Fate Be Changed by Farrah Rochon
Series: Disney Twisted Tales #17
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings
Pages: 464
Published By: Disney Hyperion on 2nd April, 2024
Format: Hardback
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Book Synopsis:
What if the witch gave Merida a different spell?
If you could change your fate, would you? Merida understands that as princess of Clan DunBroch, she has certain obligations—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. Especially when one of those obligations means losing her freedom by becoming betrothed to a man she has never met. Merida balks at this tradition, but her mother Queen Elinor insists that Merida must do this to embrace her role as future queen.
Determined to chart her own path, Merida follows magical wisps to a witch’s cottage, where she is given a magic pastry and promised it will incite “a great transformation” in her mother. But instead of feeding Elinor the pastry, Merida eats it herself.
Merida awakens in the past, a now-teenage Elinor holding a knife to her throat and accusing her of espionage. She’s been transported to a time when the Clans MacCameron and DunBroch are bitter enemies. And it just so happens that the timing of Merida’s arrival has kept Elinor and Fergus from meeting.
Will Merida be able to bridge the rival clans, help her parents fall in love, and change her own fate?
Book Review
I’m a big fan of the Disney Twisted Tales books and have read many! This was my first Farrah Rochon book—and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s the only Disney Twisted Tale I’ve rated 5 stars so far!
This book retells the story of Brave in a new way, and it does so brilliantly! Brave is one of my favourite Disney films so I was a little apprehensive going into this but the twisted element was really enjoyable.
I’d had no idea what Rochon’s writing style would be like going into this but it was very addictive and this book kept me hooked right from the beginning. The writing style feels very YA, which is perfect since the book is promoted that way.
This book sheds a much more thoughtful light on Merida’s story. I love the added backstory between her parents and also the witch from the woods. I can only describe this as being like a magical Back to the Future where Merida gets to see her parents when they are younger and learn more about her clan history!
It was great to see how Rochon combined the history, myth and of course twisted the story of Brave. The main characters were so true to the film. I like how we got to see some other new characters included as well. Yes, I would’ve liked them to have been more fleshed out but as side characters they were a nice addition to the overall plot.
The story had great pacing, it didn’t feel slow and there was lots of adventure going on throughout. I honestly could not put this one down… I devoured it! I’m not typically a sci-fi reader but I enjoyed the sprinkling of this genre alongside the main magical fantasy elements of the story. I can’t wait to get to the other books Rochon has written for this series.
If you’re a Disney fan then I would highly suggest giving this one a read. It’s a fun, coming of age read that deals with time-travel, parental relationships as well as the changing on one’s destiny. I also think this would be the perfect book for getting out a reading slump. There’s not many books out there that focuses on Merida/Brave I believe so this was a nice change.
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