The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

The elevator pitch for this book was "Dumplin' meets Well Met," and I was sold. While I've never been to a renaissance faire, I absolutely love reading about them. I'm still a theater kid at heart and the performance aspect of the faire fascinates me, so I can't resist a book that gives a peek behind the scenes.

Madeline - aka Gwen - is a home-schooled high school senior who has grown up on the road, traveling via RV with her parents from one renaissance faire to the next. When the story begins, she's coming up on the one-year anniversary of her mom's death, and she and her father are returning to what had been her mom's favorite faire stop. Once there, she discovers that the faire is under new ownership, and nothing is like she remembers.

She also meets Arthur, who dubs her Gwen and insists that she play the role of Princess of the Faire. Arthur just so happens to be the son of the faire's new owners, and he brings just the right amount of chaos to Gwen's rigidly ordered life. He convinces Gwen to join him on their days off from the faire as he takes road trips seeking adventure. Over the course of the summer, Gwen finds herself letting go of some of the routines and rituals she had imposed to try to bring order to her life following her mom's death, and giving in more to the spirit that Arthur brings to her life.

This book has plenty of sweet romance between Arthur and Gwen - it really nails that awkward will-they-won't-they element between high school crushes. Both Arthur and Gwen have confidence issues stemming from their physical appearance, and they struggle to trust each other. Their friendship develops long before any romance, and it's truly heart warming to read.

More than the romance, though, this is a story about a young girl navigating grief and loss. I experienced a similar loss at Gwen's age when my younger brother passed away, and I can remember trying desperately to make sense of things in a world that had been turned upside down. It can feel impossible to relate to anyone, which leads to so much loneliness, and like Gwen, I found myself clinging to rituals that added some sense or order back to my life. This was such a realistic portrayal of working through grief and struggling to let others in, and I found myself weeping over the pages at multiple points.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, especially if you have fond drama club memories, or if you remember what it felt like to feel lost and adrift as a teenager.