Mal, The Maze, and Major Bravery

What does it look like when someone chooses to be brave — not because they have to, but because they love someone enough to?In this episode of Our Book Bench, Lisa and David discuss pages 244–296 of Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Chapters: The Island of Murderers through The Maze).This is the section we've been building toward all season. Mal faces the banished centaur, makes an impossible choice, and takes the antidote — giving up her identity as Mal to fully become the Immortal. And Christopher? He's there for every single moment of it. He faces down a manticore. He carries Mal when she can't walk. He memorizes the maze alongside her. And then — even knowing that no one who has ever entered the maze has come back — he walks in anyway.Together, we explore:What it costs Mal to say yes — and what she loses when she doesWhy Christopher's loyalty is one of the most quietly powerful things in this bookThe humor Katherine Rundell weaves into even the darkest moments (the manticore's thoughts on adrenaline are not to be missed)What true friendship looks like when it stops being easyThis episode asks a big question: Is there someone or something in your life you'd walk into a maze for?📖 Reading this week: Pages 244–296 (The Island of Murderers – The Maze) 📚 Next week: Pages 297–334 (The Gray Mist – What She Said) — the final stretch.💬 Join the conversation: Is there someone — or something — in your life you'd do something that brave for? Tell us who, and why.Email us at [email protected] or share your thoughts on Instagram.📚 Join the adventure at ourbookbench.com💌 Email us at [email protected]📷 Follow along on Instagram: @ourbookbench