Group Read: Briar Rose

This is the thread for the group read of Briar Rose by Jane Yolen. Does anyone have a suggestion for when to read this book? Personally, I don't really have a preference.

I would like to join in and don't really have a time preference, but I think January is quite crowded with other group reads, so perhaps a little later in the year would be best.

Thanks Christina for setting up the threads.

This book has been on my wish list for a long time. It's a young adult title and looks like a quick read. I have pencilled it in for January but if everyone's January book reading schedule is busy I'm happy to wait.

Hmmm, I'm growing interested in this title. I may take part, but leave the when up to those who will definitely take part.

I hope I can manage to find this book in my massive TBR collection!

I think you're right that January is looking pretty busy, but I would still be okay with reading it then.

I hadn't heard about this book until LT came along, and now I'm really looking forward to reading it!

I'm okay with reading it whenever. Is there a month that doesn't have a Group Read scheduled yet? I don't remember hearing about anything for March or May. However, I'm happy to read this at any time next year!

Thanks for setting up this thread, christina_reads!

I'm in as well, but have no preference for when.

I'm glad there's so much interest in this group read! How do you all feel about doing it in March? It seems like that month isn't already full of group reads, and it's still near the beginning of the challenge, so the impatient people (a.k.a. me) won't die of waiting! :)

Of course, if March doesn't work for some of you, or you'd prefer a different month, that's fine with me!

March works for me!

March would be good for me as well.

March would work well for me.

March is fine for me. But January is, too, and I'm eager to read it.

@12 :: I definitely see where you're coming from. Personally, I'm not doing any of the other January group reads, so I wouldn't have a problem reading Briar Rose in January...I'm just not sure about everyone else who wants to do this group read.

March is okay for me. I think I can wait patiently until then.

March is good for me.

March sounds good to me.

Me too - I'll pencil it in my calendar so I know when to start stalking it at the library again!

This is my first time signing up for a group read. I'd like to join in for Briar Rose in March. I have no idea what happens. Do we just make posts as we read? How do you avoid "spoilers?" I' sure other questions will arise. Is there a better place to ask about group reads or is here ok?

I'm new to LT and I'm enjoying trying new things. I also plan to join the 1010 group.

Welcome to LT and welcome to the group read. This is my second group read, but I imagine we will probably divide the book into sections and then post to those sections as we read the book. In this way we can avoid those dreaded "spoilers". As we get closer to March, one of us will start the actual first thread and then we will carry on from there. I suggest you check back here as we get close to starting.

I hope no one minds if I join :D Briar Rose has been on my wishlist for awhile so this is too good an opportunity to pass up.

And March works fine!

Just got my copy today and I'm so excited!

I say, the more the merrier.

Wow, as soon as I added Briar Rose to my wishlist, I was able to Mooch it. LOve BM!

Since March is almost upon us, I'm thinking we should decide how we want to do this! Maybe we could divide the book into sections and read one section per week or something like that. Or, since it's a shorter book, maybe we could agree to read the whole book by a certain date (March 15?) and discuss it then. Any other ideas? I'm happy to defer to other suggestions!

I've ordered a copy of the book for myself, but it hasn't arrived yet; nevertheless, when it does, I'm very excited to read this book! :)

I was so looking forward to this group read, and I would still like to be part of it, but I have to go visit my Mom on March 8th and won't be back till around the 20th. No internet access!! So I will be around for the first week and then have to catch up with you when I return. However the group wants to set up the discussions is fine with me.

Count me in for the G/R and however you want to set it up is all good with me christina_reads.
belva

@26 :: Don't worry about it -- just join in when you can! :)

@27 :: Welcome!

I have my copy ready to go so I can join in and like Belva, I don't mind how you want to set it up christina_reads.

Since I don't have a copy of the book, I really don't know whether it's a good idea to divide it into sections. Maybe we could read the first half by Sunday, March 7, and the second half by March 14? Since it's a shorter book, that might be doable, right? Or it might be a good idea just to let everyone read at his/her own pace. The only firm "rule" I want to have is this: if you want to post spoilers, please warn everyone, so that people who haven't read as far as you can avoid them!

A copy is waiting for me at the library. I'll pick it up today and plan to start it later in the week.

30 - I think it's fine to split the book up. I'm looking forward to it!

I have the book, and should be ready to start later this week. I don't have any preference re splitting it up or not, but do agree with the request to identify spoilers.

It might be good to have a whole separate spoiler thread.

@34 :: That would work too...I really don't have a preference about it. I don't have much experience with group reads, so I don't actually know what I'm doing here! :)

I found the thread! I read the book in February as it came in from the library, and am now dying to discuss it. Looking forward to the day when...
I have starred this thread - hoping one for spoilers appears?

@34, 36 :: If someone wants to set up a separate thread for spoilers, I have no objection to that!

EDIT :: I've gone ahead and set up a "spoiler" thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/86102. So if you feel the need to discuss something that the rest of the group hasn't gotten to yet, please do so there!

As for the reading schedule, how about we read the first half for Sunday, March 7, and discuss on that date? We can read the rest of it for the following Sunday, March 15. If anyone wants to do something different, please feel free to suggest an alternative! Otherwise, I look forward to discussing the first half of the book with you all on the 7th! :)

Excellent plan. I will be home until the 8th, so I can join in on the first half of the book and catch up with the second when I get back.

I picked up my book yesterday from the library, so I'll be a little late coming to this party, but I'll make it there!

@39 :: No worries! My book still hasn't come in the mail yet!

Now that my book has finally arrived (yay!), I can be a little bit more specific about the reading plan. There are 33 or 34 chapters, right? So let's read Ch. 1-17 for this Sunday and finish the book for the following week. If you want to discuss something that occurs after Ch. 17, go ahead and do so on the spoiler thread.

Looking forward to this Sunday! :)

Found my copy - so I'm in! Just read a couple of chapters so far and it looks interesting.

So, I'm not very good at the whole reading schedule thing.... I started the book a couple of days ago and finished it this morning. I'm glad this group read finally gave me the push to read it; it had been sitting on my shelf for years....

Me neither, Zoe. I read the whole book earlier this week. But, actually, I can't imagine that very many people will be willing to set the book down halfway through and wait a week to finish.

I read on too. I finished chapter 17 last night, but the book is so easy to read and the chapters are so short that I had to keep going. I made myself stop at Chapter 21 but I'm weak and Briar Rose is calling to me to finish it.

I agree with ivyd and _Zoe_, once you start Briar Rose it's almost impossible not to keep reading and finish it.

Haha, is everyone going to finish this book by tomorrow? Because if so, I'm cool with discussing the whole book then...I just want to make sure that slower and/or busier readers are included also!

I am just starting Chapter 25 so I will easily be finished by tomorrow!

Well, as it turns out, I am one of the slower readers for this group read...I've only made it through the first 17 chapters. So if you want to discuss the rest of the book, for now please do so at the spoiler thread.

What did everyone think of the first half of the book? So far, my favorite part has been Gemma's actual story of Briar Rose. I hate to say it, but the contemporary characters are annoying me a bit, especially Stan. I can't put my finger on why, but he really irritates me! However, I am very interested to see where Becca's investigation of Gemma's past will lead her.

Yeah, I definitely could have done without Stan. I found that I was more interested in Becca's attempt to find Gemma's true story than in Gemma's actual words, though.

At first I thought it a little strange that her family didn't question Gemma more closely about her past. I would have thought her daughter (Becca's mother) would have had questions. I thought there were a few other plot holes along the way, but since the author fashioned this book as a fairy tale, I think she was trying to strengthen "the three sisters and grandmother" story line.

@50 :: That's a good point! The fact that Gemma's own daughter never really asked about her past is a pretty big plot hole. Then again, maybe she did ask, and Gemma just didn't want to talk about it, so she eventually gave up. Since Gemma is so reticent, that could be a possibility...but ultimately, I think you're right: Yolen had to sacrifice a bit of believability to stay within the "three sisters and grandmother" fairy-tale trope.

I grew up in a family where there were silences and gaps in the story line. I was so trained by silence and anger to not go there that I didn't. I did not realize until my mother died how little of the details of her story I knew. I believe that there are children in this country, growing and grown, who know little or nothing of the details of their fathers' military service. Ugly does get buried.

And, I think, it takes a certain kind of person to even ask questions about someone's past. If Gemma's mother wasn't interested and Gemma herself didn't volunteer information...

I'm not a fairy tale fan, myself, although I once was, and I find the bits where Gemma tells the story of Briar Rose drag. I'm interested in the modern quest, though. Yolen usually writes YA, doesn't she? I can't decide whether the writing style is because of the YA background, or because she's keeping the slightly distanced feel of a fairy tale. Other than Becca, the characters are not well developed.

I really liked this book, but there were things that I found really frustrating. One is character development. It's hard to feel anything for characters you know so little about. I felt like Yolen is bouncing back and forth between needing to make this a YA book, but dealing with material that is marginally inappropriate for YA readers (in my opinion) Oops, that might be coming later.

I think Stan is there for the romance aspect of the fairy tale. Sadly, he's not very romantic is he?

Considering that most fairy tales are written with romance in mind, I have to agree that Stan is not exactly Prince Charming, I think he is important to the story in order to show how some people just have to follow through on their search - he for his birth mother and Becca for the truth behind her grandmother's story.

Hi, I just got a copy of this book, so I am late to the group read, but I would like to join in when I get the book read.
--BJ

A friend once explained to me about the gaps in story lines in holocaust survivors (I think this can translate to survivors of many tragedies). She said that the direct children of survivors were brought up not to ask questions. They knew there were painful things in the past that were to be avoided.

The grandchildren of the survivors are usually the first generation to ask questions and therefore to write the stories and make the movies about this time period.

I realize this is very generalized, but it helps explain to me why the mother of Becca did not ask questions of her mother. Maybe she was rebuffed at an early age and just never attempted it again?

>57 nans: That makes a lot of sense.