This review contains affiliate links, which earn me a small commission when you click and purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business and allowing me to continue providing you a reliable resource for clean book ratings.
Maddie Hathaway has grown up on the Renaissance fair circuit. She and her parents have lived in an RV and sold jewelry and leather journals. She’s been homeschooled or done school online. It’s been her life, and she’s felt comfortable and safe. But her mother’s death from cancer has left her feeling uncertain and unmoored. Then she and her father set up shop for one summer at a faire her mother loved, a place that holds lots of memories. Maddie is displeased to find Stormsworth has been overhauled and upgraded by new owners. It’s actually pretty impressive, a large castle in the middle surrounded by a lazy-river moat, for instance, but she’s not happy about this change.
On top of that, a boy now lives there with his dads, one who insists on a) talking to her and b) being upbeat. He christens her “Gwen,” for some inexplicable reason. And she can’t seem to get away from him.
Arthur (who plays the lute, even!) not only keeps talking to her, but he convinces her to become the Princess of the Faire. Maddie gets fitted for beautiful dresses and can’t hide away from people’s attention. She’s made some kind of peace with her larger figure, but the dress fittings and attention bring up self-consciousness about her weight and what other people are thinking.
She and Arthur do become friends, spending time together around the Faire and going on day trips, but Maddie doesn’t want to label their relationship. She doesn’t want to find herself caring for someone else — and losing someone else.
While she doesn’t believe in Fate, it seems Fate does have other plans for “Gwen.” And it’s a pleasure to watch her bloom.
I’ve so enjoyed Schumacher’s other books (including Amelia Unabridged), so I had to read The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway. All are filled with heart and endearing characters. All deal with teens facing grief, and the author has a deft touch as she helps them navigate their losses. And since they’re teens, they’re dealing with all the usual adolescent concerns too, whether it’s insecurity, friendships, romance, or uncertainty about the future and adulthood.
This good young adult romance book has so much to recommend it: charming characters, a delightfully nerdy setting, funny touches like jousts on camels and crocodile floaties in the moat, and loving families. I would have been happy for the book to continue so I could spend more time there.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 3 instances of strong language, a dozen uses of moderate profanity, a dozen uses of mild language, and about 20 instances of the name of Deity in vain. There is one brief scene of kissing.
*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
