Watching the Roses: The Egerton Hall Novels, Volume Two (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Once upon a time, I was a good girl and no trouble to anyone..." (more)
Key Phrases: Arcadia House, Egerton Hall, Great-Aunt Hortense (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-- A self-conscious restyling of ``Sleeping Beauty,'' brought up-to-date with a boarding school setting and rape--a somewhat uneasy mixture. Three school friends have been eager for Alice's fabulous 18th birthday party to be held at her family's rose-encircled castlelike estate. But it seems the young woman's wicked Aunt Violette's ill wish for her has come true after she is raped at the party and becomes totally withdrawn. Her journal entries during this time chronicle her return to mental health and build suspense as her story unfolds. This sequel to The Tower Room (HBJ, 1992) is only partly successful, due mainly to weak characterization. No one cares if the ``wicked stepmother'' or the ``handsome prince'' lacks credible motivation in a fairy tale. But in modern fiction, it's another matter. Geras is forced to rely on such plot contrivances as sending the heroine off alone with a hot-and-bothered boy who, it turns out, she does not recognize until too late to be her childhood tormentor. This is not to say that the book is completely without interest or charm. There are plenty of quirky characters, a wonderful setting, rose lore, and intriguing echoes of fairy tales throughout. The British references are sometimes incomprehensible (what are winkle-pickers?), but romance fans will anxiously await the handsome prince whose kiss awakens the princess.
- Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The story is redolent with sexuality, fragility, and innocence . . . [An] unusual romance."--The Bulletin
"Tremendous."--VOYA

"Geras writes with imagination and skill."--Kirkus Reviews

"[Has] wide appeal."--Booklist

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152015175
• ISBN-13: 978-0152015176
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,686,581 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully told modern day Sleeping Beauty, January 13, 1999

By A Customer

Watching the Roses was among one of the most wonderful books I have ever read. It's a definate page turner that you'll NEVER put down! This book will send you on a carousel of emotions from love, to being at the hands of death. Adele Geras has a true talent for reflecting the thoughts of the main character of the story, and making you believe you are right there with Alice by her window watching the roses. Meet Bella and Megan, Alice's two best friends who are also total opposites, but make the friendship of a lifetime in the meantime. Meet all of Alice's aunts, each different and unique, and each who have their own story to tell. And finally meet Jean-Luc, the handsome foreign boy that steals Alice's heart, a kiss, and brings Alice up from her "coma". I give this book 5 stars, and can't wait to read other two books in the series!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Calling all teenage girls, continued..., December 14, 2001

By	Kelly L. (www.FantasyLiterature.com) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

_Watching the Roses_, the second book in the Egerton Hall trilogy, tells the story of Alice, the shyest, most sheltered, most romantic of the three friends. Echoing the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" and a little bit of "Red Riding Hood", it is also the most romantic, most gothic, and darkest of the three books.

Alice was cursed at her christening by her aunt, "the dreaded Violette", who was angry at not being invited; the curse stated that she would be "snuffed out" on her eighteenth birthday. Another aunt tried to mitigate this by wishing her health and a long life, assuring her parents that, while Alice might fall ill or have an accident that year, she would recover. Eighteen years later, the family throws a grand coming-out party for Alice, to defy Violette's dark words. And at this party, Alice is raped.

Alice retreats into silence, hiding in her room and refusing to speak to anyone. Her parents fall into despair as well, drinking and taking sleeping pills, and letting even the precious rose garden go to ruin. Alice sits alone, writing her thoughts in an old notebook of her father's, peppered with his notes on this rose or that. The rose descriptions at the beginning of each of Alice's entries are easy to skim over, but don't--they set the mood for the next installment of the story. Alice wants to break out of her shell, and can't find the strength to do so; the only thing that sustains her are dreams of her long-distance sweetheart, Jean-Luc. How will she "wake up" back into normal life? Read and find out...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting but beautiful, December 29, 2001

By	Jessica Cameron (Decatur, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is book two of the Egerton Hall trilogy, and much like "The Tower Room," the story is told after the fact. Alice (Sleeping Beauty) is in her room, writing in a journal of roses that her father used as a young man. She tells of the doctors that have come to examine her, why she does not speak or even open her eyes when her family visits her, how quiet the house has been since the night of her party, and the actual preparations for her eighteenth birthday bash. Also, Alice muses upon Jean-Luc, a young Frenchman who was supposed to come to her party but is running late. He might have to climb the gate to reach her. This book is the heaviest in the trilogy, but the most stunning in its simplicity. The reader can figure out what happened to Alice long before she is brave enough to write it down, but your heart breaks again when she finally does. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the trilogy, "The Tower Room" and "Pictures of the Night."