Thank you for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and read.
Fans of Lauren Oliver's middle grade writing will really enjoy this one. And fun adaptations of fairy tales are one of my favorite things to read!
Spunky yet under-confident heroine who believes only in things that can be proven, until she doesn't. Villains who you kind of like, even though you're not supposed to. A trapped boy who needs to be saved. An imaginative setting; who doesn't love a story that takes place in a museum? This book was just all around fun.
The author took some liberties with the retelling but what she did worked well. Her writing was easily paced. The plot moved along without dragging. The writing is simple and on point for the age group.
If you're looking for an enchanting middle grade read that's hard to put down (because you just need to know what will happen), give this one a try!

Where I found it: Yet another from the NetGalley back back back list 

Why I picked it up: Just look at that cover! And the Wall Street Journal described it as "brave tale of grief, villainy and redemption that borrows from the story of the Snow Queen." ALSO, I was using up some Audible credits and picked this up that way as well, because Jayne Entwistle was the narrator, and I absolutely adore her. 

What’s It All About? Ophelia is a logical young girl whose mother died "exactly three months, seven days, and nine hours ago." Since her mother's death, her older sister (Alice) has become cold and distant, when once she was loving and happy.  Ophelia's father has buried himself in his work refusing to even speak about their loss. As the story begins, her father has accepted a temporary job curating an exhibit on the history of swords (his area of expertise) after the last curator left suddenly and on mysterious grounds only three days before the exhibition is slated to open. In an attempt to avoid celebrating the holidays in their own home, which is full of sadness, he brings both Alice and Ophelia with him. On her first day in the museum, Ophelia meets a marvelous boy locked in a room who is quite impossible to her scientific mind. However, as he tells her his tale, she begins to help him, even if she does not yet believe. Can Ophelia help the marvelous boy to save the world before it is too late?

My thoughts: This was a fun debut book full of magic and grief and fairytales. A retelling of the Snow Queen, this book contains stories within stories, and even the minor characters have a major role to play in the telling of these stories. There are many moving parts to this story: every member of Ophelia's family is having a different experience in the museum, and sometimes those experiences are at odds; the world the Marvelous Boy came from and his circumstances for arriving and being imprisoned in the forgotten room; and then the Snow Queen's plans, set in motion before the Marvelous Boy has even reached this world. There were a few of the mysteries that I was able to figure out almost immediately, but as this is a children's book and I am an adult/experienced reader, it was not unexpected. What I could not figure out was where the story took place. It has a European feel to it, but is simply a city where it always snows. The story is very much a modern day fairy tale, filled with magic and characters that the reader will either love or hate (and very few have a redemption arc). I particularly liked the way that the relationships between each of the daughters and between them and their father changed over the course of the story, as they each pulled their way through the lonely grief they were suffering and began to acknowledge that they needed each other to get through their loss, that they were stronger together and could hold each other up. The narration of this book was perfection (though I am extremely biased towards anything that Jayne reads, to the point that I purchased the audio on this fact alone). I never had to question who was speaking, or which parts were narrated. And her accent is simply lovely. 

Genre: Children's Fantasy
Themes: Grief, revenge, family, hope, inner strength
Recommended For: Fans of fantasy and fairy tales, and maybe for those who do not yet believe, much like Ophelia didn't at the beginning of the book. 



This review will post at https://tichwi.ninja/book-review-37-ophelia-and-the-marvelous-boy/ on 2.7.23

Beautiful prose with magical twists, this story is sure to charm and enchant children (and adults alike!). This story immediately grabbed my attention, and the ending added a whole new layer to this. Wow! This is a book I'll read to my children, I think they'll love the beautiful writing and rhythm in this story among the characters and the museum setting.

It's refreshing to have Ophelia, a girl who believes in science as the main lead. This is a book I'd highly recommend reading, especially in the winter months!

This was quite different then what I expected. It is for younger readers. 13 maybe, It's enjoyable. Atmospheric, with suitably horrible creatures hidden in back rooms and behind doors. Ophelia is brave and resourceful, even though she doesn't think she is. It's a satisfying ending. With all the story-within-a-story telling, there still seemed to be gaps in my knowledge that I would have liked to get some answers to. For instance, I would have liked a bit more explanation about the Snow Queen herself.

I'll bet it would make a great read-aloud when my kids are a few years older.

This book was such a charming delight from beginning to end! I actually still love it so much that I'm reading with my niece. She is loving it as well.

really loved Karen’s mysterious and beautiful novel The Midnight Dress, and once I heard Karen speak about her new book Ophelia & the Marvellous Boy I knew at once that it sounded like my kind of book. I bought the gorgeous hard-back in London, and am glad that I did as the production is just exquisite.

This is an enjoyable fantasy based on the Snow Queen. Put a girl who believes in science in a strange museum filled with magic, and you know that adventure is going to happen.

This started out great. Good writing, great plot. Then it devolved into a dungeon crawler interspersed with long nonsensical flashbacks. Grew bored about halfway and gave up. Thanks to netgalley for the free copy.

Fun sweet story. Children will love the adventure in this storyline. Once they read this they will come back for more.

I am finally getting caught up with old NetGalley books that I never was able to read. This story was beautifully written and a perfect read aloud for upper elementary classrooms. I will be sharing this old but good title with many of my elementary teacher friends.

Cleaning out my netgalley of all the books I don't have downloaded to get a better idea of what books I have to review. Sorry I didn't get to this book.

A well-written and enjoyable book, I am glad I requested this title and will be more than happy to pass the title along to my fellow library purchasers.

This was a quick and sweet read, but I couldn't fall for it completely. Perhaps it was because of the Roald Dahl comparisons, or the Snow Queen aspect. Regardless of the why, I wanted to love it more than I did. I generally love middle grade novels, but I found this one a little too juvenile to enjoy. It was definitely me and not the novel as it was beautiful and sweet, but I just didn't enjoy myself.