for the age that it's written for.
The story follows the lives of twin sisters Briar and Rose from their birth, where Briar is immediately cast out and disowned at the urging of a vicious priest, to the time of their sixteenth birthday where the curse cast on the infant children for the slight of not having extended an invitation to the grey fairy. In a kingdom plagued by a selfish and angry giant who comes down from the mountain and regularly smashes a hole in the castle wall as he demands gold and destroys the homes of the peasants and a villainous bishop whispering lies to the king and the people while harboring an extra special hatred for young Briar, the two young Princesses grow up in a world with plenty of injustices.
Among them lies the injustice of poor Briar being disowned and mistreated. Both Briar and Rose have no knowledge of their relation, though they grow up exceedingly close. It is in this portion of the novel that I find the book was most difficult to read as there are unfortunate incidents in which Briar is described as being "beaten" by the bishop. This was the most uncomfortable portion of the book for me because, despite being about a fictional world in a time period where such treatments were unfortunately acceptable, it didn't sit well with me.
But overall, the story was thoroughly engaging and the characters were wonderful in so many ways. I found myself invested in their stories almost instantly, eager to learn where the story was going and how the problems would all be solved. The girls end up forming a secret Giant Killers club with a young boy called Jack whom they meet on an adventure into the woods. This club slowly branches out to include some of the nobles' children who live in the palace and a great many of the young kids from the village outside the castle and the rest of the kingdom.
I've always loved retellings and I found it especially fun to read this one, a mix of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk blended more beautifully than I could have imagined up on my own. I was thoroughly pleased and impressed with the ending, to the point that I definitely want to get a physical copy of this one as soon as I can. Seeing as it won't be out until around the summer of next year, that'll probably be a while. Briar and Jack and Rose is definitely a book to have on your radar, just keep in mind if you're giving this to a young reader that they might not know all the words.
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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March 1, 2019
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5
I have to admit it ... I love modern re-tellings of fairy tales and fairy tale mash-ups! This book, Briar and Rose and Jack, fits the latter as author Katherine Coville combines the classic fairy tales of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rose Red, and Jack and the Beanstalk (and maybe a little Jack and the Giant Killer?)(note that we're talking of the classic stories and not the Disneyfied versions).
Briar and Rose are twin sisters but almost immediately after birth, Briar, the first-born by a matter of minutes, is whisked away and neither will know their true relationship for many years. A witch places a curse on the heir to the kingdom, that she shall prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep only to be awakened by true love's kiss. But will that curse fall on Rose, the girl everyone believes to be the heir, or Briar, the true heir?
As the girls grow older, Briar is not considered to be very pretty and is in fact scorned for her looks, while Rose is practically revered simply because she looks so pretty. But the girls don't care or pay much attention to what others think ... they are busy trying to protect the kingdom from the an evil giant who terrorizes the land. Along with Jack, a friend from the town, they set out to do what none of the adults have been able to do ... defeat the giant.
Katherine Coville has managed to do something quite extraordinary with this story ... not only has she combined a couple of classic fairy tales into a cohesive, exciting story, she has retained a great deal of the strength of the original stories while making them relevant and readable to today's audience. This is no small feat!
There are some really important lessons to be learned here (perhaps most importantly, the lesson of image/appearance and what makes a person truly great) and Coville mostly includes these lessons so casually that the reader isn't likely to know that they are learning something. There is one moment that I noted as a really nice teaching moment ... how to make paint ... and it works well in the book and most children reading it will find it to be a new discovery, but I did see it as an intentional teaching moment rather than a natural part of the story.
Though I admit that I like fairy tale re-tellings, I'd also have to say that I liked this book much more than I expected. It's got so much heart and depth and honesty that it goes well beyond a simple fairy tale.
Looking for a good book? Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville is a fantastic fairy tale mashup with a whole lot of heart that should be on every child's bookshelf.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit it ... I love modern re-tellings of fairy tales and fairy tale mash-ups! This book, Briar and Rose and Jack, fits the latter as author Katherine Coville combines the classic fairy tales of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rose Red, and Jack and the Beanstalk (and maybe a little Jack and the Giant Killer?)(note that we're talking of the classic stories and not the Disneyfied versions).
Briar and Rose are twin sisters but almost immediately after birth, Briar, the first-born by a matter of minutes, is whisked away and neither will know their true relationship for many years. A witch places a curse on the heir to the kingdom, that she shall prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep only to be awakened by true love's kiss. But will that curse fall on Rose, the girl everyone believes to be the heir, or Briar, the true heir?
As the girls grow older, Briar is not considered to be very pretty and is in fact scorned for her looks, while Rose is practically revered simply because she looks so pretty. But the girls don't care or pay much attention to what others think ... they are busy trying to protect the kingdom from the an evil giant who terrorizes the land. Along with Jack, a friend from the town, they set out to do what none of the adults have been able to do ... defeat the giant.
Katherine Coville has managed to do something quite extraordinary with this story ... not only has she combined a couple of classic fairy tales into a cohesive, exciting story, she has retained a great deal of the strength of the original stories while making them relevant and readable to today's audience. This is no small feat!
There are some really important lessons to be learned here (perhaps most importantly, the lesson of image/appearance and what makes a person truly great) and Coville mostly includes these lessons so casually that the reader isn't likely to know that they are learning something. There is one moment that I noted as a really nice teaching moment ... how to make paint ... and it works well in the book and most children reading it will find it to be a new discovery, but I did see it as an intentional teaching moment rather than a natural part of the story.
Though I admit that I like fairy tale re-tellings, I'd also have to say that I liked this book much more than I expected. It's got so much heart and depth and honesty that it goes well beyond a simple fairy tale.
Looking for a good book? Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville is a fantastic fairy tale mashup with a whole lot of heart that should be on every child's bookshelf.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
did-not-finish
April 6, 2020*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
DNF @ 6%
I pretty much read the prologue and realized this wouldn't be the one to me. It felt slower and wordy. I'm over the whole being ugly = being evil in Middle Grade novels -- even if this is discounted later. I'm also not the biggest fan of sleeping beauty so I'm not sure why I requested this one in the first place.
I see how so moments could be funny for young ones, so I would still recommend this to people who like retellings.
So, because I didn't read much, I won't be rating it.
DNF @ 6%
I pretty much read the prologue and realized this wouldn't be the one to me. It felt slower and wordy. I'm over the whole being ugly = being evil in Middle Grade novels -- even if this is discounted later. I'm also not the biggest fan of sleeping beauty so I'm not sure why I requested this one in the first place.
I see how so moments could be funny for young ones, so I would still recommend this to people who like retellings.
So, because I didn't read much, I won't be rating it.
Want to read
December 31, 2020Christmas gift (from Nana and Grandad) from 2020
October 1, 2024
Cute book! Loved the whimsical aspect and both story’s worked really well together. Just a little slow in the beginning.
March 5, 2019
I am reviewing this book for School Library Connection.
April 5, 2019
I received an electronic ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group through NetGalley.
2.5 stars
Coville creates a mix of two fairy tales - Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. She adds some original characters including a twin for Briar named Rose. One is absolutely beautiful; one is not. Through a convoluted journey they resolve both tales by slaying the giant and waking both princesses with kisses.
I like the premise and wanted to like the book more than I did. The pace is extremely slow for the first half. Some of the details could have been shortened or omitted without affecting the plot. The pace picks up toward the end and the final actions resolve quickly.
The constant abuse of one of the characters is definitely part of the fairy tale genre but was overdone. Most of the characters are not likeable and are distinctly one dimensional.
I question whether the intended audience will read the entire book though I appreciate that the vocabulary will challenge them.
2.5 stars
Coville creates a mix of two fairy tales - Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. She adds some original characters including a twin for Briar named Rose. One is absolutely beautiful; one is not. Through a convoluted journey they resolve both tales by slaying the giant and waking both princesses with kisses.
I like the premise and wanted to like the book more than I did. The pace is extremely slow for the first half. Some of the details could have been shortened or omitted without affecting the plot. The pace picks up toward the end and the final actions resolve quickly.
The constant abuse of one of the characters is definitely part of the fairy tale genre but was overdone. Most of the characters are not likeable and are distinctly one dimensional.
I question whether the intended audience will read the entire book though I appreciate that the vocabulary will challenge them.
January 22, 2019
Briar and Rose and Jack is a mangled retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast? Briar and Rose are twins, but Briar is ugly and Rose is beautiful. (One thing that bothered me is how it opens up with their mother, the queen focused on "creating something beautiful" by giving birth. NO.) Their parents decide that they can't let it out that they had an ugly baby so announce that Rose is the heir and Briar is a ward. This is really gross. They spend Briar's entire childhood ignoring her and letting her be abused by the rest of the kingdom. She is beaten by the bishop and the king's response is that she needs to not attract his attention. The only love she gets is from Rose, the kennel dogs and her fairy godmother. The only thing that makes Briar special is the gifts her fairy godmother finagled for her (by switching her with Rose during the Sleeping Beauty fairy scene). (Of course, the only thing that makes Rose special is that she's pretty soooo....)
The story is also told in third person present tense, which was not a good fit at all. Katherine Coville uses awkward language that is stilted and the vocab is way out of place for a middle grade book. Phrases that would fit in a high school textbook appear sprinkled throughout what is supposed to be a fun fantasy.
I did like the premise, and the team of children who band together to problem solve an issue that the adults seem to be ignoring, but it was not well executed.
The story is also told in third person present tense, which was not a good fit at all. Katherine Coville uses awkward language that is stilted and the vocab is way out of place for a middle grade book. Phrases that would fit in a high school textbook appear sprinkled throughout what is supposed to be a fun fantasy.
I did like the premise, and the team of children who band together to problem solve an issue that the adults seem to be ignoring, but it was not well executed.
August 15, 2020
Didn't finish for various reasons. 1. The main characters were 9 (at the beginning) and the voice/vocab was way too old for the average 9-year-old. Also the tenses were off. 2. I'm too busy, at the moment, to read another story about reigion being evil or someone who is "ugly like me." I don't necessarily want Twilight either... I guess I'm just hard to please. Perhaps I will return to it but I'm just over- supplied with more interesting things right now.
March 2, 2019
I have to be honest, I didn't finish reading this retelling.
I wanted to give it a good try so that I could give it an honest review, hoping that it started to make sense or started to be entertaining but I ultimately gave up on it.
I feel as though maybe a first-person narrative may have made this more entertaining to read? The vocabulary level was very high for the intended audience in my opinion, the book in general was just incredibly wordy and lengthy when it didn't need to be as if the author was trying to reach a word count.
I will say there is a lot of potential for this to be a good retelling/mash up but as it stood it seems more of a flop :/
I wanted to give it a good try so that I could give it an honest review, hoping that it started to make sense or started to be entertaining but I ultimately gave up on it.
I feel as though maybe a first-person narrative may have made this more entertaining to read? The vocabulary level was very high for the intended audience in my opinion, the book in general was just incredibly wordy and lengthy when it didn't need to be as if the author was trying to reach a word count.
I will say there is a lot of potential for this to be a good retelling/mash up but as it stood it seems more of a flop :/
Read
November 25, 2018DNF at 27%. There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, it just wasn't what I was looking for (I originally thought it might be f/f but Briar and Rose are twin sisters). I love MG fairy tales but this is definitely the younger end of the spectrum- the characters are 9 years old. I also didn't care for the tense of the writing, third person present. It felt awkward to me. But the characters were charming and got up to lots of mischief and adventures, so I think young readers will enjoy this.
January 2, 2020
I was really rooting for this one. A re-telling and a mash-up of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and and the Beanstalk sounded so good. Unfortunately, the story never quite comes together and I felt it drug on too long.
I am also doubtful it is a good fit for the middle grade audience. The vocabulary seems a bit high for the grade level, plus the length of the book and ages of the M.C.s (they are about 9 when the story starts and 16 at the end) seems to speak toward a higher reading level.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I am also doubtful it is a good fit for the middle grade audience. The vocabulary seems a bit high for the grade level, plus the length of the book and ages of the M.C.s (they are about 9 when the story starts and 16 at the end) seems to speak toward a higher reading level.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
December 25, 2018
I don't think this is going to go over well with the intended audience. It starts out too slow, the vocabulary is way too high for the audience, and personally, I couldn't wait to be finished reading. Not in a 'it's so good, I can't stop', but in a 'is this ever going to end' sort of way. The story was interesting, but not told in an appealing way.
June 6, 2020
The King and Queen are delighted to welcome a child into the world, but the birth does not go as expected. The first daughter born, Briar, is disfigured and they listen to the twisted logic of the bishop that the child's face is a sign of her heart and should not be acknowledged, so the second born, Rose is the one presented to the populace as the heir. She is beautiful and charming from birth. Briar is said to be a noble born orphan the King and Queen have taken in. On the day of their christening, Briar's caretaker decides that Rose shouldn't get all of the fairies blessings, so she switches the girls magically mid-blessings. Just as she is switching them back, the grey fairy, bitter at not being invited, curses the child to die by pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. Only Hilde is aware that it isn't clear which child was cursed. Spinning wheels are banned, the secret of Briar's birth is guarded with punishment by death to any who spill it, and the girls are raised together in the castle. Despite their different appearances and treatment, the girls are best friends growing up. They also befriend, Jack, a peasant boy in one of their adventures outside the castle walls. The kingdom is cursed with a yearly visit of a giant who bullies them into giving vast amounts of food and gold to him. As the years go by, the kingdom gets poorer and poorer due to the Giant Tax to meet the demands of the massive bully. The king, however, secretly keeps his own stash of food and gold he never gives to the giant. So though the peasants are scraping by, the King remains comfortable. The Grey fairy is biding her time, waiting for her revenge. Briar, Rose, and Jack form a little club as children to kill the giant. They plot and plan over the years, but what can children do against a giant?
Basically, this is a mashup of Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack the Giant Killer. It's a little hard to summarize the first half of this book. Katherine Coville spends a good 2/3 of the book building the characters over several time periods. We see how Briar and Rose are treated differently, just because of Briar's looks. And how that shapes each of them and their friendship. There are also other gentry children in the castle, some of whom are jealous of Briar's close friendship with the princess. And the bishop who serves the castle is a nasty piece of work. (Though I really appreciate that Coville did a great job of distinguishing that that specific man was twisted and not necessarily the church.) Readers also get to see how Briar comes to develop relationships with the peasants, while Rose is falling in love with the royal painter's apprentice (even though that's pretty hopeless since she's obviously going to be married off to some wealthy king to help out the financial situation of her kingdom). It all builds up to a huge climax on the eve of the girls' 16th birthday that mixes the ultimate confrontation with the giant and the fairy's curse and the secrets the kingdom has been keeping. Mixing the two Jack fairy tales and Sleeping Beauty might not have seemed the most natural fairytale mashup, but Coville made it work very well. I really liked the ending and the messages about how to respond to unkindness, the dangers of bitterness, judging by outward appearance alone, the freedom truth gives, and the healing love can bring. Recommended to middle grade readers who love fairy tale rewrites and character driven stories.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a few little kisses. Deaths from the giant's visits are mentioned but not gorily described. There's a few skirmishes where it is mentioned someone is injured, but injuries aren't described in any detail.
Basically, this is a mashup of Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack the Giant Killer. It's a little hard to summarize the first half of this book. Katherine Coville spends a good 2/3 of the book building the characters over several time periods. We see how Briar and Rose are treated differently, just because of Briar's looks. And how that shapes each of them and their friendship. There are also other gentry children in the castle, some of whom are jealous of Briar's close friendship with the princess. And the bishop who serves the castle is a nasty piece of work. (Though I really appreciate that Coville did a great job of distinguishing that that specific man was twisted and not necessarily the church.) Readers also get to see how Briar comes to develop relationships with the peasants, while Rose is falling in love with the royal painter's apprentice (even though that's pretty hopeless since she's obviously going to be married off to some wealthy king to help out the financial situation of her kingdom). It all builds up to a huge climax on the eve of the girls' 16th birthday that mixes the ultimate confrontation with the giant and the fairy's curse and the secrets the kingdom has been keeping. Mixing the two Jack fairy tales and Sleeping Beauty might not have seemed the most natural fairytale mashup, but Coville made it work very well. I really liked the ending and the messages about how to respond to unkindness, the dangers of bitterness, judging by outward appearance alone, the freedom truth gives, and the healing love can bring. Recommended to middle grade readers who love fairy tale rewrites and character driven stories.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a few little kisses. Deaths from the giant's visits are mentioned but not gorily described. There's a few skirmishes where it is mentioned someone is injured, but injuries aren't described in any detail.
May 3, 2019
"Briar and Rose and Jack" is a tween or YA fantasy novel that combines and re-tells the classic fairy tales of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. The story is told in present tense (not my favorite, but at least it was done well) and was told in 3 parts. The story started at the twin's birth (one born ugly and the other beautiful) and the celebration where the fairies gave magical gifts and the Sleeping Beauty curse to the babies.
The next part showed the children at 9 years old, when they meet Jack and form a Giant Killer club. Because someone has to do something about the giant, even if they can't do anything yet. I'd expected the princesses and Jack to actually learn skills needed to kill a giant, but they apparently hope that just getting older will be enough. Much of this part was intended to show how the ugly sister was abused by almost everyone except her (unknown to them) lovely twin sister.
The last part was when the sixteenth birthday approached. Jack finally acted to kill the giant, with a little help from Briar and the village children. Jack's a courageous and caring young man. Briar and Rose fight badly and are no longer the best of friends when Rose faces her fate. Briar's also a brave, smart, and caring young woman despite how she's been treated. I cared about what happened to Jack and Briar. Most of the characters were fairly one dimensional. The bishop, the giant, and the grey fairy hated, hated, hated everyone to the point they relished destroying innocent lives, but we don't really know why. They were just there to cause problems.
Overall, I enjoyed the tale, but there were hints of an even better story that just never materialized. Like the 9 year old princesses saying they're afraid, but maybe they could work at being brave at small things until they're ready to be brave at big things and....nothing is ever developed from that. Also, the author used enough "big words" that it seemed written for an audience older than I think this tale would most appeal to. There was no sex or bad language. Obviously, there was a little kissing.
I received an ARC review copy of this book from the publisher through Amazon Vine.
The next part showed the children at 9 years old, when they meet Jack and form a Giant Killer club. Because someone has to do something about the giant, even if they can't do anything yet. I'd expected the princesses and Jack to actually learn skills needed to kill a giant, but they apparently hope that just getting older will be enough. Much of this part was intended to show how the ugly sister was abused by almost everyone except her (unknown to them) lovely twin sister.
The last part was when the sixteenth birthday approached. Jack finally acted to kill the giant, with a little help from Briar and the village children. Jack's a courageous and caring young man. Briar and Rose fight badly and are no longer the best of friends when Rose faces her fate. Briar's also a brave, smart, and caring young woman despite how she's been treated. I cared about what happened to Jack and Briar. Most of the characters were fairly one dimensional. The bishop, the giant, and the grey fairy hated, hated, hated everyone to the point they relished destroying innocent lives, but we don't really know why. They were just there to cause problems.
Overall, I enjoyed the tale, but there were hints of an even better story that just never materialized. Like the 9 year old princesses saying they're afraid, but maybe they could work at being brave at small things until they're ready to be brave at big things and....nothing is ever developed from that. Also, the author used enough "big words" that it seemed written for an audience older than I think this tale would most appeal to. There was no sex or bad language. Obviously, there was a little kissing.
I received an ARC review copy of this book from the publisher through Amazon Vine.
October 25, 2023
Briar and Rose are twins, princesses. They each received gifts from the fairies, unbeknownst to the fairies they were charming two babies. Briar was born first, but the king chose to let everyone think Rose was the only child, therefore the heir to the throne as Briar was whisked away to live her heritage in secrecy. Briar and Rose are allowed to live as best friends. One day they happen on Jack while they are playing by their favorite stream.
Thus, the worlds of Briar and Rose, Sleeping Beauties, and Jack, Jack and the Beanstalk, are intertwined. From children to early adults the trio plan how to rid the kingdom of the Giant. Jack begins to follow him to find where he lives. The girls are forced to spend part of their time in the castle as protected ladies and part in the village, spending time with Jack and the other villagers. As it happens, the big battle with the giant occurs the night of the girls' birthday, the day one or both of them has been cursed to sleep after getting her finger priced by a spinning wheel.
Who will save them with a kiss? Will they be able to rid the kingdom of the giant? What do the three of them learn about themselves, each other, the king, the queen, and Jack's mother?
The new telling of familiar fairytales was well written and seemed to mesh together so well, it seemed the stories should have been intertwined to begin.
I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Thus, the worlds of Briar and Rose, Sleeping Beauties, and Jack, Jack and the Beanstalk, are intertwined. From children to early adults the trio plan how to rid the kingdom of the Giant. Jack begins to follow him to find where he lives. The girls are forced to spend part of their time in the castle as protected ladies and part in the village, spending time with Jack and the other villagers. As it happens, the big battle with the giant occurs the night of the girls' birthday, the day one or both of them has been cursed to sleep after getting her finger priced by a spinning wheel.
Who will save them with a kiss? Will they be able to rid the kingdom of the giant? What do the three of them learn about themselves, each other, the king, the queen, and Jack's mother?
The new telling of familiar fairytales was well written and seemed to mesh together so well, it seemed the stories should have been intertwined to begin.
I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
June 8, 2019
I liked The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville, so when I got the opportunity to read her second book, I jumped at the chance.
This is a fairy tale mash-up of Jack and the Beanstalk and Sleeping Beauty. Jack's story pretty much remains the same, except he befriends twin sisters, Briar and Rose and gets woven into their story. I have read the original Grimm's Fairy Tales (the collection is one of my favorite books ever) but unfortunately I kept getting the feeling that Coville followed the Disney-fication of Sleeping Beauty, except there are nine fairies instead of four and the evil one is just "The Gray Fairy" and she is crazy. Some of her dialogue was cheesy. I got tired of the "Ahahahahahaha" literally spelled out like that. It took away from the drama of her character.
Someone on Goodreads mentioned that some of Coville's vocabulary might be too much for her target audience and I would tend to agree, although there are multiple good SAT words in the story. I felt like she sometimes catered to her target and other times tried to become too sophisticated. I also didn't get the dialogue between some of the characters. Most of them speak as we do now but at one point a character asks Briar "Are ye daft?" and it just seemed so out of place in the book.
Overall a fun story but I doubt I would read it again.
This is a fairy tale mash-up of Jack and the Beanstalk and Sleeping Beauty. Jack's story pretty much remains the same, except he befriends twin sisters, Briar and Rose and gets woven into their story. I have read the original Grimm's Fairy Tales (the collection is one of my favorite books ever) but unfortunately I kept getting the feeling that Coville followed the Disney-fication of Sleeping Beauty, except there are nine fairies instead of four and the evil one is just "The Gray Fairy" and she is crazy. Some of her dialogue was cheesy. I got tired of the "Ahahahahahaha" literally spelled out like that. It took away from the drama of her character.
Someone on Goodreads mentioned that some of Coville's vocabulary might be too much for her target audience and I would tend to agree, although there are multiple good SAT words in the story. I felt like she sometimes catered to her target and other times tried to become too sophisticated. I also didn't get the dialogue between some of the characters. Most of them speak as we do now but at one point a character asks Briar "Are ye daft?" and it just seemed so out of place in the book.
Overall a fun story but I doubt I would read it again.
May 4, 2019
Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville, 368 pages. Houghton Mifflin, JUNE 2019. $17.
Content: G (some danger)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVSIABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When the twins Briar and Rose were born, Briar’s disfigurement alarmed her royal parents, who then pretended that she was the daughter of another couple. Rose, the younger twin, on the other hand, was exactly what a princes is “expected” to look like and she was presented to the fairies for their blessings. And, of course, the one cursed by the angry Gray Fairy to prick her finger and die on her 16thbirthday. The girls are raised with no knowledge of their twin-ness. A giant started terrorizing the kingdom when the girl were young, and together with a village boy named Jack, the girls vow to one day take the giant down.
While the story seems quite complicated, Coville manages to bring everything together in the end, even giving the evil Bishop his well-deserved comeuppance. Those students who love retold fairy tales will certainly enjoy this. It is much more in the classic fairy tale mein, as opposed to imposing a modern aesthetic on the tales.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Content: G (some danger)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVSIABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When the twins Briar and Rose were born, Briar’s disfigurement alarmed her royal parents, who then pretended that she was the daughter of another couple. Rose, the younger twin, on the other hand, was exactly what a princes is “expected” to look like and she was presented to the fairies for their blessings. And, of course, the one cursed by the angry Gray Fairy to prick her finger and die on her 16thbirthday. The girls are raised with no knowledge of their twin-ness. A giant started terrorizing the kingdom when the girl were young, and together with a village boy named Jack, the girls vow to one day take the giant down.
While the story seems quite complicated, Coville manages to bring everything together in the end, even giving the evil Bishop his well-deserved comeuppance. Those students who love retold fairy tales will certainly enjoy this. It is much more in the classic fairy tale mein, as opposed to imposing a modern aesthetic on the tales.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
February 22, 2020
Two princesses, Briar and Rose, are born to the king and queen, but there’s a problem. Briar is ugly while Rose is beautiful. The royal couple raise Rose as their heir and keep their relationship to Briar a secret. To celebrate Rose’s birth, fairies come to bless the baby. Hilde, an unschooled witch and midwife to the queen, wants Briar to receive some of those blessings. She magically switches the girls during the event but accidentally causes both sisters to be cursed by the Gray Fairy. Nine years later, Briar and Rose are very close and make friends with a peasant boy, Jack. Their kingdom is being rampaged by a giant and no one opposes him. Briar, Rose, and Jack start a Giant Killers club to investigate ways they can eventually stop him. During their 16th year, the Gray Fairy’s curse is fulfilled. Rose is locked away in the castle and Briar falls asleep while climbing the beanstalk with Jack. Jack kisses Briar, wakes her up, and together they free Rose’s true love, Lan, from the giant. Lan and Briar kill the Gray Fairy and break Rose’s curse while Jack and his friends kill the giant.
Coville’s novel is a puzzle. The storyline goes through several time periods in the two sisters’ lives: at their birth, nine years old, twelve, and sixteen. At times the book uses college-level vocabulary. With these two elements, there is no way to properly nail down the book’s target audience. Adding more to the confusion is the story itself. Coville’s novel is supposed to creatively knit together the fairytales of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. Unfortunately, it’s not a seamless weave with many holes and useless threads. While Briar and Lan are saving Rose, the Giant falls to his death from the beanstalk. However, nobody notices the Giant’s fall. This makes no sense because Coville earlier describes how the giant’s footsteps shook the kingdom. Also a Bishop repeatedly beats Briar. Why is that important to the story? Coville’s novel was a page-turner but the repeated inconsistencies make Coville’s work an unsuccessful retelling.
Coville’s novel is a puzzle. The storyline goes through several time periods in the two sisters’ lives: at their birth, nine years old, twelve, and sixteen. At times the book uses college-level vocabulary. With these two elements, there is no way to properly nail down the book’s target audience. Adding more to the confusion is the story itself. Coville’s novel is supposed to creatively knit together the fairytales of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. Unfortunately, it’s not a seamless weave with many holes and useless threads. While Briar and Lan are saving Rose, the Giant falls to his death from the beanstalk. However, nobody notices the Giant’s fall. This makes no sense because Coville earlier describes how the giant’s footsteps shook the kingdom. Also a Bishop repeatedly beats Briar. Why is that important to the story? Coville’s novel was a page-turner but the repeated inconsistencies make Coville’s work an unsuccessful retelling.
June 9, 2021
Briar and Rose are twin sisters born to the King and Queen, one ugly and one pretty. Briar, the firstborn ugly child, is denied her birthright and is raised in the castle as an orphan, but she and Rose are fast friends from the time of her childhood. Neither of them knows of the curse placed on one (or both?) of them at birth that she will prick her finger and fall asleep on her 16th birthday. Meanwhile, a giant ravages the land and the villagers starve from the Giant Tax, so Briar and Rose form a club with a village boy named Jack with the purpose of killing the giant and saving the kingdom.
I wanted to like this as much as Coville's previous book, which was a creative mashup of Jane Eyre and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but it was just too slow for me. The present tense made all the characters thoughts seem stream-of-consciousness and a rambly sort of way, and it was just very wordy. Coville did a great job of making Briar a sympathetic character, but Rose became gradually more annoying, and other unlikeable characters didn't quite get the justice I thought they deserved.
There were clever and enjoyable aspects to the story, but I just got bogged down in the elements I didn't like.
I wanted to like this as much as Coville's previous book, which was a creative mashup of Jane Eyre and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but it was just too slow for me. The present tense made all the characters thoughts seem stream-of-consciousness and a rambly sort of way, and it was just very wordy. Coville did a great job of making Briar a sympathetic character, but Rose became gradually more annoying, and other unlikeable characters didn't quite get the justice I thought they deserved.
There were clever and enjoyable aspects to the story, but I just got bogged down in the elements I didn't like.
June 8, 2019
I am questioning how Kathrine Coville's works flew under my radar, as I have read several of her husbands books. Briar and Rose and Jack is a perfect blend of modern storytelling with classical fairytale elements. An entertaining tale of friendship, trust, and bravery. The traditional fairy tale components helped up well with the more contemporary character types. It is a unique blend of Jack & the Bean Stalk and Sleeping Beauty. I'd recommend this book to those in the upper elementary and middle grades interested in fantasy, a retelling of classic fairytales. The writing style is verbose and flower, which I enjoyed. I could see struggling and reluctant readers being turned off by the writing style though. At first, the present tense telling of the narrative was difficult to wrap my mind around. Until I began to read it aloud to myself (and my cat), then the tense, the language, and the story flowed. I did feel like characters need further development.
March 19, 2019
I have to admit it ... I love modern re-tellings of fairy tales and fairy tale mash-ups!
Katherine Coville has managed to do something quite extraordinary with this story, There are some really important lessons to be learned here and Coville mostly includes these lessons so casually that the reader isn't likely to know that they are learning something. It's got so much heart and depth and honesty that it goes well beyond a simple fairy tale.
Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville is a fantastic fairy tale mashup with a whole lot of heart.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Katherine Coville has managed to do something quite extraordinary with this story, There are some really important lessons to be learned here and Coville mostly includes these lessons so casually that the reader isn't likely to know that they are learning something. It's got so much heart and depth and honesty that it goes well beyond a simple fairy tale.
Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville is a fantastic fairy tale mashup with a whole lot of heart.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
June 20, 2019
Reading this novel, I kept thinking about how much I would have loved and reread this book growing up! The way she has twisted and intertwined two classic fairy tales (Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk) is fantastic, and the two female protagonists are passionate, active subjects within the story rather than the decorative objects one finds in many versions of Sleeping Beauty. Over all, a very positive message about the power of young women AND collective youth action, which can have a real impact upon communities.
July 2, 2019
This chapter book is a modern retelling of classic fairytales. It is a great read for people of all ages! I blew through this and was really interested in the plots and storylines. They were different from the classics but you could tell which stories they were interpreting. I believe 5th and 6th graders could begin reading this chapter book and truly enjoy it.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
December 1, 2020
I know I said this about E.D. Baker's adaption of the Sleeping Beauty tale, but this one is truly my favorite. I love how it combines it with Jack and the Beanstalk. I also like the relationship between Briar and Rose, and how even though their sisters and don't know it, they still act like it. Their struggles are surprisingly relatable if you think past the surface (I know we don't all have a giant attacking our kingdom once a year) and the romance element was well done for the age group.
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July 21, 2023DNFed. The fact that the "ugly" character is treated poorly just doesn't sit right for me especially for a tween book. Also the fact the blonde one was the pretty one. I also couldn't tell if it was due to the lighting on the book cover but Briar also looks darker than Rose and that feels like it feeds into the dark skin is bad trope. I didn't even get that far and it really feels like the adults are just mean for the sake of it(or incompetent)
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