Language: R (48 swears, 3 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Coming up on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death, rising 12th grader Madeline just wants to spend the summer remembering, especially since she and her dad are at her mom’s favorite Ren faire. But new management has changed everything about the faire, and there is a bard calling Madeline “Gwen” for no apparent reason, and he insists on taking up all the time that Madeline was going to spend by herself. The bard is making himself important to Madeline, and she is desperate to stop him.
Once again, Schumacher has crafted a brilliant story that addresses grief. Watching Madeline struggle to remember her mother and to push away anyone else that fate might take away from her next time is painfully relatable. However, Schumacher uses Madeline’s story to also address issues of body image and self-consciousness for both boys and girls. Fate rolls the dice for each of us, but it’s our decision to treat the result as a curse or a blessing.
Madeline/Gwen, her father, Arthur, and Tim are white. Martin is described as having a “dark brown complexion,” Adelina has “brown” skin, Noah has “olive” skin, and Bre has “dark brown” skin. Fatima is implied non-white. The mature content rating is for innuendo and mentions of sex and alcohol.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
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