Bravely Published by Disney Hyperion on April 2022
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 367
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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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
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
I’m a big big big Maggie Stiefvater fan so I was thrilled to get a digital ARC of this! Not to mention Merida is one of my favorites. Steifvater does a fantastic job of recreating the world from the film, and using its magic and real life history of Scotland to expand and color the newest adventure of an older Merida.
What’s not to love about this book??? Merida’s fierceness and independence shines during this new adventure.
The story touches upon the challenges of growing up and staying safe, doing what you know and changing, really growing that can be uncomfortable and scary. I loved her journey. I like how the Merida from the beginning is significantly different than the one we leave at the end, but how she still retains all the things that make her Merida. She is incredibly loyal to her home and her family, but also can see how things need to change. Sure, it takes a god of destruction to draw attention to it, but once she sees it, she can’t unsee it, making her journey very organic and human filled with vulnerable moments and doubt but also intention.
I love the triplets! OMG, they’re grown! I love how the three of them each have their own personalities and goals, making Merida’s job in the book complicated. She has to negotiate how she sees them with who they really are and their needs. It was such a great storyline and a very common and poignant moment in growing up.
And of course, there’s a god of destruction. I really liked him as a character. Feradach can’t help what/who he is, what he does. He is a needed balance, and the reader and Merida can sympathize with his journey. There are so many fun and creative little things in the story and I don’t want to give it away. But of course, Merida’s nemesis would be a god of destruction. Because she is THAT bad ass.
Overall, I loved Bravely. I think it’s the perfect perfect perfect sequel to Merida’s journey. Stiefvater did such a great job in research and really harnessing all of the best things about Brave and incorporating and then expanding them into this story.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
This is on my TBR pile as well. Maybe I should watch the movie again before I read this. I love Maggie too so am excited about this one. Glad you liked it!