Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gablesthe talkative, whimsical, accident-prone, imaginative heroine of L.M. Montgomery's series is so lovable and aggravating that everyone she meets in her new life as adopted daughter of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert is at once charmed and shocked.

I have adored Anne since I was very young. Admittedly, I first fell in love with her from the classic TV miniseriesstarring Megan Follows (who I think is amazing in this role). From her multitude of "scrapes" to her overactive imagination, Anne is one of my favorite characters in all fiction-dom. Montgomery's writing is a perfect fit for this dream child, filled with gorgeous descriptive language. I listened to this one on audio (sequel reviewed here), but I found it was still just as lovely as when I read it many years ago.

Read-alikes:
Emily of New Moon books by none other than L.M. Montgomery
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Big fans will also want to read Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: *****

Book Review: Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Short Synopsis
Anne of Avonleathe continuing adventures of Anne Shirley, chronicles her debut as the school teacher of Avonlea public school, her uncanny ability to get into scrapes, and her discovery of so many more kindred spirits than expected.

(Don't you love that cover?) I listened to this second Anne book while doing my gardening. I simply love the writing in these books! Anne is one of my favorite characters of all the literature I have ever read. I have been in love with the miniseries made from these books for a long time, so I compare the two. I think the movie was right to cut so many of the supporting characters, since there are so many in the book. It makes the story much easier to follow and the supporting characters that they do have are stronger. All around, a classic story that comes to life almost entirely on the strength of Anne's personality.

Read-alikes:
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
Emily of New Moon series by L.M. Montgomery
Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
also reminded me of Little Women
and of course the rest of the Anne series

RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: ****

Book Review: Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

Before Green Gablesis obviously a prequel to the Anne of Green Gables series. In this book, Budge traces Anne's childhood from before birth all the way to Green Gables. Anne's parents' deaths and her subsequent time spent with two families, helping with children, do not make for the most idyllic childhood, but Anne maintains her unique spirit and optimism throughout these trials.

Being a huge Anne fan, I was pretty excited to read this. It does start pretty slowly, spending quite some time on Anne's parents and their lives. However, Anne is still her wonderful, spunky, and literary self, despite the drudging life she leads. Actually, I found myself thinking that her trials didn't quite add up to the horrors I imagined for her. I thought for sure, things were more difficult. I was surprised at the numerous people in her life who are kind and loving. I'm quite sure this expectation was colored by the depiction of Mrs. Hammond in this movie(which I adore!) Since it has been some time since I read the original books, this certainly inspired me to pull those classics out again. Overall, I found it beautiful and fairly true to Anne's spirit, if a little long and windy at times.

RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
Some domestic violence happens, though it is mostly "off stage"

Overall rating: ***