*thank you to Netgalley, North Star Editions/ Jolly Fish Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Ohh this book was so so much fun and so so good to read! I really enjoyed it. It was also at times rather funny. I loved Gwendolyn. She reminds me of the girl from the Disney movie "Brave." She has such an amazing imagination with the ability to turn her thoughts into reality. The adventures she gets up to once she meets two other kids who she befriends. This is a middle grade novel, but even at 32 I very much enjoyed it which shows that its not limited to a particular age group. How could I not give a mention about the cover! That's what first caught my eye, it's so well done. I highly recommend this for all ages.

A creative girl goes on an adventure filled with colour and interesting characters! I loved the story and the writing style. Particularly enjoyed the colour descriptions and the creative side of an obviously lonely little girl.

Gwendolyn Gray is a girl stuck in a terrible world. Everything is gray, colorless, and drab, but Gwendolyn is anything but. She is a bright, vibrant girl, and seems to be the only girl in the world with any imagination. When she uses that imagination too much, though, she comes on the radar of the Faceless Gentlemen, who start trying to erase her to keep the status quo. Her adventure will take her to other worlds, eventually meeting up with friends to help her on the way as well as other characters like pirates in a steampunk world. Will she be able to save the day or will all of the worlds end up as dismal as hers?

This book was extremely enjoyable, especially once it got going. The first fourth of it seemed a bit slow, but once everything started it was constant adventure. My one complaint was the narrator often addressed the reader directly, but it seemed to be an overused tactic at the beginning of the book and then almost never occurred again. It could have been left out and it would have made the book a little better in my opinion. Still, this was a minor complaint, and it did not detract much from the overall experience. Go on an adventure with Gwendolyn Gray. You won't regret it.

Let me preface this by saying that I do not read a lot of YA these days, but if more were as eloquently written, engaging, and surprisingly relatable as The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray I would definitely read them more frequently. I was hooked with the opening and continued reading with fervor.

The story follows Gwendolyn, a twelve year old girl with a wild imagination - one that is in contract to the drab, dystopian City she lives in: gray sky, gray skyscrapers. School in her City brings the Foucaultian notion of education serving only to prepare children for adulthood and to train them in the rules of society. Her imagination gets her into trouble with her vivid daydreaming... Not to mention that she sticks out like a sore thumb with her fire red hair... she doesn't want to conform. She accidentally rides the metro beyond what is known and uncovers a world beyond her imagine, stumbling into a battle beyond reason. Rescued by two kids that appeared seemingly out of nowhere, she embarks on an adventure to save the world.

This YA tale is written in third person, Williamson crafts a compelling a fast-paced read that is suitable for the middle grade reader as well as those interested in dystopian adventures with strong female leads. The central themes of the book - imagination and creativity - are woven into an allegory for growing up and having that childlike wonder crushed by society.

I loved the start of the book, with Gwendolyn's energetic take on her life and the way she stayed true to herself while everyone else were just grey. But as the story continue I felt that it kind of slowed and went into a bit of a tangle. The ending also left me with some question which I'm guessing is because this is going to be a series but I wish there more answer. The story does have its good points of ; magic, Pirates, time travel , and mysterious ending.

This was a cute YA/middle grade story about a girl who wants her world to be bigger and more exciting than it is (at least, at first blush). The concept isn't a new one, per se, but the execution and details were fun and novel enough and quite entertaining. Gwendolyn's quest to discover who she is and what she wants from life is an engaging one. There are creepy bad guys, helpful compatriots, and loads and loads of imaginative creativity. There is personal growth, self-realization, and more than a few madcap hijinks, all of which belong (to my mind) in the best YA/MG stories.

It read a little slower than I anticipated; I can't tell you why, but it did. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - it was a pleasant read. But already after only a few days, I am finding the details slipping from my mind. Perhaps I have fallen subject to the Greying of the world - Gwendolyn's issues in that regard are certainly relatable! - or perhaps it ties into my one bit of dissatisfaction with the book as a whole.

The one constructive criticism I have is not about the story itself, but about the presentation. The book felt, to me, like it wanted illustrations - I don't usually say that about books for this age group, but I think they would have helped bring the story a bit more alive. The cover was marvelous - it's what initially drew me to the book - and a few, selective, full-page and contrasting black-and-white and full-color illustrations would really make this spectacular I think...

All in all this was a okay book. I feel I would of liked it more if I was younger, so it may do great with the younger audience, but for the adults who still read middle grade, I do not think it is going to be as successful. I did like the aspect of different worlds, and the different adventures the characters got into. I felt the characters were very flat throughout the story, and only really began to become something near the end. The beginning is a bit confusing because you are not sure what is going within this world, and you wonder why people act the way they do, but you get some answers at the end. There were some things still unanswered, so I am assuming there will be another book, as to if I will be reading it or not, we shall see when the time comes.

Gwendolyn Gray is a twelve year old girl who lives in a boring City, everything is gray (gray buildings, gray clothes, gray everything). Gwendolyn doesn't want to grow up because adult life is boring. Gwendolyn is bullied because she is different, for example she has red hair instead of gray. She has no friends, so she lives with her imagination and talks to objects. She is just living her life until one day her imagination becomes real. And in this book we follow her adventures after that.

First of all points for the cover :)

I quite enjoyed this book, it was a fun and easy read. I'm not sure if this was aimed for young adult or middle grade. But I would say it's more for the younger readers. But I do think quite a couple of 'older' readers would enjoy this story as well.

I loved the message of this book: being different isn't bad!

I did not really like the fact that the main character kept saying 'its all my fault', I mean one time is okay but say it to often and it becomes annoying. Also wasn't really a fan of the romance part, why couldn't the friendships stay friendships?

Wow!! What a cute and adventurous story! This book is action packed! I know it is a middle grade book, but it was AMAZING at 36. This book was also full of friendship, young love, imagination, pirates, dystopian, and also a bit steampunk-ish (which was probably my favorite part). I admit that I cried at the end!! I highly recommend!!

This book was marked in the young adult realm, however, I feel its for middle graders. With that being said. I enjoyed the book immensely, it gave true emotions and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. Gwendolyn is a unique little girl living in the dullest city possible. She is the only spark of creativity and color in a world so Gray and unoriginal. So basically shes the spark of red in a black and white/grey world. I think it was a great twist on fantasy and dystopian.

I received the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book sucked me in from the beginning. I only took so long to read it because of other daily obligations.
Gwendolyn is a unique little girl living in the dullest city possible. She is the only spark of creativity and color in a world so Gray and unoriginal. She finds herself targeted by the Mister men, so she flees through worlds so fantastic and scary and wonderful. She meets a pirate, and a lost brother and sister. She knows she must save this new world and somehow get herself back home. My favorite quote in the book was this one, "Now, what if is a particularly powerful set of magic words. It is responsible for all the best stories and inventions. Before there can be a once upon a time, there must always be a what if. It is a magic spell that children are especially good at, but only the best adults are capable of."

The book is such a fun, action filled read, it's geared towards middle grade kids but I personally loved it and am glad I got the chance to read it.

The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray are just that, Marvelous. Gwendolyn is a girl who lives in her imagination. She is made fun of and bullied for her odd ways. Her world is grey and drab, no literally, grey and drab. Removed of color, excitement and imagination. Everyone acts and dresses the same. Her parents, teachers and schoolmates are all the same, boring and lacking imagination. When Gwendolyn's imagination comes to real life it creates a chain reaction which makes for a great story. I enjoyed this book. I am excited to read the next one!

I received an early copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am going to give this book 3.5 - 4.0 stars based on my personal scale. I more than liked it!

This story says it for ages 9-14 but I am 39 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved seeing Gwendolyn's imagination come to life. Middle school story or not, I hope there is a book 2!

My rating scale:
5☆ - I loved this book and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.

A sweet twist on dystopia, I love the concept of this novel, and the world building was very enjoyable. I especially loved that the narrator is acutely aware of the reader, even addressing us very early in the text and comparing our life to the main character. It's always nice when a novel does something a little unexpected with its narrator.

This fun middle grade read is great for all ages! Gwendolyn really knows how to break away from society's standards and let her imagination roam free.... even if it has to do with pirates!

My daughter decided she will read this book a couple pages a week. Due to the length of it (almost 4k pages on kindle) I DNF this book for this review. But I am excited for my daughter to read it. I will review after she is finish.
Thank you for the opportunity.

Overall a fun and different adventure for the middle school crowd. The beginning was a bit rough and might be confusing to younger readers. There were also some sections that were dry and felt stretched out and unneeded. The female heroine is well defined and the focus on the power of imagination and creativity was great.

ARC Copy...Wonderful imagination involved this well crafted narrative. I liken yes imagination is very important and both snickering/horrified off the "hands-off" and conformist parenting in the grey city, the shadowy forces enslaving the city and the serious problems as a results of both. The clockwork city of flying pirates was an imaginative trip to behold.