Brave: The Junior Novelization

by Irene Trimble, Walt Disney Company

An epic adventure set in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. Determined to carve her own path in life, a skilled archer named Princess Merida defies a sacred age-old custom--and inadvertently unleashes a beastly curse upon the kingdom. To set things right, Merida embarks on a perilous quest and discovers the meaning of true bravery.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Audiobook, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Adventure

123 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Merida, a Scottish Princess, must be married according to tradition and her mother's wishes - which amounts to her being won in a contest.

Desperate and despondent, Merida tries convincing her mother every which way but her mom refuses to listen.

In a last-ditch effort, Merida throws the archery contest designed to win her hand by competing (and winning) her own hand.

The princes are confused.

The neighboring nobility feel cheated.

And (most of all), Merida's mom is furious.

Merida, even more desperate than before, decides to use magic to convince her mother that her actions were right...only that magic misfires in a major way.

With her mom transformed into a bear and only three days to end the curse - what can Merida possibly do?

Dare I say it? I liked this one better than the movie!

I remember the movie absolutely amazing me with the animation...but ultimately bewildered and confused - there's too much that happened and I just couldn't follow the plot. (Though, I loved just watching Merida's wild mane bounce across the screen.)

The novel, however, was a whole other story.

Brave the novel was a true-to-movie adaption - but it does give the audience a smidge more detail (too which I'm eternally grateful!).

I definitely feel like the relationship between Merida and her mother is a bit more fleshed out in the novel and I understand the subtleties between their arguments significantly better.

I enjoyed how you can really see how the mother-daughter pair really cared for each other, just not in the way that the other needed.

The only thing that was missing was the amazing detail from the movie - such as Merida's hair or the whimsical magic.

Those aspects were truly fantastic in the movie but in the book, they were only given the barest of details (or should I say bearest?).

Overall, rather fun short adaption.

Audiobook Comments
Read by Lucy Rayner - and she did a pretty good job. I liked her display of emotion and range of tone.

The Finer Books Club - 2018 Reading Challenge: A book based on a TV show or movie

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[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this movie right around the time it came out, but can barely remember it. So when I saw that this book was available at my library I thought, "why not?" This book was much better than I expected! It brought back a lot of good memories about the movie and I forgot how much I really liked Princess Merida.

Princess Merida's mother is trying to find her a husband, but Merida doesn't want to be married. She doesn't need someone to take care of her. She can take care of herself. She hates all the regulations that her society puts on women. Merida gets so mad that her family is trying to marry her off that she visits a witch. The witch helps her by putting a curse on her whole family. To set things right, Merida embarks on a quest and learns more about herself and builds an unlikely relationship with her mother.

This was a cute, easy read story that I enjoyed. Now I need to re-watch the movie :p

[CP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Merida is wonderful!

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I may ship Merida and Young MacGuffin now. What? What do you mean that’s not what I was supposed to take away from the story? You can’t tell me how to feel. 😁

[Amanda The Book Slayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kerry Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

My five year old daughter picked this out at her school book fair and we’ve been reading it at bedtime for several weeks. We finished tonight. It was fine, as novelizations of beloved films go. I enjoyed trying to do the Scottish accents. 😁 We giggled over the description of the naked triplets at the end.

I do like reading to her from books slightly above her age range because she asks what the big words mean. Tonight I had to explain the words triumphantly and retrieved. ❤️

[Elizabeth Gajdosik]

Read it all the way through in a heavy Scottish brougue.

[lids ☆彡 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the only time i’ve read the book before watching the movie (3rd grade me had happily fallen victim to marketing and couldn’t wait for the movie to release)

i think this is how i developed a love of celtic folklore

[Autumn Maisy Raquet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and my Scottish in my blood. her gown is a 15th century Italian gown is that weird or what give her a Scottish gown

[R Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my little girl it was fun to read but no where near as fun as the movie.

[El marcapáginas de MEL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las adaptaciones son siempre una buena opción para leer un libro en otro idioma, pues conocemos la trama de antemano y resulta más sencillo seguir el hilo. Este es uno de estos casos.

"Brave", de Disney Pixar, es una muy buena película. Cuenta con una animación muy trabajada y una historia bien estructurada a la par que entretenida.
En esta adaptación de la película encontramos la trama de una hora y 40 minutos en una cortísimas 123 páginas: en una Escocia medieval, una joven protagonista quiere cambiar su destino.

A mí parecer, este es un libro que se puede leer solo, es decir, sin haber visto la película antes. Aunque se disfruta mucho más habiendo visto el largometraje. Porque aparte de lo bien trabajado que está, hay mucho detalle. Por no hablar de que es una obra de arte lo que lxs animadorxs pueden hacer con los paisajes de Escocia.
Entonces pues, este es un libro adaptado en el que se cortan la mayoría de detalles que no son totalmente relevantes para la trama. Es como un resumen de la película con los diálogos y pocas descripciones: un libro para practicar tu inglés.

Me hubiera gustado que la misma empresa de Disney hiciese una adaptación completa de esta película en concreto (aunque por hacer, ¿por qué no de todas las que han lanzado?). Leería sin dudas un libro de 500 páginas con todos los detalles de esta historia. Con los detalles en el arco de Mérida, con las descripciones de la montaña y sus puestas de sol al lado de la catarata del rey, con todas las ropas descritas hasta ponerte en situación.

Así pues, este es un librito para practicar idiomas. Leer sobre lo que ya has visto y saboreado. En el caso de Disney o Disney Pixar es una apuesta segura pues tienen la mayoría sino todas sus películas en formato libro adaptado. También resulta una buena apuesta para aquellas personas de menor edad que quieran adentrarse en la lectura en otra lengua en su adolescencia (también podría ser en su niñez pero algunas palabras son complejas y eso debe tenerse en cuenta).

[Annie Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last week I talked about how we have a special spot for Moana, because it was one of the first things Little Bear latched onto. Brave is the other one. Maybe because of Mommy’s red hair, maybe the colors, maybe the music. Whatever the reason, he absolutely loved, and still does love, that movie.
So as soon as I discovered that @yotoplay had a Brave card, I knew it had to be one of the first cards we got!

We absolutely love this audiobook!
The book is narrated by the actress Lucy Rayner, and she has the most wonderful accent. Little Bear can still understand everything she says, and her voice is just perfect for listening to for the almost 3 hour run time.
The book is adapted from the movie by Irene Trimble. She does an excellent job of really telling the story that we know and love in a whole new format.

If you aren’t familiar with Brave, it’s the story of a young woman who, in her ferver to not get married yet, foolishly and accidentally causes a curse to fall.
Merida and her mother travel far and back again in an effort to undo the curse and while doing so, learns that sometimes things are bigger than just herself…


Rating:
5 out of 5 Little Bear Paws

CW:
Can get a little scary at moments, bear attacks.

[ضحى الحداد · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
First off, let's begin by saying I wasn't a huge fan of the movie BRAVE .. I mean, it did have a nice idea and a great concept about family but the story itself wasn't that interesting for me in general.. that being said if you really liked the movie I would suggest you watch it again because the book wasn't as enjoyable as the movie .. so yeah, I LOVE the Junior Novelization series and I do plan to read more in the future .. but this one wasn't for me I guess

[Aubrey Timmins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The junior novelization of Brave was a quick and enjoyable read. It follows the movie very closely, so if you’ve seen the film, most of the story will feel familiar. I liked how it still captured the spirit of Merida’s character and her relationship with her mother, even if it didn’t add too much new. Overall, it’s a fun way to revisit the story, but it doesn’t expand on the movie much.

[ᗩᗰIᖇᗩ ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

الأميرة الاسكتلندية المتمردة "ميريدا" ماهرة في الرماية ومتهورة، تتوق للسيطرة على مصيرها واختيار طريقها الخاص في الحياة، ترفض الزواج المدبر، فتلجأ إلى ساحرة تمنحها أمنية كارثية تحول والدتها الملكة إل�� دب. تهرب "ميريدا" مع والدتها في البرية، ويجب عليها إصلاح علاقتهما وإيجاد طريقة لعكس اللعنة قبل فوات الأوان

[Julia Chen]

this is a story which I know this in movie, the story is about a skilled archer named Princess Merida defied an ancient sacred custom and unwittingly launched a savage curse on the kingdom.I tink it is funny because the power change the queen in to a bear.

[Bai · Rating 3 out of 5]

It never fails to amaze me how different the lines are. But I feel like the story is rushed with how little the scenes are described. I would have thought the author would take a little time and would write a little more. Be a little more descriptive.

[Arianna ( Castiel’s Version ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, easy to read story. My actual rating is 3.5 stars but Goodreads only does whole stars 🙂 Read it all in one go and didn’t get bored at all. Very fast paced- as it is technically a children’s book but hey, we all gotta read something light and fun every now and then.

[Sally Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a fairy tale. A Disney movie I missed because my girls had moved on beyond college. But I love all things Celtic and this is a Scottish tale. A good tale with a good ending. A good tale for a youth reader…..

[Tim Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, it is nice to read the book after seeing the film, Great story

[The Lady Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadn't seen it so I decided to read it. Cute though predictable disney. :)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great inspiration for my Merida tattoo.. great story ❤️

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this and it tides in with the film well too.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Candi Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good adaptation for the movie!

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I like the book Brave because it’s based on the movie on Disney." -Cadee, age 10

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple novelized version of the movie but enjoyable.

[Tony Reeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brave!!

This is likely my favorite animated movie. I was very surprised how similar the book and the movie are. It's a very enjoyable read.

[Kelly Philpott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great audio version for our road trip!

[Kristin]

DNF the accent didn’t help me sleep. Kept me awake.