The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Bravely

Series: Standalone

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult, Retelling, Adventure

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Merida goes on an all-new, life-changing adventure in this original YA novel set several years after the close of Brave!

What if you had one year to save everything you loved?

ONE PRINCESS. Merida of DunBroch needs a change. She loves her family—jovial King Fergus, proper Queen Elinor, the mischievous triplets— and her peaceful kingdom. But she’s frustrated by its sluggishness; each day, the same. Merida longs for adventure, purpose, challenge – maybe even, someday, love.

TWO GODS. But the fiery Princess never expects her disquiet to manifest by way of Feradach, an uncanny supernatural being tasked with rooting out rot and stagnation, who appears in DunBroch on Christmas Eve with the intent to demolish the realm – and everyone within. Only the intervention of the Cailleach, an ancient entity of creation, gives Merida a shred of hope: convince her family to change within the year – or suffer the eternal consequences.

THREE VOYAGES. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Merida leads a series of epic journeys to kingdoms near and far in an attempt to inspire revolution within her family. But in her efforts to save those she loves from ruin, has Merida lost sight of the Clan member grown most stagnant of all – herself?

FOUR SEASONS TO SAVE DUNBROCH – OR SEE IT DESTROYED, FOREVER. – summary from Goodreads

This is one of the few books that expands on Disney’s Brave, and it was wonderful!

This book heavily deals with change, which as someone who struggles with change, I enjoyed a whole story that explores this. I especially enjoyed how it explored the benefits of change, and the consequences of stagnation.

The other thing I really, really liked was the exploration of nature destruction and human destruction. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say nature is violent or cruel. No, it’s not- it’s just nature. So, I really liked how this book wasn’t saying nature was cruel, it was just nature. Then it compared natural destruction with human destruction, and the difference was stark.

Bravely also was heavily infused with Scottish mythology. I loved how this was explored. I am not at all familiar with Scottish mythology, so I enjoyed getting this peek into their myths and culture. I loved the Cailleach- she was the old woman character that I enjoy so much. I loved how wily she was. My favorite, though, was Feradach. I loved how he was woven into the story, and the backstory he has is so intriguing. If there was a whole book about him, I would read it in a heartbeat. I really felt for him- he wanted to exist but didn’t quite, he loved life but couldn’t. It was such an interesting concept, and one that I hadn’t seen done before.

I loved the Dun Broch family. They were a lot of fun to read, and Stiefvater did a wonderful job of showcasing their personalities while keeping it true to the movie and aging them up. Again, the change aspect of the book was so interesting. This family has been the same for so many years, and they’ve become stagnant. I loved how this was done, and I could truly see this happening at the end of the movie. I also liked how the changes the characters went through were still in character. In everything Stiefvater does, she does something with brothers. This was no exception, and I loved how she handled it all. The challenge of watching your younger siblings grow up and the struggle to reach them when your different from each other was very well done and very realistic. I also love Elinor’s background. I have read a few different versions of her background, and I think this one fits her character and personality in such a unique and new way.

One of the new characters that I really loved was Lezzie. She was so much fun, and the perfect side character. I loved her interactions with the family members and Merida. She was so unique and interesting, and I found it so much fun how she was described.

There was some romance. I won’t spoil it too much, but it was there in a very minuscule way. It was very much so in the background, but still sweet.

I loved the adventure side of things, too. I will always enjoy a good adventure, and Bravely had some excellent adventures and some wonderful destinations. This was an interesting way to explore the Scottish countryside and how the politics were arranged.

I tend to consider this book a Christmas book. It starts on Christmas Eve and ends the following Christmas Eve. Honestly, this book really isn’t that much of a Christmas book, but it has slight Christmas vibes perfect for if you’re wanting Christmas but not wanting to commit to it all yet.

Bravely was an interesting continuation of Disney’s Brave, that explores Scottish culture and mythology, change, nature, and family. It was truly a unique book, and perfect wintry read!

Quotes:

“‘Try not to let your memories hurt more than the wound, friend.’”

“‘I am not cruel, Merida. I am nature.’”