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Valiant
A debut fairy tale reimagining featuring a strong female character and a daring quest just right for fans of Shannon Hale, Jessica Day George, and Gail Carson Levine.
Saville hates sewing. How can she not when her father, the Tailor, loves his bolts of velvet and silk far more than he's ever loved her? Yet, when he is struck ill shortly after they arrive in the city of Reggen, Saville must don boy's clothes in the hopes of gaining a commission from the king to keep them fed. The kingdom is soon on edge when stories spread of an army of giants led by a man who cannot be killed. But giants are just stories, and no man is immortal.
And then the giants do come to the city gates, two larger-than-life scouts whom Saville cunningly tricks into leaving. The Tailor of Reggen is the hero of the kingdom, the king promises his sister's hand in marriage, and by the time Saville reaches the palace doors, it is widely known that the Tailor single-handedly killed the giants. When her secret―that she's a girl―is quickly discovered by Lord Galen Verras, the king's cousin, Saville's swept into the twists and turns of court politics.
The deathless man is very real, and he will use his giant army to ensure he is given the throne freely or by force. Now, only a tailor girl with courage and cunning can see beyond the tales to discover the truth and save the kingdom again.
Valiant is a rich reimagining of "The Brave Little Tailor," artfully crafting a story of understanding, identity, and fighting to protect those you love most.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 28, 2015
13 people are currently reading
5291 people want to read
About the author
Sarah McGuire
4 books87 followersSarah McGuire is a nomadic math teacher who sailed around the world aboard a floating college campus. She writes fairy tales and fun fantasy and would be just fine if one day she opened a wardrobe and stumbled into another world. Coffee and chocolate are her rocket fuel. She wishes Florida had mountains, but she lives there anyways with her husband (who wrote this bio in less than three minutes!) and their family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
June 2, 2016
2nd re-read ( June, 2 nd)
My thoughts after having finished this re-read: Yeah, I still love this book to pieces! *.*
Arc provided by Egmont usa through Netgalley
Release Date: April 28 th
And unexpectedly, a favourite read appears...
Having never read the original fairy tale, it was the expression "a debut fairy tale reimagining" in the synopsis that caught my interest. And I am so glad that it did!
~What can I say? You people know I can't resist a fairy tale retelling!~
I loved this from page one until the very last.
Especially because I had no idea of what was going to happen. And I have no problem admitting that I was a "little nervous" to see how a certain situation would be resolved.
Saville is a great character: She's level headed, intelligent and courageous... and no, she is not a Mary Sue.
She is a seventeen year old who has lost her mother, and only has her brute of a father in her life.
The father is the Tailor. Someone more interested in fabrics and outfit models than in his own daughter. In fact he pretty much hates her.
Saville has grown accustomed to his violent moods, but not resigned. And it is her intention to start a new life once father and daughter reach their new home in Reggen.
Unfortunately things don't work out as Saville had planned, and just when she is settling into her new life, her dreams end up pushed aside, when the girl finds herself suddenly entangled in Reggen's state affairs.
It's not easy to make a living as a Tailor being a girl. There the need for a disguise.
It becomes even more difficult when someone sees through said disguise, and when she suddenly finds herself in the unlikely role of Reggen's champion.
Now the "brave little tailor" who happens to be a girl, will have to find a way to stop a war between Reggen and a mysterious duke determined to lay waste to the whole city.
In the meantime she will have to keep safe the only family she has left_ and no, I am not talking about her worthless father_ and especially try not to lose her heart to her only ally: someone way above her station in life.
Regarding the romance, I will just say this: It evolved into a beautiful _although at times aching_ story to watch. I had no idea of what was going to happen.
Full of adventure, heartbreak, and just the right dose of romance, this is a tale that will probably be better appreciated by the YA and adult readers... or so says the adult who loved it. :)
My thoughts after having finished this re-read: Yeah, I still love this book to pieces! *.*
Arc provided by Egmont usa through Netgalley
Release Date: April 28 th
And unexpectedly, a favourite read appears...
Having never read the original fairy tale, it was the expression "a debut fairy tale reimagining" in the synopsis that caught my interest. And I am so glad that it did!
~What can I say? You people know I can't resist a fairy tale retelling!~
I loved this from page one until the very last.
Especially because I had no idea of what was going to happen. And I have no problem admitting that I was a "little nervous" to see how a certain situation would be resolved.
Saville is a great character: She's level headed, intelligent and courageous... and no, she is not a Mary Sue.
She is a seventeen year old who has lost her mother, and only has her brute of a father in her life.
The father is the Tailor. Someone more interested in fabrics and outfit models than in his own daughter. In fact he pretty much hates her.
Saville has grown accustomed to his violent moods, but not resigned. And it is her intention to start a new life once father and daughter reach their new home in Reggen.
Unfortunately things don't work out as Saville had planned, and just when she is settling into her new life, her dreams end up pushed aside, when the girl finds herself suddenly entangled in Reggen's state affairs.
It's not easy to make a living as a Tailor being a girl. There the need for a disguise.
It becomes even more difficult when someone sees through said disguise, and when she suddenly finds herself in the unlikely role of Reggen's champion.
Now the "brave little tailor" who happens to be a girl, will have to find a way to stop a war between Reggen and a mysterious duke determined to lay waste to the whole city.
In the meantime she will have to keep safe the only family she has left_ and no, I am not talking about her worthless father_ and especially try not to lose her heart to her only ally: someone way above her station in life.
Regarding the romance, I will just say this: It evolved into a beautiful _although at times aching_ story to watch. I had no idea of what was going to happen.
Full of adventure, heartbreak, and just the right dose of romance, this is a tale that will probably be better appreciated by the YA and adult readers... or so says the adult who loved it. :)
December 21, 2014
*NetGalley book review*
This fabulous remake of the tale The Brave Tailor was a fun action packed story that I read to my son at his bed time. He and I enjoyed this book very much. The giants, the courage of the main character and all the bright imaginative details were a hit. Another great children's book that was a home run at my house.
This fabulous remake of the tale The Brave Tailor was a fun action packed story that I read to my son at his bed time. He and I enjoyed this book very much. The giants, the courage of the main character and all the bright imaginative details were a hit. Another great children's book that was a home run at my house.
July 28, 2014
I loved this book SO MUCH that I wrote a blurb for it. Here's what I said:
"My favorite kind of fantasy novel - magical, romantic, exciting and true - and my very favorite kind of heroine. Saville is strong, brave, smart and vulnerable, and I cheered for her all the way. I absolutely loved this book."
And to get more chatty about it (because I just finished reading it and I am bursting with love for it!), at various points it reminded me, in the best possible ways, of Robin McKinley, Gail Carson Levine, and Jenn Reese.
Now I'm just horribly torn between passing on my ARC to a friend who would definitely, definitely love it - or keeping it and pre-ordering her a published copy because I can't bear to give up my ARC! I will definitely be re-reading it again and again.
"My favorite kind of fantasy novel - magical, romantic, exciting and true - and my very favorite kind of heroine. Saville is strong, brave, smart and vulnerable, and I cheered for her all the way. I absolutely loved this book."
And to get more chatty about it (because I just finished reading it and I am bursting with love for it!), at various points it reminded me, in the best possible ways, of Robin McKinley, Gail Carson Levine, and Jenn Reese.
Now I'm just horribly torn between passing on my ARC to a friend who would definitely, definitely love it - or keeping it and pre-ordering her a published copy because I can't bear to give up my ARC! I will definitely be re-reading it again and again.
August 14, 2015
This book has been raking in the raves, and for quite a large number of chapters I wondered why... and then I got to the giants. At which point I wanted to tell everyone about the giants, which I suppose would seem suspiciously like I was raving.... so, I will admit it forthwith -- I got pretty dang enthusiastic about this book despite the fact that for quite some time, I was unimpressed.
As I pondered it, I realized it's no surprise that giants basically never show up in YA writing -- they aren't sexy. But younger readers, who are more interested in adventures and imagination than handsome brooding supernatural boys who treat them badly (or at least send mixed messages half the time) LOVE giants. And apparently, so can I. It doesn't hurt that Sarah McGuire makes the giants an extremely musical race. At one point Saville says, "I'd heard snatches of the giants' songs on the walls, but this was like wind or water -- it washed over and through me. Every tune I'd heard until then was only a husk of sound." The giants hear the sounds and music of people and things that we silly humans have no idea even make music. And they are vulnerable to the machinations of humans because those who are not deeply gifted cannot "hear" whether humans lie; so they must be led by one who can hear the truth in sound and thus protect them. Seriously.
Okay, and the love story in this book is so sweet I can barely stand it... but somehow I managed to force myself not to be too cynical or disillusioned to read it. I can't really think of a parallel for this level of (romantic) relationship building in a middle grade novel -- though, to be fair, I haven't read a gazillion MG novels; but compared with the couple I have reviewed, plus Harry Potter, this one contains far and away the most complex and moving romantic relationship. I really liked how these characters communicated, worked together, grew to trust each other because they truly earned and deserved that trust, protected each other, were attracted to each other... and finally realized that what they felt contained all the components of romantic love. It really doesn't get much sweeter than that.
My objective criticism of the novel would be essentially that I think it starts out way too slowly. Especially given where I now know it's headed, and how imaginative and interesting Sarah McGuire can be. The first 20% of this book is often ponderous, and very dreary. Yes, I understand that setting up a medievaleqsue world on the cusp of war, and introducing a heroine with a miserable home life and little to look forward to in the future would require some level of dreariness to be realistic. But I didn't need anywhere near this much of it. I could have gotten the point in about 20 pages. And it is a crying shame not to give readers any idea that they should be on the lookout for some real magic and beauty in the forthcoming chapters. You can't expect a majority of readers to get that far if the first act of your book isn't representative of either your talent or style!
A slightly more subjective criticism of the book is that I don't particularly like reading about a number of the relationships in this book other than Saville and Verras. Saville's father and her relationship with him were so absurdly awful that I wasted a lot of time looking for the clues to how it was going to turn out that he really did love her (of course! because fathers should love their children!) and they just suffered many misunderstandings. But nope. He's apparently a bastard, utterly without redeeming qualities, no love for his daughter, and (most annoyingly to me) creepily and excessively antagonistic even in a post-stroke nearly-nonverbal condition. I understand that it quickly makes Saville more sympathetic that she has survived this... but it makes her sympathetic cheaply because it's just so ridiculously (and I'm going to say unbelievably -- as in, I don't believe the character writing) bad.
On the flip side of the coin is Saville's instant-familial bond with Will, whom she basically turns into her adopted brother within minutes, and her love for him informs her actions ever after to an extent that I find incomprehensibly daft. Just as McGuire makes Saville cheaply sympathetic by making her father an impossible monster, she makes her cheaply sympathetic for her motherly/sisterly willingness to sacrifice anything -- including her life -- for a little brother she didn't even have 5 minutes ago. Remember on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Dawn showed up and everyone hated her, and it kind of made you want to punch the writers in the face because they expected you to buy that Buffy supposedly loved this annoying twit so much that she would do anything and sacrifice anything for her whiny, ungrateful... body part of choice? Will is nowhere near as loathsome as Dawn (he's a fairly pleasant, sometimes-precocious kid, really) but Saville's mindless devotion and desire to immolate herself for him is on par with Buffy's. I really would have preferred their relationship to have been affectionate and loyal, but within bounds that I could find more believable -- in part because of their limits.
All in all, I think this is certainly a worthy book to pick up for a wide variety of MG readers, because there are so many disparate and creative elements to the story that most readers are likely to find something in it that they love, even if they are annoyed by or left cold by one of the things I mentioned as weak points(or something else... I suppose someone might not care about the giants' music! [Though such a someone is clearly confused and in need of enlightenment.]) It's also a pretty solid choice for adults who enjoy all-ages stories with magic and imaginative races and a bit of intrigue and danger, besides.
Really this is a 3.5 stars from me, darn Goodreads to heck for not allowing me the (critically essential) ability to use fractions or decimals. This limitation upon my free speech should be brought to the attention of SCOTUS.
As I pondered it, I realized it's no surprise that giants basically never show up in YA writing -- they aren't sexy. But younger readers, who are more interested in adventures and imagination than handsome brooding supernatural boys who treat them badly (or at least send mixed messages half the time) LOVE giants. And apparently, so can I. It doesn't hurt that Sarah McGuire makes the giants an extremely musical race. At one point Saville says, "I'd heard snatches of the giants' songs on the walls, but this was like wind or water -- it washed over and through me. Every tune I'd heard until then was only a husk of sound." The giants hear the sounds and music of people and things that we silly humans have no idea even make music. And they are vulnerable to the machinations of humans because those who are not deeply gifted cannot "hear" whether humans lie; so they must be led by one who can hear the truth in sound and thus protect them. Seriously.
Okay, and the love story in this book is so sweet I can barely stand it... but somehow I managed to force myself not to be too cynical or disillusioned to read it. I can't really think of a parallel for this level of (romantic) relationship building in a middle grade novel -- though, to be fair, I haven't read a gazillion MG novels; but compared with the couple I have reviewed, plus Harry Potter, this one contains far and away the most complex and moving romantic relationship. I really liked how these characters communicated, worked together, grew to trust each other because they truly earned and deserved that trust, protected each other, were attracted to each other... and finally realized that what they felt contained all the components of romantic love. It really doesn't get much sweeter than that.
My objective criticism of the novel would be essentially that I think it starts out way too slowly. Especially given where I now know it's headed, and how imaginative and interesting Sarah McGuire can be. The first 20% of this book is often ponderous, and very dreary. Yes, I understand that setting up a medievaleqsue world on the cusp of war, and introducing a heroine with a miserable home life and little to look forward to in the future would require some level of dreariness to be realistic. But I didn't need anywhere near this much of it. I could have gotten the point in about 20 pages. And it is a crying shame not to give readers any idea that they should be on the lookout for some real magic and beauty in the forthcoming chapters. You can't expect a majority of readers to get that far if the first act of your book isn't representative of either your talent or style!
A slightly more subjective criticism of the book is that I don't particularly like reading about a number of the relationships in this book other than Saville and Verras. Saville's father and her relationship with him were so absurdly awful that I wasted a lot of time looking for the clues to how it was going to turn out that he really did love her (of course! because fathers should love their children!) and they just suffered many misunderstandings. But nope. He's apparently a bastard, utterly without redeeming qualities, no love for his daughter, and (most annoyingly to me) creepily and excessively antagonistic even in a post-stroke nearly-nonverbal condition. I understand that it quickly makes Saville more sympathetic that she has survived this... but it makes her sympathetic cheaply because it's just so ridiculously (and I'm going to say unbelievably -- as in, I don't believe the character writing) bad.
On the flip side of the coin is Saville's instant-familial bond with Will, whom she basically turns into her adopted brother within minutes, and her love for him informs her actions ever after to an extent that I find incomprehensibly daft. Just as McGuire makes Saville cheaply sympathetic by making her father an impossible monster, she makes her cheaply sympathetic for her motherly/sisterly willingness to sacrifice anything -- including her life -- for a little brother she didn't even have 5 minutes ago. Remember on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Dawn showed up and everyone hated her, and it kind of made you want to punch the writers in the face because they expected you to buy that Buffy supposedly loved this annoying twit so much that she would do anything and sacrifice anything for her whiny, ungrateful... body part of choice? Will is nowhere near as loathsome as Dawn (he's a fairly pleasant, sometimes-precocious kid, really) but Saville's mindless devotion and desire to immolate herself for him is on par with Buffy's. I really would have preferred their relationship to have been affectionate and loyal, but within bounds that I could find more believable -- in part because of their limits.
All in all, I think this is certainly a worthy book to pick up for a wide variety of MG readers, because there are so many disparate and creative elements to the story that most readers are likely to find something in it that they love, even if they are annoyed by or left cold by one of the things I mentioned as weak points(or something else... I suppose someone might not care about the giants' music! [Though such a someone is clearly confused and in need of enlightenment.]) It's also a pretty solid choice for adults who enjoy all-ages stories with magic and imaginative races and a bit of intrigue and danger, besides.
Really this is a 3.5 stars from me, darn Goodreads to heck for not allowing me the (critically essential) ability to use fractions or decimals. This limitation upon my free speech should be brought to the attention of SCOTUS.
April 21, 2015
I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. This was a very well written young adult fantasy. I really really loved this book. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this novel.
The story is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Valiant Tailor with the twist that this story features a young woman named Saville. Saville’s father is a fabulous tailer who values his trade over anything, including his daughter. He decides to pick up and move to a different kingdom so that he can makes clothes the way he wants to make them (in their home kingdom he has been ridiculed for not following the law laid down by the king there). Saville is upset about leaving her life and her friends and hates tailoring with a passion. Upon their arrival in a new kingdom things go very wrong when her father has a stroke and Saville is forced to pretend to be her father’s apprentice (and a boy) to make a living. Saville is an excellent tailor and things go well for her until the giants arrive.
I have never read the original story of The Valiant Tailor, but I have heard it is not the most exciting of the Brothers Grimm works. This was a very exciting and very well written fantasy story.
I loved the fact that the “brave tailor” in this book is a girl. Saville faces many challenges and is smart and brave again and again throughout the story. She is forced to pretend to be many many different people, but never loses sight of who she is and who she wants to become.
There is a lot of action, war, and intrigue throughout the story. The main issue being dealt with is the mystery behind where the giants came from and who their leader is. It’s an entertaining and well done story. The story has a very classic fantasy feel to it, but also incorporates some great humor throughout.
The characters are fantastic and really come alive; they are very engaging and interesting. The side characters are also well done.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing fantasy retelling of The Valiant Tailor. I am very happy I picked up this book to read and would definitely recommend it to fans of classic fantasy. I would also recommend to fans of fairy tale retellings; this is a great story!
November 15, 2016
Re-read Nov 2016
**An ARC of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**
(First Netgalley ARC approval!! And in only 2 days of being a member! Granted this is only a little over a week from publication, but still. Excuse me while I revel in awe and wonder.)
As far as I can recall, for all my love of fairytale retellings, I'd never before read a re-telling of The Brave Tailor. I don't think there's that many out there, to be honest, but in any case, I was excited to read Valiant. I wasn't hooked immediately, and it did take me until probably near page 50, or whenever Saville took Will in, to be really invested in Saville and her story. Of course, not long after, the giants show up, not to mention a certain fine-coated young man appears once again, and things get really interesting. (That whole scene though, all I could imagine was Mickey Mouse wringing water from cheese. Anyone else remember the Disney version of The Brave Tailor?) From then on out, it was really a lot of fun. The characters are vivid and written so believably. The relationships, all of them, are on point. The friendships and the romance are wonderfully written and had me internally cheering for quite a few of them.
My one complaint would be that I thought maybe the villain could have been a little more fleshed out, but it's a pretty minor quibble.
**An ARC of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**
(First Netgalley ARC approval!! And in only 2 days of being a member! Granted this is only a little over a week from publication, but still. Excuse me while I revel in awe and wonder.)
As far as I can recall, for all my love of fairytale retellings, I'd never before read a re-telling of The Brave Tailor. I don't think there's that many out there, to be honest, but in any case, I was excited to read Valiant. I wasn't hooked immediately, and it did take me until probably near page 50, or whenever Saville took Will in, to be really invested in Saville and her story. Of course, not long after, the giants show up, not to mention a certain fine-coated young man appears once again, and things get really interesting. (That whole scene though, all I could imagine was Mickey Mouse wringing water from cheese. Anyone else remember the Disney version of The Brave Tailor?) From then on out, it was really a lot of fun. The characters are vivid and written so believably. The relationships, all of them, are on point. The friendships and the romance are wonderfully written and had me internally cheering for quite a few of them.
My one complaint would be that I thought maybe the villain could have been a little more fleshed out, but it's a pretty minor quibble.
July 9, 2015
VALIANT is exactly what I look for in my fairytales retold. Young Saville's father has a stroke, meaning that she has to disguise herself as a boy to keep up the family business. (She's a tailor, and no man would let his measurements be taken by a woman.) When the young boy she takes in is threatened, she faces down two giants and ends up becoming the country's hero.
This take on "The Brave Little Tailor" features a heroine who is intelligent and unsurprisingly valiant. She might not be a physical match for an army of giants led by a mad duke, but she's not going to roll over and let the people she loves be annihilated. I also liked the complications in her life, from a father who loves fabric more than his daughter to a man who appreciates her but already has a fiancee.
This modern update keeps a strong traditional feel amid all the progressiveness. I think it will be a big hit with fans of Gail Carson Levine and Shannon Hale. Like those authors, Sarah McGuire serves up an inventively adventurous heroine, an age-appropriate romance, and a lovingly crafted world. Even the giants aren't mere flat monsters but an entire society with a variety of personalities.
This middle-grade debut is a charmer. I hope it doesn't get lost as one of the books on Egmont's last list, thankfully being distributed by Lerner.
This take on "The Brave Little Tailor" features a heroine who is intelligent and unsurprisingly valiant. She might not be a physical match for an army of giants led by a mad duke, but she's not going to roll over and let the people she loves be annihilated. I also liked the complications in her life, from a father who loves fabric more than his daughter to a man who appreciates her but already has a fiancee.
This modern update keeps a strong traditional feel amid all the progressiveness. I think it will be a big hit with fans of Gail Carson Levine and Shannon Hale. Like those authors, Sarah McGuire serves up an inventively adventurous heroine, an age-appropriate romance, and a lovingly crafted world. Even the giants aren't mere flat monsters but an entire society with a variety of personalities.
This middle-grade debut is a charmer. I hope it doesn't get lost as one of the books on Egmont's last list, thankfully being distributed by Lerner.
April 18, 2021
4.5 stars
When I first heard about Valiant, a fairy tale retelling with gender bending set at court and involving battles with giants, I knew I had to have this book in my life. It had so many of my favorite things that I couldn't resist. And while I'm late in reviewing the book because the release date was moved up without my knowledge, I'm so glad I managed to fit this one into my schedule after all. Let me take a moment and give this brilliant and fun debut novel some of the publicity it so rightly deserves, so it doesn't fall into the forgotten wasteland of Egmont's last list.
Valiant tells the story of Saville, the daughter of the Tailor who arrives at Reggen and then falls ill. To keep food on the table, Saville disguises herself as a boy, the Tailor's apprentice, to take on commissions from the king. Saville immediately impressed me as a character. She's been fighting for the love of her father for so long without success, yet still she cares for him when he needs it. She's kind, as she takes in Will, a homeless boy, and brave, as she fights to protect him when the giants come to take over the city. She has to fight traditional gender roles every day, and she takes action when even the bravest knights do not. She is a feminist role model, for sure.
The story is incredibly fun and entertaining, full of excellent fairy tale escapades. When Saville stands up to the giants, she's heralded as the city's champion and promised to the princess. Though she was only trying to save Will's life (the cutest little 8 year old you'll ever meet), she suddenly finds herself in the middle of an impending war. While the king and his court cower and search for escapes, she and Galen, the king's cousin, do everything they can to protect the city. I easily got completely caught up in this story and found myself enjoying it so much: particularly the conversations with the giants - who were quite different than expected - and, obviously, the budding romance that I had my eye on from the start.
Now. That romance. It's light, because most of the book is filled with Saville kicking ass and being awesome, but it's there nonetheless and this ship is beautiful. It's slow, slow burn perfection: starting with suspicion and mild dislike, building through respect and understanding, until you find yourself tossing about in bed thinking, "DEAR GOD PLEASE JUST KISS ALREADY." Saville and Galen are just so great for each other - they really support and make each other stronger. And Galen... he's a dreamboat. I will always have feels for noble, brave, and chivalrous types like him.
So far the book might sound pretty light and fluffy (and there were moments where it felt like it was on the younger side of YA), but trust me when I tell you that the story got real intense at certain moments. There were clear enemies at court, multiple casualties during the siege on Reggen, and the climax had some tragic consequences. McGuire knows how to build suspense, particularly at one moment when Saville muses that there probably won't be a happy ending, that the romance probably won't work out, and they probably won't all come back alive. Well, obviously at that point I had to keep reading until I was done. Basically: this was an extremely engrossing adventure. It was pretty much everything I want from a fairy tale retelling.
Summing Up:
Valiant is an absolutely wonderful debut from Sarah McGuire. It executed the gender bending trope to perfection, I loved the characters, the slow burn romance gave me some intense feel feels, and the story is chock full of exciting adventures. I'm also extremely impressed by the writing and story telling, so I can't wait to see what McGuire will come out with next!
GIF it to me straight!
Recommended To:
If you like strong female characters, gender bending, slow burn courtly romances, and/or fairy tales, you need this book in your life.
*An electronic review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.
When I first heard about Valiant, a fairy tale retelling with gender bending set at court and involving battles with giants, I knew I had to have this book in my life. It had so many of my favorite things that I couldn't resist. And while I'm late in reviewing the book because the release date was moved up without my knowledge, I'm so glad I managed to fit this one into my schedule after all. Let me take a moment and give this brilliant and fun debut novel some of the publicity it so rightly deserves, so it doesn't fall into the forgotten wasteland of Egmont's last list.
Valiant tells the story of Saville, the daughter of the Tailor who arrives at Reggen and then falls ill. To keep food on the table, Saville disguises herself as a boy, the Tailor's apprentice, to take on commissions from the king. Saville immediately impressed me as a character. She's been fighting for the love of her father for so long without success, yet still she cares for him when he needs it. She's kind, as she takes in Will, a homeless boy, and brave, as she fights to protect him when the giants come to take over the city. She has to fight traditional gender roles every day, and she takes action when even the bravest knights do not. She is a feminist role model, for sure.
The story is incredibly fun and entertaining, full of excellent fairy tale escapades. When Saville stands up to the giants, she's heralded as the city's champion and promised to the princess. Though she was only trying to save Will's life (the cutest little 8 year old you'll ever meet), she suddenly finds herself in the middle of an impending war. While the king and his court cower and search for escapes, she and Galen, the king's cousin, do everything they can to protect the city. I easily got completely caught up in this story and found myself enjoying it so much: particularly the conversations with the giants - who were quite different than expected - and, obviously, the budding romance that I had my eye on from the start.
Now. That romance. It's light, because most of the book is filled with Saville kicking ass and being awesome, but it's there nonetheless and this ship is beautiful. It's slow, slow burn perfection: starting with suspicion and mild dislike, building through respect and understanding, until you find yourself tossing about in bed thinking, "DEAR GOD PLEASE JUST KISS ALREADY." Saville and Galen are just so great for each other - they really support and make each other stronger. And Galen... he's a dreamboat. I will always have feels for noble, brave, and chivalrous types like him.
So far the book might sound pretty light and fluffy (and there were moments where it felt like it was on the younger side of YA), but trust me when I tell you that the story got real intense at certain moments. There were clear enemies at court, multiple casualties during the siege on Reggen, and the climax had some tragic consequences. McGuire knows how to build suspense, particularly at one moment when Saville muses that there probably won't be a happy ending, that the romance probably won't work out, and they probably won't all come back alive. Well, obviously at that point I had to keep reading until I was done. Basically: this was an extremely engrossing adventure. It was pretty much everything I want from a fairy tale retelling.
Summing Up:
Valiant is an absolutely wonderful debut from Sarah McGuire. It executed the gender bending trope to perfection, I loved the characters, the slow burn romance gave me some intense feel feels, and the story is chock full of exciting adventures. I'm also extremely impressed by the writing and story telling, so I can't wait to see what McGuire will come out with next!
GIF it to me straight!
Recommended To:
If you like strong female characters, gender bending, slow burn courtly romances, and/or fairy tales, you need this book in your life.
*An electronic review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.
May 7, 2015
Ahhhhh, that was so cute! Classic, old-shool fairy tale retelling like Ella Enchanted or Shannon Hale (very accureate, book synopsis, very accurate indeed). Bit of an uneven start, but once I was into this, I was totally into this. Finished it at 3 am! The ship is super cute, too, and the plot has got quite a bit of action and momentum. This book just made me happy.
August 22, 2014
This fairy tale retelling captured my heart! Saville is my favorite type of protagonist. She’s strong and determined, yet vulnerable and thoughtful. Those quieter moments make her seem all the more brave. There’s nothing not to love about this book. The writing is stellar. The romance is sweet and believable. The secondary characters are developed with depth and dimension. I adored this book!
July 6, 2016
I quite loved this book! Valiant by Sarah McGuire is a retelling of The Brave Little Tailor, which I used to read (the mickey mouse version, hehe) all the time when I was little! It was so, so fun seeing the similarities ... when I found out it was indeed a retelling of that fairytale, I was so excited!
There was a little bit of romance - so sweet and satisfying. Some violence/gruesomeness/creepiness due to the giants and whatnot; but not much at all. I really liked all the characters! Our little tailor, Saville; the boy, Will; and the most wonderful Galen ... *hugs them* Love them! There were a lot of other great characters as well ... some you like, some not so much. But well-done cast of characters!
It got a little slow in the middle, as I remember. But it still deserves my five-star rating! Because overall ... *huggles book* ... it was just wonderful and unique and fantastic, and I'm thrilled to have it on my bookshelf next to my other fairy tale retellings! ^_^
My friends, if you like the fairy tale retelling genre, you should most definitely give Valiant a try! Giants, velvet, clever street urchins, and brave tailors. Emotion, action, and poignant themes ... Good winning out over evil! Read it! *smiles*
There was a little bit of romance - so sweet and satisfying. Some violence/gruesomeness/creepiness due to the giants and whatnot; but not much at all. I really liked all the characters! Our little tailor, Saville; the boy, Will; and the most wonderful Galen ... *hugs them* Love them! There were a lot of other great characters as well ... some you like, some not so much. But well-done cast of characters!
It got a little slow in the middle, as I remember. But it still deserves my five-star rating! Because overall ... *huggles book* ... it was just wonderful and unique and fantastic, and I'm thrilled to have it on my bookshelf next to my other fairy tale retellings! ^_^
My friends, if you like the fairy tale retelling genre, you should most definitely give Valiant a try! Giants, velvet, clever street urchins, and brave tailors. Emotion, action, and poignant themes ... Good winning out over evil! Read it! *smiles*
March 28, 2016
I loved Valiant! It had a developed heroine, satisfying relationships, and lovely writing. I was only vaguely familiar with "The Brave Little Tailor" going in, but it is easy to see how the author takes the story and adds layers. Some re-tellings flesh out the original, others improve it. Valiant is definitely in the latter.
What drew me in initially was Saville's relationship with her Dad. Her response to his anger and selfishness was believable and true. Her emotions aren't "overdone", yet it was easy to connect to every one of them.
She really was a likable, wonderful heroine. I never felt like the author was hitting me over the head with A POINT or PLOT DEVELOPMENT and yet she grows and becomes stronger. I loved her relationship with everyone around her, especially Fine Coat. The giants were well created and I liked learning more about them.
Objectively, I have no idea if this book is a 5 star. However, I never pretend to be objective. This is the sort of book I would have read and re-read as a teenager. It is one I will probably buy for myself some day and definitely will have to get for my cousins.
Developed, emotional, wonderful.
What drew me in initially was Saville's relationship with her Dad. Her response to his anger and selfishness was believable and true. Her emotions aren't "overdone", yet it was easy to connect to every one of them.
She really was a likable, wonderful heroine. I never felt like the author was hitting me over the head with A POINT or PLOT DEVELOPMENT and yet she grows and becomes stronger. I loved her relationship with everyone around her, especially Fine Coat. The giants were well created and I liked learning more about them.
Objectively, I have no idea if this book is a 5 star. However, I never pretend to be objective. This is the sort of book I would have read and re-read as a teenager. It is one I will probably buy for myself some day and definitely will have to get for my cousins.
Developed, emotional, wonderful.
October 30, 2014
Oh, how I do love a clever girl! And Saville is the cleverest. She, a lowly tailor's assistant (well, assistant to her father, who is The Tailor) manages to clever her way out of several bad situations and do what no one else can do: face off against what seems to be an insurmountable foe.
The writing is so beautiful and evocative and geez, how many books do you read where an author can describe how it feels to be falling in love and you think it's the first time you've ever read about such a thing? Amazing.
This is a book full of adventure and witty, romantic banter (another fave of mine!). Get this on your To Read list now! This book is velvet.*
*sorry, you'll just have to read it to understand this reference.
The writing is so beautiful and evocative and geez, how many books do you read where an author can describe how it feels to be falling in love and you think it's the first time you've ever read about such a thing? Amazing.
This is a book full of adventure and witty, romantic banter (another fave of mine!). Get this on your To Read list now! This book is velvet.*
*sorry, you'll just have to read it to understand this reference.
November 15, 2014
Fantastic. Fantasy, strong women. Romance, giants, royalty, castles, battles. I am super excited about this one. I can't wait for more from Sarah McGuire.
June 12, 2018
The giant looked up at the sky. "The stars are the only things here that remind me of home.
Where I live, where we come from, we hear truth in stone... Stone does not lie if you listen to it. Our people know this."
4.5 stars?
I really enjoyed this book because you know, giants! I was so glad when finally the giants came into the story as I love tales that have different creatures in it.
I'm unsure of giving it 5 stars as it had a few grammar mistakes, a missing apostrophe and there were two sentences repeated right after the other one. I also felt a little as If the story could have been less obvious because to me I knew where the whole thing was going but nevertheless I still enjoyed all of it. I loved the characters, the setting, and atmosphere of the tale.
Where I live, where we come from, we hear truth in stone... Stone does not lie if you listen to it. Our people know this."
4.5 stars?
I really enjoyed this book because you know, giants! I was so glad when finally the giants came into the story as I love tales that have different creatures in it.
I'm unsure of giving it 5 stars as it had a few grammar mistakes, a missing apostrophe and there were two sentences repeated right after the other one. I also felt a little as If the story could have been less obvious because to me I knew where the whole thing was going but nevertheless I still enjoyed all of it. I loved the characters, the setting, and atmosphere of the tale.
July 27, 2024
Oh, how I love this retelling and reimagining of an old fairy tale! It’s filled with all the elements I love in a fantasy-danger, fun, excitement, emotion and love! This is a great read!
April 16, 2018
It is spare, but evocative. Memorable. It captures the fairytale feel. The only issue was that I liked these characters too well and wanted to know so much more!
Could have used more dialogue and interactions between characters, more time spent with them - everyone is distant in a way because we know so little about who they are - extremely little background and little understanding of the mindset and emotions of Eldin, Lissa, Galen, even Laymonn.
It doesn't ruin the story by any means, but I would have deeply appreciated getting that insight and having the chance to know the characters more.
Saville was wonderful! From her courage and kindness to her prickly, fierce personality, I admired her and wanted so much for her. I especially liked her relationship with Will.
Her relationship with the Tailor-never-Father is a raw wound which never heals. The neglect and abuse that she has suffered at his hands for years has shaped her.
I thought the way that situation and the complex emotions caught up in it was handled really well.
And then there is Galen. Who treats her with attention and respect and care. Her and Galen make an excellent pair.
The Duke was a decent villain, though unhinged. Volar and the Uten were a new and nicely developed take on the titular giant of the tale. (I would gladly read another story of their adventures as ambassadors to the Uten even though I know I am not getting one!)
All in all, one of my favourite reads of 2016 and I am very much looking forward to McGuire's next book, The Swan Princess!
Could have used more dialogue and interactions between characters, more time spent with them - everyone is distant in a way because we know so little about who they are - extremely little background and little understanding of the mindset and emotions of Eldin, Lissa, Galen, even Laymonn.
It doesn't ruin the story by any means, but I would have deeply appreciated getting that insight and having the chance to know the characters more.
Saville was wonderful! From her courage and kindness to her prickly, fierce personality, I admired her and wanted so much for her. I especially liked her relationship with Will.
Her relationship with the Tailor-never-Father is a raw wound which never heals. The neglect and abuse that she has suffered at his hands for years has shaped her.
The things the Tailor hadn't done were an emptiness inside me that oceans couldn't fill. And what was I supposed to do with that? Grieve it? I had, since childhood. Fight it? There was no one left to fight.
The Tailor's ugliest piece of handiwork could not be undone.
I thought the way that situation and the complex emotions caught up in it was handled really well.
And then there is Galen. Who treats her with attention and respect and care. Her and Galen make an excellent pair.
"You are the finest man I've ever known. You are the story that was true, even if you aren't mine.
I wanted you to know. I wanted you to hear me say it."
I turned and left, knowing he wouldn't be able to follow.
The Duke was a decent villain, though unhinged. Volar and the Uten were a new and nicely developed take on the titular giant of the tale. (I would gladly read another story of their adventures as ambassadors to the Uten even though I know I am not getting one!)
All in all, one of my favourite reads of 2016 and I am very much looking forward to McGuire's next book, The Swan Princess!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2014
Valiant is going to be a big hit in my Library! Fairy tales retold are the big new thing these days, and while "The Brave Little Tailor" isn't as well known as some, that just makes it better! Who wants Snow White for the millionth time? With emotions and ideas that will resonate with today's readers, Valiant tells the story of Saville, who cannot keep from helping people. She helps her unloving father keep their tailoring business until he can get well and helps a starving boy become useful and happy. But most importantly, when her city is faced with attacking giants, she helps to avert a war between the two groups. I love Saville and so will my students!
May 1, 2023
I wasn't all that familiar with the story of the Brave Little Tailor, apart from a vague recollection of the Mickey Mouse version. Still, my impression was that a novelization probably wouldn't be anything to write home about.
Sometimes, it is a joy to be proven wrong.
"Valiant" has proven to be perhaps my favorite fairy-tale retelling since Shannon Hale's "The Goose Girl". I only wish it'd been longer.
Sometimes, it is a joy to be proven wrong.
"Valiant" has proven to be perhaps my favorite fairy-tale retelling since Shannon Hale's "The Goose Girl". I only wish it'd been longer.
December 12, 2020
Still one of my all time favorite fantasy novels! I absolutely love Saville as a heroine. My favorite thing about this book, however, is the way Saville describes the way the hero, Galen, gazes at her: "He looked at me like I was velvet." GAH. It makes me weak in the knees every time!
August 25, 2015
What a delightful little book!
December 6, 2017
4.5 stars
February 23, 2022
4/5⭐️
Honestly the last 50 pages weren’t that great but the rest of the book made up for it
Honestly the last 50 pages weren’t that great but the rest of the book made up for it
May 26, 2015
Valiant by Sarah McGuire is a delightful retelling of The Brave Little Tailor collected by Grimms, Lang and many others. I really liked the way McGuire retold this story in a way that incorporates modern sensibilities and contemporary thought yet retains the essence of the fairy tale.
Saville has a fractious relationship with her father, a tailor who, after conflicts with his guild, has uprooted them from their home and relocated them to the city of Reggen. Saville’s father has more love for his bolts of silk and other precious materials than his daughter. He does not consider her desires or feelings before making her leave the only home she has known, the place where her mother is buried. Then, as soon as they reach the city of Reggen, he has a stroke and is confined to bed due to paralysis. This throws Saville into a crisis as their situation is dire. Once their money runs out, they have no way of making more as only men are allowed to create clothes for men. So Saville does as she must; she hacks off her hair, dons a suit and presents herself to the king with a proposition. Hiding her gender is easy enough but winning the king’s favour? Not so much. At least not until she sews a becoming jacket for the king; a jacket that hides the paucity of his figure and flatters him like no other clothes can.
Saville manages to make a living by pretending to be a male tailor. She picks up a young boy, Will, who was starving on the streets and offers him a home and food. She takes care of her still ungrateful father. Things are going fairly well when Reggen is attacked by giants. When Will goes to fight the giants and puts himself in danger, Saville has no choice but to try to save him armed with only her wits. The rescue closely mirrors the “original” fairytale where Saville tricks the giants into leaving without blood being shed.
Saville’s victory over the giants makes her into a hero for her people and the king announces that the young tailor will be given his sister’s hand in marriage. Things get hairy from hereon as Saville’s true gender is revealed, the king’s young adviser makes an appearance, and a villainous duke demands the king abdicate his throne for him.
Saville is an easy character to like and empathize with. While she is not overly complex, her strained and bitter relationship with her father gives her depth. I also loved the attention McGuire paid to Saville’s knowledge about tailoring and materials. One of the scenes I particularly loved is when Saville tells Galen, the young adviser, what she has found out about the giants simply by the type of clothes they were wearing.
Like the original tale, the conflict and plot of the novel are fairly straightforward. The villain is blackhearted and not the shades of gray more common to modern fairytales. I did not have a problem with that because I was content to hate him.
I really liked that McGuire doesn’t use the “mean girl” trope when she could have, really easily. Instead, she chooses to let each character individuate herself with her own actions and words. I liked the portrayal of the princess–she is vulnerable to the whims of her brother but has a steely core and determination that is illustrated by the end. The romance, too, is sweet. You guys know how picky I am with romance. I am happy to tell you that the amount of mush in this novel is exactly right. I really loved the relationship between Will and Saville though. Their dependence on each other, even though they’re not blood related, has the sweetness of a relationship between siblings.
The greatest departure from the original tale, however, is Saville’s insistence that the giants are more than mindless creatures commanded to attack the humans. I love that she persists in seeing them as people and goes out of her way and into danger to talk to them so she can understand their motivations. If one wanted, there could be a postcolonial discourse in there somewhere about the treatment of strange people as “savages” especially in comparison with one’s own status.
This book is suitable for both middle grade readers and older YA readers. Valiant is sweet and a welcome addition to the genre of fairytale retellings. I enjoyed it and I dare say anyone looking for a fun, entertaining read will too.
Saville has a fractious relationship with her father, a tailor who, after conflicts with his guild, has uprooted them from their home and relocated them to the city of Reggen. Saville’s father has more love for his bolts of silk and other precious materials than his daughter. He does not consider her desires or feelings before making her leave the only home she has known, the place where her mother is buried. Then, as soon as they reach the city of Reggen, he has a stroke and is confined to bed due to paralysis. This throws Saville into a crisis as their situation is dire. Once their money runs out, they have no way of making more as only men are allowed to create clothes for men. So Saville does as she must; she hacks off her hair, dons a suit and presents herself to the king with a proposition. Hiding her gender is easy enough but winning the king’s favour? Not so much. At least not until she sews a becoming jacket for the king; a jacket that hides the paucity of his figure and flatters him like no other clothes can.
Saville manages to make a living by pretending to be a male tailor. She picks up a young boy, Will, who was starving on the streets and offers him a home and food. She takes care of her still ungrateful father. Things are going fairly well when Reggen is attacked by giants. When Will goes to fight the giants and puts himself in danger, Saville has no choice but to try to save him armed with only her wits. The rescue closely mirrors the “original” fairytale where Saville tricks the giants into leaving without blood being shed.
Saville’s victory over the giants makes her into a hero for her people and the king announces that the young tailor will be given his sister’s hand in marriage. Things get hairy from hereon as Saville’s true gender is revealed, the king’s young adviser makes an appearance, and a villainous duke demands the king abdicate his throne for him.
Saville is an easy character to like and empathize with. While she is not overly complex, her strained and bitter relationship with her father gives her depth. I also loved the attention McGuire paid to Saville’s knowledge about tailoring and materials. One of the scenes I particularly loved is when Saville tells Galen, the young adviser, what she has found out about the giants simply by the type of clothes they were wearing.
Like the original tale, the conflict and plot of the novel are fairly straightforward. The villain is blackhearted and not the shades of gray more common to modern fairytales. I did not have a problem with that because I was content to hate him.
I really liked that McGuire doesn’t use the “mean girl” trope when she could have, really easily. Instead, she chooses to let each character individuate herself with her own actions and words. I liked the portrayal of the princess–she is vulnerable to the whims of her brother but has a steely core and determination that is illustrated by the end. The romance, too, is sweet. You guys know how picky I am with romance. I am happy to tell you that the amount of mush in this novel is exactly right. I really loved the relationship between Will and Saville though. Their dependence on each other, even though they’re not blood related, has the sweetness of a relationship between siblings.
The greatest departure from the original tale, however, is Saville’s insistence that the giants are more than mindless creatures commanded to attack the humans. I love that she persists in seeing them as people and goes out of her way and into danger to talk to them so she can understand their motivations. If one wanted, there could be a postcolonial discourse in there somewhere about the treatment of strange people as “savages” especially in comparison with one’s own status.
This book is suitable for both middle grade readers and older YA readers. Valiant is sweet and a welcome addition to the genre of fairytale retellings. I enjoyed it and I dare say anyone looking for a fun, entertaining read will too.
June 5, 2015
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Valiant by Sarah McGuire has so many elements I love in a book: fairy tale elements, a brave yet flawed heroine, a determined hero, kingdom politics, and a land in peril. There was so much I enjoyed about the book. (Not the least being I actually read a book I liked! After weeks of hating everything.)
Saville has always known her father loves the fabrics he sews as a tailor more than he's ever loved anything or anyone else including her. She resents those fabrics, her father's trade, and the life they've led her to in Reggen. She is determined to escape as soon as she can. When her father has a stroke shortly after their arrival, Saville sees her opportunity for escape disappear. In order to save them from destitution, Saville makes a dangerous gamble disguising herself as a boy and gaining a commission from the King himself. But Reggen is a city on the verge of disaster. Reports are coming in of an army of giants razing towns and leaving no survivors, led by a dangerous human Duke claiming he is the rightful Emperor. Saville is skeptical until her young errand boy finds himself captured by two scouts larger than the oak trees they stand next to. In a daring game of trickery, Saville convinces them she has greater strength and finds herself the champion of the city-a position that comes with it the hand of the princess. When the King and his advisors discover her true identity, she is kept at the palace half prisoner and half assistant to Galen Verras, the cousin of the king and only person in the castle actively working on a solution. Together Saville and Galen make startling discoveries about their foes and make great sacrifices to save the city and the people they love.
Saville is my favorite type of heroine. She is brave, smart, hard working, and loves with all of her heart. She is also scared, impetuous, and hurt by her father's attitude toward her. I love how she came up with such a daring plan to save her and her father, but was actually not all that great at pretending to be a boy. I also adored how she was unable to suppress her compassionate nature and was moved to help people even when it might have been wiser for her to retreat. Galen is a wonderful complement to her. He is also intelligent, brave, and hard working. He can sometimes be too cautious though and this balances well with Saville's utter lack of caution at times. I enjoyed his complicated relationship with his royal family members as well.
The supporting characters are interesting and add a lot to the story as well. The king, the princess, and the young boy Saville saves (Will) all have important roles to play and are layered characters. There are also fascinating dynamics at work in the camp of the giants. The villains are little one note and predictable, but given the fairy tale style of the story that works okay.
Saville's story gripped me from the beginning. It was interesting to see her character react to the challenges she faced as each new life altering event occurred. Once she was in the castle, things slowed down a bit. I did like the slow development of the relationship between Saville and Galen, but felt this part of the novel dragged overall. The end sees the excitement reach new heights though and I adored how it all resolved.
On the whole this is a fun book which is why I enjoyed it so much. The sentence level writing is not the best at times. There are a lot of unnecessary run on sentences and stock phrases that tend to drive me crazy used. (Including the ever annoying: "I released the breath I didn't even know I'd been holding.") Still this is a great book to give fans of fairy tales, adventures, and for those who like a dash of romance.
I read and ARC made available by the publisher, Egmont, at ALA Midwinter. Valiant is available for purchase now.
Valiant by Sarah McGuire has so many elements I love in a book: fairy tale elements, a brave yet flawed heroine, a determined hero, kingdom politics, and a land in peril. There was so much I enjoyed about the book. (Not the least being I actually read a book I liked! After weeks of hating everything.)
Saville has always known her father loves the fabrics he sews as a tailor more than he's ever loved anything or anyone else including her. She resents those fabrics, her father's trade, and the life they've led her to in Reggen. She is determined to escape as soon as she can. When her father has a stroke shortly after their arrival, Saville sees her opportunity for escape disappear. In order to save them from destitution, Saville makes a dangerous gamble disguising herself as a boy and gaining a commission from the King himself. But Reggen is a city on the verge of disaster. Reports are coming in of an army of giants razing towns and leaving no survivors, led by a dangerous human Duke claiming he is the rightful Emperor. Saville is skeptical until her young errand boy finds himself captured by two scouts larger than the oak trees they stand next to. In a daring game of trickery, Saville convinces them she has greater strength and finds herself the champion of the city-a position that comes with it the hand of the princess. When the King and his advisors discover her true identity, she is kept at the palace half prisoner and half assistant to Galen Verras, the cousin of the king and only person in the castle actively working on a solution. Together Saville and Galen make startling discoveries about their foes and make great sacrifices to save the city and the people they love.
Saville is my favorite type of heroine. She is brave, smart, hard working, and loves with all of her heart. She is also scared, impetuous, and hurt by her father's attitude toward her. I love how she came up with such a daring plan to save her and her father, but was actually not all that great at pretending to be a boy. I also adored how she was unable to suppress her compassionate nature and was moved to help people even when it might have been wiser for her to retreat. Galen is a wonderful complement to her. He is also intelligent, brave, and hard working. He can sometimes be too cautious though and this balances well with Saville's utter lack of caution at times. I enjoyed his complicated relationship with his royal family members as well.
The supporting characters are interesting and add a lot to the story as well. The king, the princess, and the young boy Saville saves (Will) all have important roles to play and are layered characters. There are also fascinating dynamics at work in the camp of the giants. The villains are little one note and predictable, but given the fairy tale style of the story that works okay.
Saville's story gripped me from the beginning. It was interesting to see her character react to the challenges she faced as each new life altering event occurred. Once she was in the castle, things slowed down a bit. I did like the slow development of the relationship between Saville and Galen, but felt this part of the novel dragged overall. The end sees the excitement reach new heights though and I adored how it all resolved.
On the whole this is a fun book which is why I enjoyed it so much. The sentence level writing is not the best at times. There are a lot of unnecessary run on sentences and stock phrases that tend to drive me crazy used. (Including the ever annoying: "I released the breath I didn't even know I'd been holding.") Still this is a great book to give fans of fairy tales, adventures, and for those who like a dash of romance.
I read and ARC made available by the publisher, Egmont, at ALA Midwinter. Valiant is available for purchase now.
June 18, 2018
So for some reason , all I want to read lately is fairy tale retellings.
Contemporaries are making me snore.
Urban fantasy is all the same.
I'm not in the mood for a thriller.
I don't want to read something sad.
Original Dystopian novels are hard to find.
It's so weird. Everything is borrrrrrinnngggg.
Except fairy-tales.
Give me some plucky heroine fighting a war in a faraway land and I will be a happy camper.
So this book was a joy to read because
a) It IS a fairy-tale retelling
and
b) It is extraordinarily original
We have a very uncommon fairy-tale story , " The Little Tailor."
But the tailor is a girl. And she freaking kicks butt.
We have a love interest who isn't a hot , " I eat my feelings because I'm broody ," type of person.
He's funny. And KIND.
I can't stress how happy it makes me to see a YA romance where both parties involved respect , love , and spend time with each other.
Like , actually have a couple of conversations before locking lips and swearing to be each others snuggle bunny.
Yes , I did feel like the romance progressed a little TOO quickly , and it was more cutesy cute than well characterized ( on the guy's part ) but you know , everybody needs cutesy cute love interests sometimes !
The great antagonist in this novel is a duke who never dies and his army of cannibalistic giants.
At first I didn't think these villains would work for me because on the fear scale , giants are right next to were - llamas .
Meaning they don't freak me out AT ALL.
When I read about giants I mostly just wonder weird things like how difficult it must be for them to maintain their dental hygiene.
Ahem. Anyway.
But Sarah McGuire did a great thing here and didn't make the Giants all black and white. They had a complexity to them just like regular humans do , which I appreciated.
The writing was lovely and fluid. It was never hard for me to pick this baby up.
Plot wise , everything that happened was simple and easy to follow , but no less enjoyable for all of that.
My Favorite part :
I usually don't appreciate books with a totally obvious message like , " LOVE YOURSELF or " EAT YOUR GREENS" because its generally too heavy handed for me to enjoy. I like layers and nuance. I want to learn something good and beautiful without even knowing I'm learning it.
The theme of this story ( or at least what I perceive it to be ) works for me because its never explicitly stated and is sort of woven into little conversations and tidbits of thoughts between characters. It was GREAT , and basically was saying how its always good to show and verbally tell someone you love them before its too late and how just because you were treated coldly by say , your family , doesn't mean you can't break out of that chilly little mold and go love some people a whole lot.
Isn't that such a pretty thing to write about ? ( happy-sigh omigosh this was so goooood)
Do I recommend this ?
Absolutely. Its cute , Its well written ,and its meaningful.
The ending made me sniffle in happiness.
Sexual content : light kissing
Cursing : None
Violence People are beheaded and eaten but it is all off screen. Our heroine and her cast of side characters get into some pretty tough scraps but they are totally fine by the end.
Contemporaries are making me snore.
Urban fantasy is all the same.
I'm not in the mood for a thriller.
I don't want to read something sad.
Original Dystopian novels are hard to find.
It's so weird. Everything is borrrrrrinnngggg.
Except fairy-tales.
Give me some plucky heroine fighting a war in a faraway land and I will be a happy camper.
So this book was a joy to read because
a) It IS a fairy-tale retelling
and
b) It is extraordinarily original
We have a very uncommon fairy-tale story , " The Little Tailor."
But the tailor is a girl. And she freaking kicks butt.
We have a love interest who isn't a hot , " I eat my feelings because I'm broody ," type of person.
He's funny. And KIND.
I can't stress how happy it makes me to see a YA romance where both parties involved respect , love , and spend time with each other.
Like , actually have a couple of conversations before locking lips and swearing to be each others snuggle bunny.
Yes , I did feel like the romance progressed a little TOO quickly , and it was more cutesy cute than well characterized ( on the guy's part ) but you know , everybody needs cutesy cute love interests sometimes !
The great antagonist in this novel is a duke who never dies and his army of cannibalistic giants.
At first I didn't think these villains would work for me because on the fear scale , giants are right next to were - llamas .
Meaning they don't freak me out AT ALL.
When I read about giants I mostly just wonder weird things like how difficult it must be for them to maintain their dental hygiene.
Ahem. Anyway.
But Sarah McGuire did a great thing here and didn't make the Giants all black and white. They had a complexity to them just like regular humans do , which I appreciated.
The writing was lovely and fluid. It was never hard for me to pick this baby up.
Plot wise , everything that happened was simple and easy to follow , but no less enjoyable for all of that.
My Favorite part :
I usually don't appreciate books with a totally obvious message like , " LOVE YOURSELF or " EAT YOUR GREENS" because its generally too heavy handed for me to enjoy. I like layers and nuance. I want to learn something good and beautiful without even knowing I'm learning it.
The theme of this story ( or at least what I perceive it to be ) works for me because its never explicitly stated and is sort of woven into little conversations and tidbits of thoughts between characters. It was GREAT , and basically was saying how its always good to show and verbally tell someone you love them before its too late and how just because you were treated coldly by say , your family , doesn't mean you can't break out of that chilly little mold and go love some people a whole lot.
Isn't that such a pretty thing to write about ? ( happy-sigh omigosh this was so goooood)
Do I recommend this ?
Absolutely. Its cute , Its well written ,and its meaningful.
The ending made me sniffle in happiness.
Sexual content : light kissing
Cursing : None
Violence People are beheaded and eaten but it is all off screen. Our heroine and her cast of side characters get into some pretty tough scraps but they are totally fine by the end.
May 10, 2015
So I saw this book on fellow GoodReader Rane's feed and had a serious case of cover love. I simply had to have this book in my life now! But sadly it wasn't be to published for another month so I had to wait. Sadface.
Valiant is a retelling of Grimm's 'The Valiant Tailor', one of their less popular stories, but Valiant makes some changes and moulds it into an adventure story, rather than one simply about cunning and cleverness. For one, the protagonist is a girl and the King doesn't pull any strings here.
Valiant is aimed at middle-schoolers to Young Adults so readers need to take that into account. Sometimes I read reviews of YA books and they're clearly written by people with 'adult book' expectations and it does either no favours. Still, I've never let a bit of 'old' age get in the way of enjoying a good story ;)
Put simply, I really liked Valiant and you finish the book with a big grin on your face. The characters are likeable, it's well-written and the pacing is good with no noticeable lulls.
Saville/Avi/the Champion (age: 17 years) is a shadow of a girl in the beginning of the book because of her stone-hearted father but she slowly grows into herself and learns what is it to love and be loved, being deprived of it for so long. This book is written in first-person so everything happens from her point of view and I liked her so could easily root for her when thrust in the middle of political games, having to save the kingdom and all that jazz.
Galen (aka Fine coat. Age: low 20s), the young lord cum intelligence agent is fuzzy in the beginning but being with Saville slowly coaxes him out of his shell and you get a better insight into his character. This romance too is cuteness! It's a slow build (no instalove here!) from trust to reliance to esteem to love so it's a super satisfying end. It cracked me up that a giant that was with them started stomping at the end due to their super-sensitive hearing XD
The only thing that could have been improved was the big-bad, the immortal Duke. You'd have to scoff at the convenience in the story at following the old trope of 'hidden in plain sight'.
Valiant is a very linear adventure book with no real twists and turns that catch you unawares (and some might say rather predictable) but that doesn't take away from it at all. Why people read fairy-tale retellings (and I'm on a string of them) is to hark back to those nostalgic and timeless tales of our youth and be charmed all over again. And charmed I was.
Rating: 4 bolts of Velvet
Rereadability: It's a lovely story I'd revisit for the chemistry between Galen and Saville but fairy-tale retellings are addictive. On to the next I can find!
Valiant is a retelling of Grimm's 'The Valiant Tailor', one of their less popular stories, but Valiant makes some changes and moulds it into an adventure story, rather than one simply about cunning and cleverness. For one, the protagonist is a girl and the King doesn't pull any strings here.
Valiant is aimed at middle-schoolers to Young Adults so readers need to take that into account. Sometimes I read reviews of YA books and they're clearly written by people with 'adult book' expectations and it does either no favours. Still, I've never let a bit of 'old' age get in the way of enjoying a good story ;)
Put simply, I really liked Valiant and you finish the book with a big grin on your face. The characters are likeable, it's well-written and the pacing is good with no noticeable lulls.
Saville/Avi/the Champion (age: 17 years) is a shadow of a girl in the beginning of the book because of her stone-hearted father but she slowly grows into herself and learns what is it to love and be loved, being deprived of it for so long. This book is written in first-person so everything happens from her point of view and I liked her so could easily root for her when thrust in the middle of political games, having to save the kingdom and all that jazz.
Galen (aka Fine coat. Age: low 20s), the young lord cum intelligence agent is fuzzy in the beginning but being with Saville slowly coaxes him out of his shell and you get a better insight into his character. This romance too is cuteness! It's a slow build (no instalove here!) from trust to reliance to esteem to love so it's a super satisfying end. It cracked me up that a giant that was with them started stomping at the end due to their super-sensitive hearing XD
The only thing that could have been improved was the big-bad, the immortal Duke. You'd have to scoff at the convenience in the story at following the old trope of 'hidden in plain sight'.
Valiant is a very linear adventure book with no real twists and turns that catch you unawares (and some might say rather predictable) but that doesn't take away from it at all. Why people read fairy-tale retellings (and I'm on a string of them) is to hark back to those nostalgic and timeless tales of our youth and be charmed all over again. And charmed I was.
Rating: 4 bolts of Velvet
Rereadability: It's a lovely story I'd revisit for the chemistry between Galen and Saville but fairy-tale retellings are addictive. On to the next I can find!
December 13, 2014
Source: Netgalley
Valiant is a compelling fairy tale retelling, based on an original tale and featuring a strong female protagonist. The story follows teenage Saville as she struggles to make her way independently in a new town and as she inadvertently becomes the kingdom’s champion while trying to help a friend. Events quickly escalate as the people make further demands on her heroism and she becomes embroiled in both politics and battle.
As a take on “The Valiant Little Tailor,” Valiant stands out among YA fairy tale retelllings. It does not rely on pure novelty, however, but fully takes advantage of its source material, crafting a female protagonist who is as loyal and brave as she is clever. Many readers will doubtless fall in love with Saville as she tries her best to save her friends and the kingdom she quickly learns to call her home. A bit of vulnerability and a stubborn streak round her out and make her realistic. The entire cast of characters is drawn with equal attention to complexity.
Of course, the love interest is alluring: bull-headed himself but tempered with kindness and wisdom. He and Saville play off each other well and build true chemistry. Saville also makes a number of unlikely friends, and they all exhibit a blend of personality traits. No one in Valiant is at first what they seem—which may be entirely the point. The plot they all play out is equally entertaining.
There are several moments that are not entirely logical—times Saville chooses to spill vital information, ways she solves problems, etc.—but she gets a pass for being a teen without all the answers. Also, character mistakes make for interesting action. Only the first part of the story is heavily based on “The Valiant Little Tailor,” when the tailor tricks a group of giants. The rest is McGuire’s imagination, and it leads to wonderful places of palace intrigue and giant/human politics. A bit of kingdom history also plays a role, which McGuire manages to deftly weave into the book.
Overall, Valiant is a fantastically fun fairy tale retelling, replete with everything fans of the genre will want: a strong protagonist; a swoony love interest; a plot filled with tricks, fights, and intrigue. Valiant is beautifully crafted and a pleasure to read. Recommended.
Valiant is a compelling fairy tale retelling, based on an original tale and featuring a strong female protagonist. The story follows teenage Saville as she struggles to make her way independently in a new town and as she inadvertently becomes the kingdom’s champion while trying to help a friend. Events quickly escalate as the people make further demands on her heroism and she becomes embroiled in both politics and battle.
As a take on “The Valiant Little Tailor,” Valiant stands out among YA fairy tale retelllings. It does not rely on pure novelty, however, but fully takes advantage of its source material, crafting a female protagonist who is as loyal and brave as she is clever. Many readers will doubtless fall in love with Saville as she tries her best to save her friends and the kingdom she quickly learns to call her home. A bit of vulnerability and a stubborn streak round her out and make her realistic. The entire cast of characters is drawn with equal attention to complexity.
Of course, the love interest is alluring: bull-headed himself but tempered with kindness and wisdom. He and Saville play off each other well and build true chemistry. Saville also makes a number of unlikely friends, and they all exhibit a blend of personality traits. No one in Valiant is at first what they seem—which may be entirely the point. The plot they all play out is equally entertaining.
There are several moments that are not entirely logical—times Saville chooses to spill vital information, ways she solves problems, etc.—but she gets a pass for being a teen without all the answers. Also, character mistakes make for interesting action. Only the first part of the story is heavily based on “The Valiant Little Tailor,” when the tailor tricks a group of giants. The rest is McGuire’s imagination, and it leads to wonderful places of palace intrigue and giant/human politics. A bit of kingdom history also plays a role, which McGuire manages to deftly weave into the book.
Overall, Valiant is a fantastically fun fairy tale retelling, replete with everything fans of the genre will want: a strong protagonist; a swoony love interest; a plot filled with tricks, fights, and intrigue. Valiant is beautifully crafted and a pleasure to read. Recommended.
December 18, 2018
A couple months ago, I listened to an audiobook of a bunch of Grimms fairy tales (as written by Philip Pullman as closely to the originasl as possible). What struck me most listening to these tales I hadn’t read since high school (for most of them) was how incredibly bad they were. I love fairy tale retellings so much that I’d forgotten how grim most of the actual tales are, with their simplistic and problematic morals. Valiant takes a lesser-used fairy tale, genderflips it, and punches sexism in the face.
Valiant takes as foundation the tale of the tailor who outwits giants and earns the hand of a princess, because, if fairy tales are to be believed, kings will marry their daughters off to absolutely anybody. In this case, that tailor is secretly a girl. Saville has been genderbending in order to earn money tailoring to the king, since her father had some sort of fit and can no longer move. Sav outwits giants in order to save a friend and finds herself expected to marry the princess and be champion to the kingdom. She’s less than thrilled.
Of course, there’s also the handsome cousin/advisor to the king, Galen, to help her out with the complex court dynamics. This ship is pretty damn cute. My favorite thing about it is that Galen admires and respects Sav. He trusts her to take care of herself and others, and he doesn’t do that macho grandstanding bullshit. They’re a great team. And the ending is pretty cute, especially since it shows how little game Galen really has.
Along the way to saving the day, Sav fights sexism, racism (I mean, it’s giants but come on), and makes friends out of basically everyone. It’s a book that shows that strength comes in many forms and packages. Sav’s a brilliant strategist, for example, and the king, for all of his apparent weakness, does his part too. It’s a really sweet and inspiring little tale.
I didn’t get massive feels out of Valiant but it’s precious and does what it’s doing quite well. I very much appreciate that McGuire did something aside from the typical Cinderella or Twelve Dancing Princesses retellings.
Valiant takes as foundation the tale of the tailor who outwits giants and earns the hand of a princess, because, if fairy tales are to be believed, kings will marry their daughters off to absolutely anybody. In this case, that tailor is secretly a girl. Saville has been genderbending in order to earn money tailoring to the king, since her father had some sort of fit and can no longer move. Sav outwits giants in order to save a friend and finds herself expected to marry the princess and be champion to the kingdom. She’s less than thrilled.
Of course, there’s also the handsome cousin/advisor to the king, Galen, to help her out with the complex court dynamics. This ship is pretty damn cute. My favorite thing about it is that Galen admires and respects Sav. He trusts her to take care of herself and others, and he doesn’t do that macho grandstanding bullshit. They’re a great team. And the ending is pretty cute, especially since it shows how little game Galen really has.
Along the way to saving the day, Sav fights sexism, racism (I mean, it’s giants but come on), and makes friends out of basically everyone. It’s a book that shows that strength comes in many forms and packages. Sav’s a brilliant strategist, for example, and the king, for all of his apparent weakness, does his part too. It’s a really sweet and inspiring little tale.
I didn’t get massive feels out of Valiant but it’s precious and does what it’s doing quite well. I very much appreciate that McGuire did something aside from the typical Cinderella or Twelve Dancing Princesses retellings.
August 30, 2015
Be still, my fairy tale loving heart. Valiant was perfection. Had you happened to stumble upon me while I was reading this, you would have seen one very content bookworm. There wasn't even a tiny portion of this story that didn't impress me. Not one moment that I wished for something more than what was offered. I've read many a fairy tale retelling in my life, but none as beautifully written as this one.
Ah, Saville. Thank you for exceeding my expectations. Saville's character is a brilliant balance. She's strong, but still shows raw emotion. She's honest, but not always. In other words, Saville isn't some built up ideal of a female character. The focus isn't on how pretty she is, or how talented she is, but rather on the fact that she's a person who cares about other people. Her decisions in this story weren't always entirely what I expected, but it just made her more human. She was instantly likable, and I would have followed her to the end of the Earth. Giants or not.
Tying in with this is the simple fact that Sarah McGuire doesn't see the need to wrap everything up with a shiny red bow. Like my favorite Grimm stories of old, this particular retelling doesn't shy away from the gritty reality that fairy tales often gloss over now. Sometimes people die. Sometimes people are horribly altered, whether that be physically or emotionally. Still, there's always that little ray of hope. The idea that good will persevere over evil. That tough times bring true selves to the surface. Seeing that come to life in Valiant stole my breath away.
If you'd allow me, I'd gush about this book until you finally threw your hands up in defeat and went to get a copy. That's how much I am truly in love with it. In the world of YA, there are plenty of love triangles, plenty of teen angst, and more than enough bad boy characters. What I've been seeing a distinct lack of lately is heart. Valiant has that. It has heart and, because of that, it has my heart as well.
Ah, Saville. Thank you for exceeding my expectations. Saville's character is a brilliant balance. She's strong, but still shows raw emotion. She's honest, but not always. In other words, Saville isn't some built up ideal of a female character. The focus isn't on how pretty she is, or how talented she is, but rather on the fact that she's a person who cares about other people. Her decisions in this story weren't always entirely what I expected, but it just made her more human. She was instantly likable, and I would have followed her to the end of the Earth. Giants or not.
Tying in with this is the simple fact that Sarah McGuire doesn't see the need to wrap everything up with a shiny red bow. Like my favorite Grimm stories of old, this particular retelling doesn't shy away from the gritty reality that fairy tales often gloss over now. Sometimes people die. Sometimes people are horribly altered, whether that be physically or emotionally. Still, there's always that little ray of hope. The idea that good will persevere over evil. That tough times bring true selves to the surface. Seeing that come to life in Valiant stole my breath away.
If you'd allow me, I'd gush about this book until you finally threw your hands up in defeat and went to get a copy. That's how much I am truly in love with it. In the world of YA, there are plenty of love triangles, plenty of teen angst, and more than enough bad boy characters. What I've been seeing a distinct lack of lately is heart. Valiant has that. It has heart and, because of that, it has my heart as well.
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