I love Encanto, I think it’s one of the top 10 Disney movies of all time and this book is a hit or miss prequel. I enjoyed a lot more he diary of Julieta and learning a little more about her, Pepa unfortunately remained very one dimensional and Bruno was interesting. I liked learning more about Bruno but I had a hard time with how repetitive the story became. I wanted to see more of a through line to the movie but had some trouble with that. It was interesting and I learned some but could have been better.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I am a middle school librarian and will probably purchase this book for my library. However, I found it to be a bit repetitive and also slow. While I appreciated learning about Bruno’s backstory and also learning more about his siblings, this book didn’t hold my interest. I think the middle schoolers will enjoy the short chapters, but I’m not sure they will enjoy the repetitiveness of the story.

Thank you to the publish and NetGalley for the review copy.

I absolutely love the movie Encanto, which is probably why I had struggled a little bit with Bruno's story here. I liked getting background information, but a lot of the stakes was not there. It could also be that this has a younger target audience. It is well written and and does feel like is a part of that world.

Rating: 3/5

This book is for the Bruno fans!

I loved getting to get a peek in to Bruno's thoughts. Seeing the back story on what really lead to his disappearance was so fun. I loved Encanto and Bruno was always my favorite. The complete disappearance from his family was something I never really understood and wanted to know how a family who is "all about family" just let one go. If you are looking for just a little more about your favorite Disney family this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book! I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down! I love everything retelling based andi was so excited to comeback into thw worldof Encanto! The story brought me straight into the world! I loved getting to see Bruno's journey into the character we meet in the movie!

Have you ever wondered what makes Bruno, Bruno? I mean, there's a song that explain why no one talks to him... but what really happened to Bruno to make him escape into the walls of Casita? Why did his otherwise super loving family cast him out? How did he befriend all those rats?

If you have any questions about Bruno and his backstory, this is the novel you've been waiting for. Escape into the magic of Encanto BEFORE all the grandchildren are born. A time when it's just Bruno, his sisters and his mom. Bruno's gift is different than the rest of his family: they all have powers that can help others and the town... and Bruno's gift has turned more into a curse. When he was younger, he could predict only the good things to come in the future. As puberty destroys everything, Bruno's gift turns from predicting blessings to predicting the not so good side of life. As petty as people are, this makes the town turn away from their once beloved Bruno. When a more sinister plot to destroy the town edges in on this pain, Bruno is forced to confront the growing evil and his own gift. Read on to find out why he escapes into the walls in the end!

What I loved most: a look into the reality of a gift becoming a curse, the struggles with mental health issues depicted in this novel, the inclusion of Spanish words here and there.

17-year-old Bruno is a triplet. He wants to be supportive of his hermanas who are getting married. Due to has the ability to see into the future, he doesn’t fit in with his family, at school, or anywhere in Encanto. His mother expects everyone to be helpful to the townspeople, but doing so gives him anxiety. Could he alter his fate by acting more like people want him to? What will happen when someone on the periphery threatens Bruno’s family?
A prequel to Encanto, the plot is well written, engaging, and reminiscent of the movie. The characters are authentic, likable, and unique. The Spanish phrases throughout are easy to understand and add authenticity to the world of Encanto. The world building is enchanting and draws the reader into the story. Characters are diverse. Readers who like the movie Encanto, magical realism, fantasy, and books about family and community will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. 4 stars, Gr 7 and up

This one surprised me! I enjoyed getting to learn about Bruno and seeing him and his story in a whole different light than what we get to see in the Disney film Encanto!

This was a rough book. I love the Encanto world and was so excited to get a book that finally talked about Bruno. He is such a dynamic character and with so little known about him this book had room to run and give us more of the character we learned to love. Sadly, this book did little to add to the world let alone any back story that helped me love Bruno. The story is dull, there is very little that draws you in. Bruno who comes off in the movie as a dynamic character is one noted throughout the novel. I do love him trying to figure out who he is, and how best to be true to himself. However, the journey to this just is not engaging. The book is way to long to have so little plot and repeats itself constantly. I really wanted to like this book. I just can’t get behind it.
Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Return to the world of Encanto and learn what happened all those years ago to poor Bruno.
Alex Segura uses his talent for writing to bring to life Bruno's heartbreaking past that forced him to hide within the walls of the family home. Fans of the film will fawn over the newest development in the family Madrigal.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Seeing the cover I was really excited about this book. The outcasts of the family can identify with Bruno. He doubts himself constantly, loves his family, and tries his hardest to fix Casita and himself to fit in.

You will have to have seen the film to understand parts of the book and for some it may be repetitive.

Thanks to NetGalley & Disney Publishing Worldwide for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 20% of the way through.

This was incredibly dull and with very little world-building, it was mainly just depressing to see Bruno get worse and worse as the idiot village sees him as a monster for existing. I would've preferred to see a book from his point of view AFTER the movie and see how he adjusts after being alone for so long.

Unfortunately what works against this book is what likely attracted people to it: Encanto as a film already exists. Because Encanto takes place so far in the future, it removes a lot of stakes from the book, but also dampens a lot of the lighter moments.

Strangely it relies on the reader having watched the movie due to the amount of overt nods to the movie. This would otherwise be confusing to any readers that haven't seen the movie. Also the woman whose fish dies, her last name literally means dead fish, and...that's silly even for me. The prophecies don't line up with the established timeliness either, it really suffers from relying on the movie.

Worst of all is that it was very slow going, and I just didn't believe I was reading Bruno, but reading someone impersonating him. I don't know, it was jumbled and unfortunately I did not finish it.

Just saying…we NEED to talk about Bruno. No seriously, we NEED TO TALK ABOUT BRUNO. This is by far the best Encanto book I’ve read and it centers on my favorite character. Granted, Mirabelle, Isabella, Luisa, and their cousins are all fun, relatable and interesting but by far no one touched my heart in the movie Encanto the way Bruno did. Sad, lonely Bruno sitting on the other side of a wall in the dark and cob webs with the rats for his only company, eating his meals in Casitas hidden cervices, trying to pretend he is still part of the family. But in such a close knit family how did the only brother of the triplets end up this way, dejected, all but forgotten, his very name like a curse that can’t be uttered? This book fills that in wonderfully and makes us love Bruno even more as he struggles against a vision of peril to save Casita, his family and his town, thinking the only way he can do this is by utterly changing himself to be someone else, someone more upbeat and positive, by twisting his visions to be happy ones so he never has to deliver bad news. Maybe then he will be , dare he hope, loved and accepted by those he loves so dearly? Maybe by forcing a positive outlook on his dim prophecies he might someone make up for his disastrous comment at his sister wedding that she seems to have never forgiven him for? Maybe he can even be a hero and save the town from an unclear vision of the future that seems to spell doom, one where he sees his future life alone and loathed and hidden away? Or is his purposeful misuse of his gift the thing that will spell certain tragedy for him and the rest of the Madrigals? So engrossing, so much fun to read! And so deep and heartbreaking. I loved it.

I love retellings and stories the expand on Disney movies… but.. I didn’t like this one at all. I was looking forward to it and loved the concept. However, it basically felt super repetitive to me and like nothing was happening almost the whole book. Bruno was doubting his “gift” or not gift.. copy and paste through every page. He’d have a conversation with someone and here we go again.

I got to one point where I felt like I’d done good and read a lot, because I was kind of forcing myself to read, and looked to see what percent done with the book I was and it was only 36%. I was soooo bummed.

I did enjoy getting some background into Pepas wedding, Julietas husband choice, and how Bruno ended up in the walls, but overall was not enjoying this book.

I absolutely loved every word in this book. It was so insightful to get to know the beloved Encanto character from before his time in Casita's walls.: how he got there, how his family came to be, and the troubles they went through to get there. It added depth to a story I already loved. Now I'm going to go watch the movie again!

I think anyone giving this story a poor review didn't finish the book. Yes, the past of Bruno could get repetitive and it was very obvious who the bad guy was, but the dynamic of a family we grew to love in the film is worth it. I loved the ending and what Bruno does from afar for his family. If you've ever been curious about this character, I suggest a read. It's short chapters move quickly, making it an overall good read.

A prequel to the movie 'Encanto,' this book covers Bruno's development into his own powers. There were some parts that I kind of sped through. There are big chunks of the book where nothing really happens, which can be boring for a middle grade reader. The characters fall perfectly in line with their personalities in the movie, so Segura did an excellent job with that. However, the ending doesn't perfectly align with the Bruno we see in the movie. I'm sure it can be explained away by time passing, but it was a little strange to see the Bruno going into hiding be so different than the one that came out. This must have been a difficult book to write, because you can't have too much character growth, as that happens more in the more, especially with Pepa accepting him and his visions, but some of the character choices didn't make sense. The mystery is an obvious one for older readers, but could be surprising for young ones. A fun read for fans of Encanto, and a good addition to middle grade collections.

This book gave some great background and development to the original Madrigal children. While this book did center around Bruno, each of the girls got some needed character development that wasn't given in the movie.

I went into this book with high hopes of loving it because Bruno is one of my favorite characters, but I honestly didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I appreciated that we readers got more of a backstory on Bruno but overall the book and storyline was a bit too repetitive for me. I know it's more of a middle grade book, but as a children's librarian I do read plenty of middle grade. I also found it tough to get through the story where his family was more accepting of him because I know what comes later. Overall though the book was still fairly enjoyable.

I'm sure the kids in my community will love it so I will likely be ordering it, but I just couldn't bring myself to give more than three stars.