Valiant
Sarah McGuire
5 Stars

Saville hates working for her father, the tailor. But when they move to a new city Saville’s father suddenly becomes ill. In order to survive she must pretend to be a boy and beg to sew for the king. When court politics and rumors of trouble turn into two giants outside the city gates, Saville has to use her brain to save her newest friend. Only what she does is embellished until even she can’t recognize the story. And the kingdom turns to her to save them from an army of giants. With secrets and sorcery around, Saville must figure out who she can trust and how she can figure out what is really going on so that she can save the world (and the people) she has come to love.

This is a great twist on a classic fairy tale. There is just enough left in the text to remind me that this is indeed a retelling of the Brave Little Tailor. However, it is different enough that I had absolutely no idea how things would work out. I could only hope that it would follow all classic fairytales and would get to the “happily ever after” part where Saville and all her close friends would survive to live happy lives. Saville is smart. Saville is resourceful. Saville is cute when she starts to fall in love. Readers of fairytale retellings will enjoy this newest edition to the genre.

Egmont, 2015
ISBN: 9781606845523
AGES: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
FORMAT: Fantasy