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.

This book is for a younger audience, probably ages 9 to 14. I am an adult and I thought it was a beautiful story. Young Gwendolyn is 13, but does not want to grow up because adult life is so boring. She lives in a world of sameness and no color. Everyone has hair that is black or washed out blonde. Her whole world is in shades of black and white Gwendolyn is bullied because she's is different. She refuses to use her lambent, and instead let's her imagination run away with itself. She has no friends and so she talks to inanimate objects. Until one day her imagination makes things real, and that's when her life starts to change. This story gives the message that being different isn't always bad. You can to anything you set you mind to. This book is a great read, worth all 5 stats in my opinion.

"Creepy!? Do you mean creepy good, or creepy bad?" (H. Wolowitz)

I mean creepy very good.

If this were an adult novel it would start as "1984" with a touch of the movies "Dark City" and "Metropolis", and proceed to an extended series of fantasy/action sequences. Since it is in fact an ambitious middle grade book it just has hints of "1984", and an opening touch of dystopia, but then a generous helping of sly fantasy that drifts into magical realism steampunk. Actually, in order to really get a sense of the wonder of this book I'd also add some "Wizard of Oz", a touch of "Peter Pan", a hint of "The Matrix", and the progressive symbolic colorization of the movie "Pleasantville". How's that for a list of ingredients?

The setup is that Gwendolyn is something of a rebel and free thinker. Everything, and I mean literally everything, around her comes in shades of grey. (There's a great joke to the effect that her most prized possession is a drawing pencil set that consists of every possible shade of grey.) Gwen's a red-headed, green-eyed non-conformist who fantasizes that there must be more out there somewhere beyond her strictly regimented city, ringed in as it is by class specific circles of housing and a limitless supply of rules. One day Gwen daydreams about a mean girl growing rabbit ears. The girl in fact does grow rabbit ears and is whisked to the principal's office, where she is disappeared/disintegrated by two creepy truly unnerving men in black suits and bowler hats, and then erased completely from everyone's memory. Wow, this isn't just Alice-in-Greyland anymore. The balance of the book moves Gwen through the multi-verse as she tries to avoid the black men and bring life and color back to her world. The book gets pretty magical steampunk power-of-the-mindy by the end, but everything is racketing along at such a pace that you don't mind that we aren't on the rails anymore.

There is a lot of dry and deadpan edge and vinegar, but the odd spoonful of sugar makes it easy to digest. Gwen is neither always right nor always wrong, and the challenges she faces and the choices she makes feel authentic. I suspect that almost any young reader will respond well to the general tone, and more advanced readers will get some of the more adult themes. Doesn't that sound interesting?

This is also one of those books that subtly subverts a lot of middle grade fiction cliches. Gwen's parents have their rough and their smooth sides, and are treated sympathetically, which I found refreshing. The author has no problem exhibiting the fact that this is a story. In fact, the idea of the power of stories and storytelling is central to the book. So, the author will offer dry observations and chummy asides that are aimed directly at the reader. The reader is almost collaborating with the author, and it sometimes feels like the author is asking the reader for advice on what should happen next. This is not off-putting but rather is quite engaging and strikes me as likely to have the effect of making the reader feel comfortable and welcome.

The upshot is that while this book appears at the outset to be a conventional sort of fantasy adventure it actually zigs and zags unpredictably and invites and challenges the reader's imagination. That struck me as a solid plus.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)