The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher is a sweet and charming read set in a ren faire. This setting was really fun and pretty unusual, and gave her cute details to work in as well as the ideas around being on the move and not being in a normal high school. I largely liked Madeline, whose routines I related to and journey with self-acceptance, therapy, and opening up is great for teenage readers. I wasn't particularly into Arthur as a character (the emphasis on how annoying he is was...not incorrect, though he was charming at times), but I loved his dads. Arthur's personal issues and the supposed conflict with Bre and his high school group didn't come together to me, especially in balance with Maddie's story. Bre and Noah, however, were pretty delightful and I could have used them being in the book for more time.

Unfortunately, though, I don't think this one will stay with me, and it felt like something was missing. While also dealing with grief, this novel doesn't hit as hard as Amelia Unabridged, in which Schumacher really focused on grief and moving forward and the emotions came through. In Renaissance, I only started to feel anything in the last 15% or 20%.

The Renaissance Of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher was a delightful read. I honestly had totally the wrong expectation -- for some reason I thought the guy on the cover was a girl and just assumed this was a sapphic YA romance. I was wrong and that's okay. This book is one that I actually really enjoyed. Madeline Hathaway's mother died nearly a year ago. To cope, she wants it so nothing ever changes again and she won't get close to anyone else because she cannot bear the loss. She also keeps this notebook of noticings so that she doesn't forget a thing. As the book opens, Madeline and her father are about to run their booth at the Stormsworth Faire. She ends up crossing paths with the owner's son, Arthur who calls Madeline by the name of Gwen and insists that Gwen be the faire's princess. What results is a summer of road trips and reluctant friendship, because Maddie certainly has her guard up.

I tore through The Renaissance Of Gwen Hathaway. The main character is fat. Maddie is clearly going through it and not coping the best. But, she goes to therapy and I LOVE that for her. She learns and grows so much through this book and has so much self discovery. I appreciated that this book took some turns I didn't anticipate and didn't fall into one of those cliche traps with certain characterizations. Arthur is such a gem as well. He is kind and thoughtful and patient. So, naturally I loved his character as much as Maddie. This book is sweet and fun, definitely recommend picking this one up.

I will start with the fact that I love the representation of a curvy main character. That is definitely something that I loved right off the bat. Also, I love the idea of the Ren- Faire in the story. This was a pretty enjoyable read. I think I would definitely check out future books by this author. This was not a favorite, but I did really enjoy the romance and it definitely gives the teen romance movie vibes. I definitely think that some of the topics in the book and the representation is worth noting. I would recommend.

This was a very cute read <3
I loved the setting! It was the primary reason I requested this from NetGalley—a teen who grew up traveling across the country with her parents in the Renaissance Faire circuit? Yesssss.

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted this novel to be the nerdy YA contemporary of my dreams, it didn't completely live up to my expectations.

What I liked

🔮 The setting: We follow Maddie during summer break in what used to be her late-mother's favorite faire in the circuit. Much to Maddie's disappointment, the faire is under new owners and has been completely revamped. Maddie is given the role of being the faire's princess, and must play her part alongside Arthur, the bard. There are also spontaneous road trips to other quirky places near the faire.

🔮 Themes of grief and self-image: Maddie is grieving the death of her mother. She doesn't really know how to cope, how to move on and open herself back up again. She also struggles with her body image, always comparing herself to her mother's beauty. Arthur wants Maddie to open up, let him be her friend. Arthur also struggles with insecurity, often feeling weak and "unmanly." Both characters have to learn to love themselves and do away with the mechanisms they use to protect their egos.

🔮 The goofy, sweet, innocent, and overall wholesome interactions between the characters.

What missed the mark for me

🔮 Maddie was a solid protagonist. I enjoyed reading from her perspective for the first half, and then she started making me roll my eyes. It all got a bit too cliché/immature for me in the latter half. The typical miscommunication and misconstruing of others intentions was just too silly. I was in no way convinced that both Maddie and Arthur deserved to be upset with each other the times they were.

🔮 I quite liked the writing before I realized how repetitive it was. All of Maddie's decisions were prefaced in the same way: by using three or more subordinate clauses that began with the word "because." Every. Single. Time. And this book has a lot to do with Maddie's inability to trust herself when it comes to decision-making, so this happened a lot.

🔮 Overall, I feel like this didn't really have a solid climax, making the entire novel feel like a slow decline. It dragged until Maddie and Arthur finally stopped pouting. Perhaps I am being harsh, lol, because Maddie was grieving, but the way the plot was executed didn't deliver the depth and whimsy I hoped for.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Whelp, if it wasn't official before, it is now. I love Ashley's writing. She has such a vivid ability to tell a story and, while this one did not make me cry, I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. I know, I know... who enjoys crying anyway?
Can I just get more books set at a Ren Faire?? Why is it that this hasn't been exploited more? It's such a fun backdrop for a summery adventure or self-discovery or romance.
Madeline and her father are returning for their annual summer in Oklahoma on the ren faire circuit. Only this time, her mother's death anniversary is looming and her friend and favorite confidant is no longer along for the journey. Maddie only wants to mind her own and keep everyone at arm's length but this boy, Arthur, the bard won't let her be. So now she has to play princess and all that entails has Maddie facing her insecurities and fears head on.
This book took up a little corner of my heart. I love so much how Ashley deals with grief, body positivity, and self-discovery through the eyes of Maddie "Gwen" Hathaway. It's a book a think every tween will find common ground with even if Maddie's exact set of hurdles isn't a shared experience.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

2/5 stars! This book...I'm not sure what it reminds me of but it felt like a bunch of books I had already read meshed into one and placed at a Renaissance Faire. I couldn't get into it. I think Renaissance Faires are super unique and special and if the author had done more in that area, I might have been pulled deeper into the story. However, the writing felt relatively shallow and I didn't connect with the characters.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I was highly anticipating this one based on the comps, Dumplin' and Well Met are two of my favorites, and it exceeded all my expectations. Schumacher perfectly captures the magic of both first love and the ren faire. I fell in love with the characters right away (Arthur is such a little sweetheart!) and I wish I could visit Stormsworth in real life. I'm actually from Oklahoma, and went to my first faire there, which made reading about Arthur and Madeline's road trips very fun. I've actually started re-reading this one because, sadly, since reading it the first time, I've experienced the loss of a close family member. Reading about Madeline's journey through grief has been very healing.

Ooooh this swoony little slow burn young adult gem! I adored this.

Madeline's parents raised her in the Renaissance Faire circuit, traveling to Ren Faires in their trailer and selling jewelry. In the year after her mother died, Madeline is determined to avoid change. Afraid of the speed in which she forgets little things about her mother, she wants to notice and remember her life as it is by keeping detailed lists. Oh, my heart. Her determination to keep her life exactly as it has always been wavers when she meets Arthur. The truth of it is that Arthur barely takes no for an answer and makes Madeline/"Gwen" his friend and the faire's princess.

The body image focus of this book is brilliant. Both Madeline and Arthur struggle with body acceptance and self love. They are teenagers, so they don't have it all figured out, but I love how these characters grapple with it. Just so thankful whenever a book like this exists so I can pass it along to my kids at the right time.

I felt like the magic of this story had a very slow burn vibe. It took me a bit of time to really get into this, but it was absolutely worth the slower start.

It's about grief. She's at her mom's favorite Ren Faire and it's just one year after she died. The feelings are fresh and constant for our heroine. So while this book does have a "Well Met" but for teens thing going on, it's a deeper and angstier read.

We get a bit of a romcomy teen movie makeover montage with Arthur's dads helping Madeline become princess of the faire, complete with princess worthy gowns.

The romance is just.... perfect. Truly young adult with zero steaminess. Let Arthur set the standard for YA book boyfriends! Like, when she gets a sunburn and he leaves to get aloe and changes their plans to stay in and be adorable together justSTOPit!! It's really sweet, you'll see.

Above all, this one was about letting people in after putting up walls, letting go, being so scared to lose people but being brave and loving them anyway.... goodness, I'll never not get in my feels when I think about this book.

4.5/5⭐️

I loved the two previous books that I’ve read from this author (although one broke my heart), and this one was every bit as wonderful.

This YA takes place at a Renaissance Fair and centers around Gwen/Maddie, a 17-year-old who lost her mother a year before and travels the circuit with her father selling handmade items. She meets quirky Arthur, a bard, who stubbornly works to pull her back into life.

This is a wonderful story with layers of teenage insecurities and includes body image issues, grief therapy, prejudice, and misconceptions. It speaks to the effort of letting go and moving forward from loss and how to let others care for you during trying times and help share the burden.

Beautiful characters, fun setting and a wonderfully sweet relationship between Maddie and Arthur. My only wish? The ending felt a little unresolved to me.

Highly recommended.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing the free early arc of The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of parent (past, cancer), grief, brief mentions of homophobia (challenged)

I really enjoyed this book. It was quiet, soft, and discussed so many important topics. Maddie has spent her life traveling with her parents from ren faire to ren faire. But now she's discovering what life looks like after the passing of her mother. This book discuses grief beautifully, how messy it can be, how strange the world is, not wanting to miss anything but also feeling stuck.

Maddie was also curvy/fat and I really enjoyed seeing a fat YA MC, something I wish I had when I was reading as a teenager. It was quite the slow burn with Arthur and I enjoyed every moment of them. Them becoming friends first, the discussions of fate and luck, and just how much of a cinnamon roll and a bit of a dork Arthur was.

This was very much a coming of age for Maddie as she starts to discover what she wants out of life, asking for it, making new friends and just living her life, all while at a ren faire.

Steam: 1

Ashley Schumacher is just one of my faves. She uses words so beautifully and creates characters who you love to love while at the same time, they make you FEEL so many things. I adored Arthur. I didn't expect to. I honestly am not really into Ren Faire's but this setting, these characters, their hearts - it was just so good. With themes of grief, insecurity and self doubt, this YA Romance gives us all the feels and all of the romance with all of the fun that we want.

While this book was not for me personally, I can see how it would appeal to my students so I will continue to keep this in mind for student recommendations. I, however, did love the premise and the setting and would love to try another book by this author in the future!

This is the first book by Ashley Schumacher I've read. It's a cute YA novel especially if you've ever been to a Renaissance Faire. I think if you've never been to a Ren Faire, this is not going to ve as enjoyable. There are plenty of non Faire moments as well. I liked the random road trips they took. The ending could be better. It is a quick, fun quick read perfect for summer.

I’ll share feelings/initial thoughts first:
This book is a perfect example of loving an author and being pushed out of my comfort zone. I can’t say that I would normally pick up a Ren Faire book, but because Schumacher wrote it I NEEDED this ARC!
Also, have you ever read about nothing going on but it feels so necessary and not slow at all, but perfect?

This author captures grief so well. And explains the mundane in such a poetic way. Maddie’s struggle with her mom’s death and her own mental health was the focus of this novel, and the romance was secondary. It was beautiful, raw, emotional, and something I cannot wait to recommend to my students!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and the author for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

The narrator is Maddie, a teenager who travels the Renaissance faire circuit with her parents while homeschooled. After her mother's death, she and her father return to her mother's favorite faire, which has been completely revamped by new owners. The owners' son, Arthur does everything in his power to befriend Maddie and convince her to be the faire's princess. Maddy has to overcome her body issues and her determination to keep her heart closed and protect herself from future loss.

This book is a 3.5 star read for me but I'd probably bump that up to a 4 star for a younger YA reader. Its very sweet and wholesome coming of age story with a positive message about self-acceptance, growth and overcoming adversity (in this case, Maddie struggles from anxiety and is grieving for her late mother). Maddie and Arthur seem very young to me, but I do enjoy their banter and development of their sweet relationship.

This is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale about a girl struggling to find her way a year after her mother's death. This book has some good messages about body acceptance, taking your time to process grief, and reaching out for help via therapy. It was just a sweet, light read. The setting is fun if you enjoy ren faires and liked the book Well Met.

Honestly the only reason i'm giving this book 3 stars is just a difference in taste. For some odd reason I can't get into books that are set at a Con or a Ren Faire. This is mostly because I attend them in person and it just kinda takes me out of the reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Ashley Schumacher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a fun, heart-warming story that follows Madeline “Gwen” Hathaway as she finds out more about who she is. It’s fill with magic, diversity, and is a great read. I highly recommend it!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Having lost my dad when I was 19, I’m always struck & moved by YA books that talk grief & the feelings & emotions that come with it.

Ashley Schumacher’s The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway is a heartwarming tale set in the world of the Renaissance Faire—where new things are made to look old, a young girl can grow up with two loving parents & then one, & that same girl can one day randomly become a Ren Faire princess.

Watching Gwen develop more confidence in her body & in herself as the book progresses is another mark in this book’s favor, as is her relationship with Arthur, the irrepressible & kind son of the owners who is also somewhat insecure about his own appearance.

If you’re looking for a book that handles the loss of a parent & finding your way after that loss in a soft & lovely way, check this one out.

4⭐️. Out 03/14.

CW: Reference to parental judgement (grandparents). Reference to homophobia. Grief over losing a parent.

ID: Jess's white hand holds the ebook over a table and cup of coffee in a cafe. In the background are tables and chairs, a lit Christmas tree, and a tv.

Ashley Schumacher is one of the greatest YA writers of our time. I have enjoyed every book that she has written and The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway is no exception. Schumacher’s ability to write well-rounded, realistic characters is remarkable. I continue to care deeply for her protagonists no matter what settings she puts them in. This novel would be a great addition to any library’s collection and I encourage readers of all ages to give her writing a try!

A review will be publish February 2nd, 2023 at 12:00pm on Instagram, Goodreads, and Storygraph @abookwormworksgarden

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway was adorable. It was so refreshing to see a plus size girl fall in love for the first time. I think this novel will be important representation for plus size girls (and boys) that they are loveable. I adored all of the characters. In addition, the novel has the underlying theme of grief. I personally think it does an excellent job depicting healing from grief is non-linear. I highly recommend checking this book out!!!

Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and St. Martin Press for allowing me to read this book.