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.

Briar and Rose and Jack is a fairy tale and I was instantly drawn in by the premise. It is a cute story and I liked that it stayed true to the styling of traditional fairy tales. My daughter enjoyed the few read aloud chapters that we shared and I think my students would enjoy the story.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always love the idea of blended fairy tales, or a remix of them. This story is a mix of two - Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk.

I like the idea behind the story and wanted to like the book more than I did. I found the pacing a bit slow to hold my attention. The vocabulary seems a bit too much for kids.

Just didn't hold up to what I was expecting.

*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.

It's always interesting to see how an author will re-imagine a familiar story. The more common the tale, the more inventive she has to be to make her book stand out. So Coville sets the bar high here, taking on both Sleeping Beauty and Jack And The Beanstalk. She manages it well, starting out with Sleeping Beauty as not one but two girls. And by combining the two stories, she closes long standing plot holes in both that might trouble a modern audience. All told, Coville's version of the stories makes a lot more sense. The ending is perhaps overly tidy but that's a minor flaw.

Overall, this was a delightful story, and I do recommend it! It’s a combination of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. The Queen gives birth to twins, but the first baby has deformed features and is deemed unsuitable to be the heir. Luckily, the second baby is perfect. Due to some quick thinking on the Queen’s part, the first baby is going to be raised as the daughter of a distant Duke who passed away, but brought to the castle to be a playmate for the new princess. And thus we have Briar and Rose. The wise women who helped with the birth, Hilde, is godmother to Briar. The fairies are invited to the christening, except the gray fairy (obviously a mistake.) Hilde has some magic, and switches the babies partway through the blessings of the fairies, trying to give Briar as much of an advantage in life as she can. The babies are switched back in the middle of the gray fairy’s curse, and the effect is unknown until the girls turn sixteen.
Time skips forward to when the girls are nine, and they run about the castle and village. They do not know that they are sisters, but are as close as can be. We finally get to meet Jack. He is a peasant and joins the girls in their games. We also get to meet the giant. He comes and terrorizes the castle and demands food and gold and destroys walls in his path. The king has implemented a Giant Tax to pay for the demands, and the peasants feel the brunt of it. The children vow to kill the giant, but realize that it will take time and planning.
We skip forward three years, and the children are twelve. The dynamic between the girls is starting to change a bit. More people come into their lives. We skip another three years and the dynamic has changed again. The girls become more independent with different friend groups and different expectations. Briar really has no expectations set upon her. Rose knows that she will have to marry whomever her father decides will be best for the kingdom. Jack really is a nice boy, and his mother is kind and awesome, which is a nice change from the mean one we see sometimes.

There were a couple little things that I would have changed, and that Katherine Coville may not realize have other meanings to them. For example, the girls are singing a song about a goose who is trying to convince a maiden to marry him, but fails and is eaten. But the verse the author writes is “And she choked on his meat and died.” Um. If that had been “bones” instead of “meat,” there would be no problem, or at least less of one. But maybe the kids will get a kick out of that bit. It’s just, you’re going along the story when all of a sudden you get thrown out into reality. There’s also the issue of the “secret signal” the children have. It’s made by making a circle with the thumb and forefinger. So it’s either an “ok” sign, but that’s a bit obvious. So it’s probably low. And that looks like the ASL for “asshole” or the hand-sign that kids use for a version of the game where if you see it, you get punched. That one may not be as well known, but still! At the beginning of the book, her descriptions are a bit too flowery to me, and don’t really match the rest of the story.

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.

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.

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.

This is a fairytale mashup. The idea is wonderful and the author writes superbly, but somehow the execution failed for me. As a school librarian for 10-12 year olds I do not see students sticking with this one. The story line moves far too slowly, and the author is way too verbose. Using archaic words and many advanced words (some of which I even resorted to looking up) the author will only succeed in driving students from this story. Unless teachers intend to use this story for vocabulary building, I wouldn’t recommend.

Briar and Rose and Jack is told in a whimsical manner reminiscent of fairytales. It sets the tone for the stage, which is set in a small fairytale-esque kingdom.

Briar and Rose are a fun pair who maintain a close bond despite many attempts to separate the two. I love their close friendship and how it grows to include Jack while preserving their own bond.

For the most part, characters stay within the bounds of their stereotypes. The good people are good while the villainous are villainous to the end. The most complexity comes from Briar and Rose when they begin to find themselves at odds during their teenage years because of various misunderstandings and their growing differences as they mature into their unique identities.

Briar and Rose and Jack is a fun reimagining and combining of “Sleeping Beauty” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.” What I love is how girls and boys alike require saving in this novel. (One will save another only to need saving later on, and vice versa.) And how true love comes to them in many forms.

I recommend Briar and Rose and Jack to readers who enjoy a fairytale retelling that features multiple protagonists, close friendships, and the protagonists’ coming of age.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

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 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.

Briar and Rose and Jack is a clever mashup of the tale of Sleeping Beauty and the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. As children, the homely but clever Briar, the beautiful Princess Rose, and the brave peasant Jack team up to defeat the evil giant who is terrorizing their kingdom. As the years pass, the three grow in their determination to see that the giant will never harm anyone ever again. Will the three friends succeed in their quest before it's too late? Read this excellent retelling of two fairy tales to find out!

This book was very enjoyable to read!

Fairytales & retellings are some of my favorite type of reading & this was right up my alley.

The friendship between Briar, Rose & Jack; for Briar & Rose from birth to their teens & then Jack, who they become friends with as children. Reading how things are for these characters & how true to real life people treat each other. Briar, who wasn't born beautiful but is strong, witty, & can sing & dance like a dream. Rose, who is the most beautiful girl, not always the smartest & sweet natured. And we have Jack, who isn't of noble blood, but has such a big heart & sees beyond outward beauty.

Students & adults can identify with the "cool" crowd, being bullied & such that this novel addresses. I love how Briar rises up above all of the meanness that is shown to her & is able to lead people when no one thought that anyone would follow her. This tale also shows that "true love" comes in may forms & anyone can become the hero of their own story.

Mash up of Jack and the Beanstalk with Sleeping Beauty with some added twists. The story seemed choppy and slow. Evil Bishop was allowed to be a bully throughout and physically whip and verbally abuse one of the main characters.

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 have to admit it ... I love modern re-tellings of fairy tales and fairy tale mash-ups! This book, <em>Briar and Rose and Jack</em>, fits the latter as author Katherine Coville combines the classic fairy tales of <em>Sleeping Beauty</em>, <em>Snow White and Rose Red</em>, and <em>Jack and the Beanstalk</em> (and maybe a little <em>Jack and the Giant Killer</em>?)(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? <em>Briar and Rose and Jack</em> 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 really enjoyed how the story mashed together the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. I would recommend this to any of the students I work with.