Brave by Mesu Andrews is AMAZING, and I don’t know how to review this AMAZING story. I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent for days. I find that I have too many words. Too many feelings. I’m completely overwhelmed by this superb story.

Brave is set before David officially becomes king of Israel and while he is on the run from king Saul. Andrews does an absolutely phenomenal job of illustrating the level of stress upon David’s shoulders during this tumultuous time. There’s so much tension, I felt stressed for David. Page after page of running away from a literal insane man. Just when David and his soldiers and his soldiers’ families felt a modicum of safety, a modicum of normalcy, crazy king Saul and his army of thousands pop back up myopically determined to murder David and all his followers. It felt like the worst, most-stressful game of Whack-a-mole. But all these times were also awesome illustrations of God’s faithful and miraculous workings. I really loved the examples of true, deep faith in Yahweh as shown through Ahinoam, Ahinoam’s beloved father, and David. It’s a convicting illustration. There truly is nothing to fear with God on our side!

Ahinoam is a lovely character in this story, and the reason why I kept furiously turning pages well into the night. My reader-heart hurt for her so badly. I’m talking sobbing-like-a-baby kind of hurt. I understand Ahinoam’s struggles. She’s the plain Jane who loves Yahweh with her whole being. She’s the weird girl raised by a father. She doesn’t know how to be a proper girl and do proper-girl things, and the world loves letting her know how insufficient she is as a woman. Instead, she’s fierce. She’s a metal worker who knows how to make weapons and fights better than most men. For all intents and purposes, Ahinoam is a soldier and she doesn’t know how to be anything else. It takes Ahinoam a very long time to give her heart to king David. It takes a lot of prayer to Yahweh, a lot of cajoling and words of assurance from David, and a lot of support from her father and best friend, Zerry. Eventually, Ahinoam succumbs to David and gives her heart and body completely … and then he marries another woman, a pretty woman. I’ve never wanted to reach into a story more to protect one character and slap another. I understand the reasoning Andrews gives for why David marries Abigail, but, man, this moment sure did wreck me. Days after finishing this novel and I still feel raw and hurt on Ahinoam’s behalf. What a testament to stellar storytelling!

Brave is a novel I won’t forget. The scary, heart-pounding moments when king Saul was on the attack, the overwhelming weight of responsibility upon David’s shoulders, and Ahinoam’s almost constant heartbreak will all stay with me forever. Mesu Andrews has brought king Saul, king David, Ahinoam, and this time period to life. She’s made these Bible stories, these people who died a really long time ago, come back to life, and has illustrated that truly nothing is new under the sun. The human struggles of David’s time are the same human struggles of today’s time. The answer to human’s problems in David’s day is the same answer to our issues today — run towards God. What a wonderful reminder! I love this story, and I am so glad I read and wrestled with it. I truly cannot recommend this book enough!

I purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on September 30, 2024, in order to review. I also received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishing via NetGalley. I am under no obligation to leave a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.