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ebees 's review for:
The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray
by B.A. Williamson
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 (along with other references I don't know, but other reviewers will). And I'm all for it.
Gwendolyn Gray is a mini Merida, with spunk and rebellion and independence, 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 provides us with metaphors and imagery we would understand but Gwendolyn maybe wouldn't. EDIT: Thinking about it more, the narration is not actually similar to Series of Unfortunate Events, it's just the 4th wall breaks which made me think of it, like reminding the reader that they are reading a story and communicating with the reader.
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. There was also a nod to Kafka, which I deeply appreciated.
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 received this book via Netgalley and am providing my honest review.
Gwendolyn Gray is a mini Merida, with spunk and rebellion and independence, 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 provides us with metaphors and imagery we would understand but Gwendolyn maybe wouldn't. EDIT: Thinking about it more, the narration is not actually similar to Series of Unfortunate Events, it's just the 4th wall breaks which made me think of it, like reminding the reader that they are reading a story and communicating with the reader.
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. There was also a nod to Kafka, which I deeply appreciated.
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 received this book via Netgalley and am providing my honest review.