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Jamie Lynn Lano's Reviews > Bravely
Bravely
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LGBT+ rep:
Merida is heavily aro-ace coded here though it’s not stated explicitly (in keeping with the movie), though she appears to experience rare instances of aesthetic attraction
gender-changing love interest (sort of)
Other rep:
Scottish mc & scs
dyslexic-coded sc
CW:
vivid description of foodstuffs
animal flesh & egg consumption
death (off page)
fire (not graphic)
referring to little person by D word
hunting mentioned
flooding (on and off page, not too graphic)
mc = main character
sc = secondary character
bc = background character
—â¶Ä�
Notes (spoilers):
I totally shipped Merida and Leezie from the beginning, to my destruction 😂 woe is me.
Maggie’s writing style is focused on younger teens here, with a plot that is less complex than her more recent stuff. That’s not to say it’s not good - it is! There’s a great message here about the necessity and positivity of change even when it seems bad at the time, and the setting with old-world gods, natural magic, and medieval Scottish lore is very well-suited to Maggie’s writing style. I would LOVE to see Maggie write an adult novel set in Scotland featuring more (queer please) strong female characters, strong friendships, and old magic. I feel like something like that would be the absolute cream of the crop and I’d devour that with all of my many teeth.
For those wanting to know the end � Merida falls in love with the god of destruction, who technically doesn't have a gender and presents as both male and female throughout the book (though primarily male). They love each other for who they are and at the close of the book continue journeying separately, leaving messages for each other that spur each other on towards adventure. They did share a kiss, but there didn’t seem to be any actual romantic or sexual attraction. This is more of a partnership between two people whose adventuresome and independent souls fit together like puzzle pieces, if that makes sense. I felt that fit very well with how Merida was coded aro-ace in the movies, and this is a kind of relationship that could suit her. For those curious about aro-ace stereotypes, she was never depicted as cold and uncaring at all. She clearly cares immensely for her family, and for people in general. Love that.
Merida is heavily aro-ace coded here though it’s not stated explicitly (in keeping with the movie), though she appears to experience rare instances of aesthetic attraction
gender-changing love interest (sort of)
Other rep:
Scottish mc & scs
dyslexic-coded sc
CW:
vivid description of foodstuffs
animal flesh & egg consumption
death (off page)
fire (not graphic)
referring to little person by D word
hunting mentioned
flooding (on and off page, not too graphic)
mc = main character
sc = secondary character
bc = background character
—â¶Ä�
Notes (spoilers):
I totally shipped Merida and Leezie from the beginning, to my destruction 😂 woe is me.
Maggie’s writing style is focused on younger teens here, with a plot that is less complex than her more recent stuff. That’s not to say it’s not good - it is! There’s a great message here about the necessity and positivity of change even when it seems bad at the time, and the setting with old-world gods, natural magic, and medieval Scottish lore is very well-suited to Maggie’s writing style. I would LOVE to see Maggie write an adult novel set in Scotland featuring more (queer please) strong female characters, strong friendships, and old magic. I feel like something like that would be the absolute cream of the crop and I’d devour that with all of my many teeth.
For those wanting to know the end � Merida falls in love with the god of destruction, who technically doesn't have a gender and presents as both male and female throughout the book (though primarily male). They love each other for who they are and at the close of the book continue journeying separately, leaving messages for each other that spur each other on towards adventure. They did share a kiss, but there didn’t seem to be any actual romantic or sexual attraction. This is more of a partnership between two people whose adventuresome and independent souls fit together like puzzle pieces, if that makes sense. I felt that fit very well with how Merida was coded aro-ace in the movies, and this is a kind of relationship that could suit her. For those curious about aro-ace stereotypes, she was never depicted as cold and uncaring at all. She clearly cares immensely for her family, and for people in general. Love that.
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Bravely.
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Reading Progress
November 26, 2021
–
Started Reading
November 26, 2021
– Shelved
November 28, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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Leon
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Dec 28, 2021 11:51PM
Thanks for the review, this helped settle some nervous feelings when I saw there was a retelling of this book. Kinda scared Merida was going to be represented as straight/"be with a man like she is supposed to be" ಠ_�
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That Asocial Nerd {Semi hiatus} wrote: "Thanks for the review, this helped settle some nervous feelings when I saw there was a retelling of this book. Kinda scared Merida was going to be represented as straight/"be with a man like she is..."Thanks! Yeah, I think we were all afraid of that (us queers, especially us aspecs), but Maggie came through for us! She has a good track record with queer characters, and I'm completely delighted to say that Merida was very well and canonically done!
ajhabsgshsys thank god. this review settled a lot of the nervous feelings i had because well *points to self* aroace here! and i loved maggie stiefvater's writing as well. so yes, this feels good. thank you for the review!!!
Thank you !! I was looking for someone who'd talk about the romance aspects of the book, i was afraid it would be too much
Can a story just be a story without a romantic interest? I feel like y’all are trying too hard to make Merida’s story something it doesn’t have to be.
