The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray

Picture a pre-teen Merida (from Brave) with Mr. Smith (from Matrix) after her for daring to stand out and change her dreary, grey-scale world. Throw in some treasure island, the narration from Series of Unfortunate events along with some easter eggs and this is what you'll get. And I'm all for it.

Gwendolyn Gray is a mini Merida, but in a world where everything is gray and bland and ordinary. Fortunately for us, Gwendolyn is none of those things. It reads similarly to Series of Unfortunate Events, as the narrator tells us a story, defines big words and provides us with metaphors and imagery we would understand but Gwendolyn maybe wouldn't. There are two Faceless Gentlemen titled Mr. Five and Mr. Six, not unlike Mr. Smith, who try to keep order in Gwendolyn's chaos. They work under the Collector, who we don't meet who I am assuming is another child from the clues given.
The first third of the book is Gwendolyn in the City, dealing with her dreary life with parents who don't understand her, awful bullies and boring classes. Then, as her imagination escalates, so does her life. She begins to imagine things to life, like easter eggs! Beaker from the muppets meeps an appearance under the name of Criminy. Also, she meets new friends, Sparrow and Starling who introduce her to the art of hopping through worlds. Which is what she does. She hops into the world of a storybook filled with steampunk pirates and imagination. Things go bad, friendships are made, romances are had, and then the book ends with a sad twist. A very cute story! Looking forward to the sequel (P.S. Mr. Author, please write a sequel) and learning more about the world(s), the Collector and what the deal is with Misters 1, 2 and 3.

I have had the best luck finding amazing titles on Net Galley and this is %100 one of them because holy cannoli this was AMAZING!

You see, this story is all about our young heart-warming main character, Gwendolyn and like most of us humans on Earth, she does not want to grow up. Her entire world revolves around the color of blah!! Gray everything! No color whatsoever. Except for Gwendolyn, who has the brightest colored hair of all, RED! Not only is her hair bright and wild but so is her imagination and the other kids do not like this so they set to bullying her. (Rude!) Well, guess what bullies, Gwendolyn then begins to make things real and that's when the plot thickens!

What's great about this book is that it's kind of set into story arcs. So 3 phases that help with the pacing of this story but to be honest, I would have flew through this story otherwise! This book is stunning. The writing is absolutely perfect. Everything is described so beautifully and the world building is fantastic. Everything about this book is beautiful and magical. I felt like I was on an adventure while I was reading. I was captivated in the imaginative, fantastical world that B. A. Williamson created and I never wanted to leave. DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE!

*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.

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...

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.

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.

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!!

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?

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.)

Extremely cute book full of adventures of the imagination! Thank you so much for letting me have a free copy for an honest review.

This delightful adventure crosses worlds of imagination with a singularly creative young heroine. At times the settings reminded me of A Wrinkle in Time, Kidnapped, Peter Pan, and The Never-Ending Story, to name a few. Humor tempers the seriously creepy villains, and the dramatic story moves right along with more than its share of twists and turns. Gwendolyn Gray is not only a resourceful and sympathetic heroine, but someone I would have loved to play with as a child. My only reservation about the book concerns the audience, since Gwendolyn is adolescent, but the length of the book and the complexity of the world place it more in the YA/teen niche. Regardless, I look forward to more imagination-fueled adventures.

There’s a reason that middle grade books are such a big part of my reading life in my 30’s, and books like this are exactly it. This was such an engaging story that kept me captivated from beginning to end. The style of writing was witty, conversational, and perfectly descriptive.

I loved the adventure, the characters, and especially the overall message of finding your own path and letting your imagination guide you. While his message is important for middle grade readers, it may be even more so for adult readers. Too many adults are quick to dismiss imagination and creativity (and would probably be happy to live in the full world Gwendolyn began in!)

The world built in this story was so entrancing that I honestly didn’t want to leave. I hope that all of the loose ends and “stories for another time” might be clues that more will come from this world. For now, I will have to settle for buying a copy for all my friends with middle grade readers. (and a read aloud copy for my not-quite-middle grade readers)

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read and review The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray. I loved this book! It's fabulous, and I can't wait to pick up more Gwendolyn Gray stories to read with my daughters :)

A charming read that sticks to your ribs afterwards. The narrator was everything I love in a narrator, and Gwendolyn is amazing! (Comparisons to Merida are warranted)

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for a review.

A great story of a young girl that is at the difficult juncture of being a child starting the transition to the woman she will become. The story begins in a grey, boring unimaginative world, where Gwendolyn sticks out because of her ability to use her imagination. The adventure that ensues has a great steampunk feel and overall it's a very enjoyable book.

I got the digital ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you have child-like high imaginations, you will love The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray very much! If you full of wonders and are a thinker, you will treasure it very much! That's what I felt. I was like, WOW! That's my kinda book. This book is full of imagination and creativity. This book reminds me of House of Secrets series.

Gwendolyn Gray is a twelve year old red-headed girl who lives in a black and white world. Colors and imaginations are big nos. She is special. She is full of imaginations and wonders. She is also a rebel in a good way. The story follows her adventures of saving worlds from the collector and the mister men. While on her adventures, she met amazing people. Though, there is a twist in the end. I'm sad!

I think the romance is unnecessary. It's cringe-worthy...

Overall, the story is supamegafoxyawesome! It taught us that, that's awesome to be different!

Thanks for writing this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It was quite sweet and even as someone in their mid 20s, I remember feeling (and still do really) like the odd ball out or having trouble finding people that understand me or don't judge me.

Gwendolyn is an incredibly likable, enjoyable and intelligent character that I couldn't help but root for and want to protect. Her curiosity and strength were so admirable and definitely my favourite part of this book as a whole. She's a really great character to root for and watch develop. I also really loved her brother-sister duo helpers...and Gwendolyn's love and passion for that one book (we all have one book we would take with us on an adventure).

I loved all the portals and the chase happening from Mister Five and Six. I also enjoyed the concept of the segregation within Gwendolyn's home world and then you zoom out and see other worlds. Loved getting to travel all over the place and the creativity that went into the transportation and "magic"/inventions.

My only two complaints were that I don't think the villain dystopian guys were quite as fleshed out as I would have liked and the pacing. The pacing wasn't bad, I just found that parts where there were supposed to be climaxes, I found myself inhaling and waiting...and waiting and then realized they had returned to the traveling aspect of the adventure journey.

The cover is STUNNING and a fantastic representation of the book. I will definitely keep an eye out for a finished copy for myself and will certainly be picking up a digital copy for my libraries.

Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful book!

I thoroughly enjoyed Gwendolyn Gray! A wonderfully imaginative story that seems a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and The Neverending Story. Loved the characters, loved the story, loved the nonstop action and adventure. Sure to be a hit with the upper elementary at my library!

This book was pretty good
I loved the idea behind it, the characters were so well done. Can't wait to read more by this author