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Summary
Summary
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.
Debut author Sarah McGuire artfully crafts a story of understanding, identity, and fighting to protect those you love most in Valiant, a rich reimagining of "The Brave Little Tailor."
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-When her distant, brutal father is struck ill, Saville decides to disguise herself as a boy in order to obtain and fulfill his tailoring commissions for the king. She needs to buy medicine for her dying father, and feed herself and the starving boy she has taken in, Will. But the kingdom of Reggen, under the weak and cowardly King Eldin, is besieged by giants ruled by an evil, monstrous duke. Trapped in her male disguise, Saville becomes an unwitting (and unwilling) giant-killer, tricking two giant emissaries into returning Will, whom they have captured, unharmed and leaving Reggen. Using a trick of squeezing whey from a stone (in actuality a piece of cheese) and throwing a rock (actually a bird) so high that it never lands, Saville convinces the two young giants of her incredible strength and sends them back to die at the hands of their duke. Now, still devastated by their deaths, she must take on the entire army of giants alone while being expected to marry the princess as a reward. Meanwhile, she is falling in love with the king's cousin and adviser, Lord Verras, who has guessed that she is not who she pretends to be. McGuire's reluctant heroine is irritatingly given to introspection at the height of danger, and readers will sometimes wonder how she ever manages to escape death. In the end, however, Saville's intelligence, intuition, and compassion prove more powerful than weaponry and force, and in the spirit of "The Brave Little Tailor" by the Brothers Grimm (note the reference to Savile Row, London's famous street of bespoke tailoring), she vanquishes evil and ultimately achieves a "happily ever after." The romance is nuanced with a delicate hand. VERDICT A good choice for those who have finished all of Gail Carson Levine's fairy tale retellings.-Jane Barrer, United Nations International School, New York City © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Debut novelist McGuire gives her ambitious retelling of the Grimms' tale of the Brave Little Tailor a solid dose of girl power. After her mother's death, 17-year-old Saville accompanies her gruff father to the village of Reggen, where he will start up his tailoring business anew. When he is felled by an apoplexy, Saville dresses as a boy, calls herself Avi, and takes on the guise of her father's apprentice. The ruse plays on even after Avi outwits two giants who were scouting Reggen for their mysterious leader, a duke who claims to be an heir of the ancient emperor and "holder of the eternal heart." But when the village learns the true identity of its supposed giant-slaying champion, and an army of raging giants approaches, Saville finds unlikely allies (and romance) as she takes on her next challenge. McGuire crafts a richly detailed cast, and her heroine brings verve to a familiar story. Explanations of the giants' mythology and the mystical eternal heart slow the action a bit, but readers will be rewarded by a satisfying conclusion. Ages 10-up. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
This retelling of "The Brave Little Tailor" adds another deception to those that characterized the original: protagonist Saville is a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can take over father's tailoring business after he falls ill. Political intrigue and a larger-than-necessary cast of characters overcomplicate the story, but Saville's motivations make her a likable heroine. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this retelling of "The Brave Little Tailor," a young woman comes to the rescue of a city that's besieged by giants. Saville, a tailor's daughter, picks up the ruined pieces of her family's livelihood after her father suffers an apoplexy that leaves him unable to speak, let alone sew. She masquerades as a boy to secure a commission from the king. Nearby villages have suffered attacks by giants led by a duke who describes himself as "Heir to the Ancient Emperor's crown, Holder of the Eternal Heart." When two giants appear at the city's gates, Saville sees Will, a waif she's taken under her wing, dangling from their hands. Like the tailor in the Grimms' folk tale, Saville outwits the giants and is declared champion by the kingwho promises his sister's hand in marriage to the champion before finding out who she is. Saville uses her ingenuity to get both self and city out of trouble, with the help of a handsome young nobleman and Will. McGuire uses familiar European folk-tale motifs as the bare-bones backdrop for a lively adventure story with some surprising twists. Characters are fully developed through Saville's engaging first-person voice, but it's clever Saville herself who wins the dayand the heart of the nobleman. A charming, satisfying first novel. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Seventeen-year-old Saville is trapped. Arriving in the city of Reggen, Saville's father, a tailor, falls ill. Despite her father's disdain for her, she resourcefully dons boy's clothing, chops her hair, and assumes the name Avi. Then she has to be smarter than ever when she must rescue a friend and the city from two giants. The town cheers Avi as their champion, and stories of his victory turn into impossible feats of human ability. Problems continue to arise as saving Reggen from an evil duke becomes as much Saville's destiny as it is Lord Verras', the king's cousin with whom Saville falls in love. This reinvention and expansion of Grimm's fairy tale The Valiant Little Tailor replaces the protagonist with his giant-battling daughter. Featuring a strong, brave, and determined female protagonist, royalty, and giants, it's a debut novel that's perfect for fans of Shannon Hale and Gail Carson Levine. Who doesn't love a love story built on trust in the face of danger?--Fredriksen, Jeanne Copyright 2015 Booklist