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{English| Spanish}
The Fantastical Exploits of Gwendolyn Gray (Gwendolyn Gray, #2)
by
B.A. Williamson
384 pages
Published
April 28th 2020
by North Star Editions/Jolly Fish Press
ISBN13: 9781631634352
Edition Language: English
Series: The Chronicles of Gwendolyn Gray #2
BLURB: Heroes never return from adventure unchanged, and Gwendolyn Gray knows this better than anyone. She faces a new darkness within herselfwith no help or comfort from her friends Sparrow and Starling. On top of that, the City is only getting worse. When the Faceless Gentlemen return to menace her again, Gwendolyn escapes to the lands of the Fae. But even the dreamlike Faeoria holds dangers that even she could never have imagined. Gwendolyn must learn to master her magic and manage her internal struggles if she ever hopes to defeat the villainous forces that control the City, find Sparrow and Starling, and save the people she loves.
3.3 spread-your-imagination stars
“Everyone is born different. None of us are born to fit in.”
When the heroine of a story defeats the bad guys, derailing their evil plans, the story ends with a happy ending, right? Well, Gwendolyne hoped it would be like this, not even caring that anyone knew what she had been through or done, or was she? However, she feels depressed and misses her friends and fellow adventurers. Her world continues to be mostly gray and it continues to follow the same operating laws, not like the world of pirates and adventure. Like all the kids, maybe she expected a radical change and not a small change here and there, like her friends from school who want to hear stories now. And I think Gwendolyn fails to acknowledge her parents' love for her.
But the gray men have not yet given up on reordering the world as it should be.
Gwendolyn is once again haunted by enormous powers and must jump to another world to escape and seek help.
The library thing is great, although not very original. The thing about the doors also reminds me of some science fiction series.
I liked the character of the inventor who lives inside the tree, and the little taunt that would have changed her gender by remembering her legacy. On the other hand, I love sentient trees, so that's a plus.
The Fairy Court thing provides an entertaining fantasy factor that adds a dangerous element to the story, apart from teaching about being careful with our words, but Gwendolyn is so impulsive and never listens to advice (that although I know she is part of the plot and the growth to mature of the character and blah, it is really very frustrating)
I really wanted to read the continuation of Gwendolyn's adventures, because several questions remained and the author here tried to give those answers. This has evolved in fantasy kitchen sink - dystopia, faes, steampunk pirates, different worlds, magic, light/dark sides.
However, I must confess that I spend half the book wanting to give Gwendolyn a few cuff, and giving thanks for not having teenage children. She was the epitome of the teenager who does not listen to anyone, 'nobody understands me', 'I am alone', and 'I do as it seems to me no matter what advice they give me'. Another reviewer mentioned a insighful idea about another issue: (view spoiler)
Anyway, it seems that headstrong heroes or heroines are not easy with bystanders.
B.A. points to several books, easter eggs calls them, and it's easy to find at first glance a Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare), Alice in Wonderland (Carroll), Peter Pan (Barrie), and hints of Michael Ende and even of The Wachowskis (Matrix)
The end is open to what will happen now in the city. It is true that the inhabitants will have to make decisions that they may not understand, knowledge is very important to face these challenges and I do not know if they will be prepared for it. Also they are hints of other factors (view spoiler)
Romance? Sorta. Some kisses.
Diversity? LGBTQ. The inventor talks about issues of gender. And that she had wives.
Puck is genderfluid.
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(This time in Spanish)
Cuando la heroína de una historia derrota a los malos, descarrilando sus planes malvados, la historia termina con un final feliz, ¿verdad? Bueno, Gwendolyne esperaba que fuera así, sin importarle que alguien supiera por lo que ella había pasado o hecho, ¿o sí? Sin embargo, se siente deprimida y extraña a sus amigos y aventureros. Su mundo sigue siendo mayormente gris y sigue las mismas leyes operativas, no como el mundo de los piratas y la aventura. Al igual que todos los niños, tal vez ella esperaba un cambio radical y no un pequeño cambio aquí y allá, como sus amigos de la escuela que quieren escuchar historias ahora. Y creo que Gwendolyn no reconoce el amor de sus padres por ella.
Pero los hombres grises aún no han renunciado a reordenar el mundo como debería ser.
Gwendolyn es nuevamente perseguido por enormes poderes y debe saltar a otro mundo para escapar y buscar ayuda.
Lo de la biblioteca es genial, aunque no muy original. Lo de las puertas también me recuerda algunas series de ciencia ficción.
Me gustó el personaje de la inventora que vive dentro del árbol, y la pequeña pulla de que habrían cambiado su género al recordar su legado. Por otro lado, me encantan los árboles sentientes, así que eso es plus.
Lo de la corte de las hadas proporciona un factor de fantasía entretenido que agrega un elemento peligroso a la historia, además de enseñar a tener cuidado con nuestras palabras, pero Gwendolyn es tan impulsiva y nunca escucha consejos (que aunque sé que ella es parte de la trama y el crecimiento para madurar del personaje y bla, es realmente muy frustrante)
Tenía muchas ganas de leer la continuación de las aventuras de Gwendolyn, porque quedaban varias preguntas y el autor aquí trató de dar esas respuestas. Esto ha evolucionado en un fregadero de la cocina de fantasía: distopía, faes, piratas steampunk, mundos diferentes, magia, lados luminosos / oscuros.
Sin embargo, debo confesar que me pasé la mitad del libro queriendo darle unos buenos chirlitos a Gwendolyn y dando gracias por no tener hijos adolescentes. Ella era el epítome de la adolescente que no escucha a nadie, "nadie me entiende", "estoy sola" y "hago lo que me parece sin importar los consejos que me dan". Otro revisor mencionó una idea perspicaz sobre otro tema: (view spoiler)
De todos modos, parece que los héroes o heroínas testarudos no son fáciles con los espectadores.
El autor apunta a varios libros, huevos de Pascua los llama, y es fácil encontrar a primera vista el Sueño de una noche de verano (Shakespeare), Alicia en el país de las maravillas (Carroll), Peter Pan (Barrie), y pistas de Michael Ende e incluso de The Wachowskis ( Matriz)
El final está abierto a lo que sucederá ahora en la ciudad. Es cierto que los habitantes tendrán que tomar decisiones que quizás no entiendan, el conocimiento es muy importante para enfrentar estos desafíos y no sé si estarán preparados para ello. También hay indicios de otros factores (view spoiler)
¿Romance? Algo asi. Algunos besos
¿Diversidad? LGBTQ. La inventora habla sobre cuestiones de género. Y que ella tenía esposas.
Puck es de género fluido.
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