Title: The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray
Author: B.A. Williamson
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by: Shakera
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, YA
Publisher: North Star Editions
Date of Release: May 15, 2018
Pages: 336
Format: Kindle (NetGalley)
In a world that is all black, white, and gray, things can become extremely boring! No one knows how that feels better than Gwendolyn Gray! She faces a very serious problem… she doesn’t think in black and white. She is the only person her age that doesn’t think the way everyone else does, and that leaves her as an outcast. As her parents and classmates continue to fall under the influence of the gray, dull society, Gwendolyn’s vivid imagination runs wild and naturally gets her in trouble. There are two faceless men who will stop at nothing to stop Gwendolyn from changing the world as they know it, including completely wiping cities off the map. Can Gwendolyn, with the help of two friends, stop the two faceless men and save everyone from a dull, gray existence?
This was the kind of book I read as a child! It is so awesome to read about a child having such a vivid imagination! There is something about a child using their imagination to save the world that is absolutely amazing. There are so many great things about this book: a narrator who acknowledges the readers and makes you feel as though you are a part of the story, Gwendolyn realizing she isn’t just some silly girl. There is a real power in your imagination. Stirling and Sparrow are great characters! The addition of siblings Stirling and Sparrow helped create the steampunk feel this book had. The story was great and I loved the small moments when the narrator would say, “I’ll spare you the boring details…”, “Sparrow said a few words that wouldn’t be polite to repeat…”. This might be a turn off for most, but I enjoyed it. The pacing was quite quick with world-building along the way, which was spectacularly done.
What was amazing about this story was the way it challenged the way stories/fairy tales are usually told. Normally it would start with “Once upon a time…”, but instead, it challenged you with “What if…?” Here’s to Gwendolyn Gray, for showing us it’s okay to stand out in a world where you were meant to blend it, for showing us it’s okay to use your imagination, and going against the norms… because being normal is overrated.
