Bravely

Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater 

This is not normally a book I would read. 

Firstly, Brave is not one of Pixar’s best movies. Maybe people will disagree with me, but when it comes to the long list of Pixar masterpieces, Brave was always one I forgot about. The story was meh and so were the characters. 

The only truly memorable bit from the 2012 film was Merida’s fiery red curls (that was supposedly a lot of work to animate). As someone with curly hair, I wholeheartedly related. 

With the movie being mediocre, you might be wondering why I read Bravely in the first place. 

It’s a good question and it has one simple answer: Maggie Stiefvater wrote it. 

I think it’s weird that she wrote it, but she did, and I love her. 

If the book sequel to Disney Pixar’s Brave had been written by literally anyone else I wouldn’t have bothered even glancing at it, but Stiefvater continues to surprise and delight so here I am. 

I actually went to her book signing for Bravely where she discussed how writing the sequel came about. Apparently, Disney called her up out of the blue and asked her to write the follow-up to the movie in book form. Maggie thought it was because of her education in Medieval History or because she plays the bagpipes. 

Turns out it’s just because Disney is a Maggie Stiefvater fangirl and the other reasons were happy accidents. Honestly, I can relate to that. 

At first Maggie turned down the offer—who was she to write the sequel to Brave? But then after some very life-altering events, medical scares, and a complete reorganization of her life and her dreams, Maggie accepted. 

I can tell you right off the bat that the book is good. 

It’s solid. 

Maggie presents a very clear plot: Merida has one year to save Dun Broch (her home) and her family from ruin at the hands of an ancient god. She strikes a bargain with two gods and they agree to give her one year. If she can change her family for the better, their lives will be spared. It’s simple, but effective. 

You get action, emotion, travel, adventure, history, fantasy, and magic. What else could you possibly want?

It’s not that I wanted more exactly, it’s just that this book wasn’t quite up to Maggie Stiefvater’s usual brand of weirdness and charm. My favorite characters from the book ended up being Leezie, Merida’s maidservant turned sister, and Feradach, the god of destruction. 

They were by far the most unique and interesting characters. They were also Maggie originals. Maggie does so much better when she can play around with the characters, the relationships, and the setting from creation. 

For Bravely, she was already given a mold and a universe to work with. Apparently, Disney gave her complete creative freedom, but that doesn’t change the fact that Merida was already established as Merida before Maggie sunk her teeth into her. 

It’s not that they’re bad characters by any means. They’re just not as good as characters from the Raven Cycle or other Maggie works like The Scorpio Races. Merida, her father, her mother, and her brothers don’t come across as nuanced or as intriguing as Maggie’s regular characters, although Maggie put up quite the effort to flesh them out as individuals. 

My one huge annoyance is that Maggie did introduce some romance into the mix for Merida. One of the whole points of Brave is that Merida refuses to get married and doesn’t want to get married. She wants to fight, to travel, to learn, to live her life, all without offering her hand in marriage. 

Introducing romance for Merida was an odd choice that went against everything Brave tried to introduce. I think the romance was erroneous, last-minute, and not fleshed out. Bravely would have been better overall without it. 

Regardless, the book is entertaining. 

It’s not quite on par with Maggie’s usual brand of jaw-dropping writing and eloquent figurative language, but it was still lovely and chock-full of magic gone awry and heart-wrenching feelings.  

Recommendation: If you love Disney or Brave or Maggie Stiefvater, then I recommend you read it. If you just want a fun, stand-alone fairy-tale-esque story then I recommend you read it. If you don’t care for any of the above, then this Scotland story about a fiery princess is better off unread. 

Score: 7/10

Bonus~Here’s a pic of me with Maggie Stiefvater at the Bravely book signing.