Incorporating elements of Sleeping Beauty, it was published as part of the Fairy Tale Series of novels compiled by Terri Windling.

The story is based around the German fairy tale of Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) which is told by "Gemma", an elderly woman, to her three granddaughters.

When the bodies are dumped one of the partisans, named The Avenger notices that a woman with red hair (Gemma) is still alive and faintly breathing.

Josef revives her through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which the woman, (who is later called KSIĘŻNICZKA, which means 'princess' in Polish) refers to in her fairy tale as "the kiss of life".

She never told a soul about these experiences, rather dealing with the trauma by refashioning them in her mind into the form of a familiar fairytale about an evil witch, a princess rendered unconscious who is then revived by a handsome prince, and a happy ending.

[citation needed] Publishers Weekly considered Briar Rose one of the "most ambitious efforts" in Windling's Fairy Tale series and claimed, "Only a writer as good as Yolen [...] could bring it off".

Publishers Weekly further stated, "By interpolating Gemma's vivid and imaginative story into the larger narrative, Yolen has created an engrossing novel.

They explained that "the first half has little tension", and although "Gemma's wartime experiences is riveting and moving", "it's all told by a third party at the end of the book; Becca doesn't so much solve the mystery as find a narrator to tell her the story."

"[2] In a review of the audiobook, AudioFile highlighted how narrator "Linda Stephens's reading vibrates with imaginative characterizations and bold feeling.

Like a sculptor with her chisel, Stephens shapes Yolen's story with her voice, flawlessly interprets mood and tone, and breathes personality into her characters."

[6] Briar Rose was part of Australia's New South Wales Department of Education and Training's Higher School Certificate curriculum.