This was a fun book. It describes Anne's life before she reaches Green Gables. Because I am a sucker for all things L.M. Montgomery and I love spinoffs, I was very excited when I found this book. In some ways, it didn't disappoint - the details about Anne's early life give dimension to characters that were previously flat, almost villainized, such as Mrs. Hammond and Mrs. Thomas. You learn that Mrs. Thomas loved Anne's mom and that Mrs. Hammond has 8 children under the age of 4 (for some reason, I always thought there was more space between her "three sets of twins in succession"). You learn that Anne's mother was painfully shy and that Anne's father, unlike Anne, is very good at geometry.
However, this book was high on the cheese. There were many "cleverly insert perfectly correlating detail" moments. I think they were meant to make the book seem more believable as a true prequel to Anne of Green Gables but they just made it seem contrived.
Still, I enjoyed it and would recommend it, especially if you love L.M. Montgomery. 3 out of 5 stars. For more detailed rantings and ravings go to The Story Girl.
2 comments:
I'm so glad you blogged about this one because I saw on your storygirl blog that you were reading it, and wanted to know whether it would be a worthwhile read
I love Anne of Green Gables with all my heart. I think it's in my top 5 favorite books of all time. And that makes me hesitate about this. But, I know I can just tell myself it's unofficial, not L.M. Montgomery approved, and maybe that will help. But the other thing that helps is hearing about it from another Anne fan. Thanks Lorren!
Post a Comment