Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater, 367 pages. Disney Press, 2022. $20.
Language: PG (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
The Cailleach, goddess of creation, and Feradach, a god of ruin, have opposing intentions for DunBroch. Unwittingly, Princess Merida gets tangled up in the middle, thanks to her sometimes un-princess-like choices and a little bit of trickery. Now she has a bargain with Feradach that will determine whether creation or ruin succeeds in directing the future of her clan, her castle, and her kingdom.
Stiefvater sets this book several years after the movie, though the exact amount of time that has passed is ambiguous. Merida is still headstrong and needs to do things her way, but I didn’t enjoy reading this book as much as I wanted to – maybe because most of the characters felt too flat, maybe because I didn’t like Merida’s attitude, maybe because I felt like some of the characters were changed too much from the movie, and probably a combination of those things. I did love reading about the god of ruin: how he tries to show Merida the necessary role of ruin in our lives and the miracle of change even if it doesn’t first appear to be a miracle.
Merida, her family, her kingdom, and those they visit in the book are all Scottish. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol, and the violence rating is for death and battle scenes.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
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