I recently reread Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I found it on my teenage daughter’s bookshelf hemmed in between some anime’ and classic literature from high school courses. I’d forgotten that I’d given it to her with my best you’ve-got-to-read-this-book blessing. I was in the mood for a precocious character and Anne Shirley was the perfect fit. So I settled into my chair with a warm cup of coffee and allowed L.M. Montgomery to drift me away to Prince Edward Island where the most amazing characters live.
Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert are the odd couple. Older in age, Matthew is quiet and Marilla will speak her mind and tell you you’re being irreverent. Matthew is patient. Marilla wants things in their place exactly as she expects them. She is pragmatic. That’s why she sent Matthew into town to get an orphan boy to help out with the chores around their property. Matthew brings home an imaginative, clever, red-haired girl named Anne who chatters on and on about “divinely beautiful” sunsets. Everything for the Cuthbert changes.
Also living in Avonlea is Rachel Lynde, the local busybody. She’s the antagonist throughout much of the plot. Marilla and Rachel interact a lot in the story. Touché moments between the two of them are very entertaining.
Twirling around in a sea of romantic word choice is our young day dreamer, Anne. Anne is eleven years old and has lived a rough orphan’s life. “My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes”, she tells Marilla. She hopes to find a kindred spirit in Avonlea. She hopes to find a bosom friend. Marilla hopes Anne will be seen and not heard. Good luck with that, Marilla!
As I reread Anne of Green Gables I couldn’t help but remember back to when I first read the book. I was 16 and had just moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Winamac, Indiana. Tulsa you’ve heard of…Winamac? Winamac is a very small town nestled in a grid of corn fields and county roads. Nice people in Winamac, but pluck an angsty teen from her friends and plop her down in a corn maze…those are ingredients to a bitter recipe. I was grinding a terrible grudge against my parents. At some point during the first few months after the move I found Anne of Green Gables. Anne Shirley made me smile. Anne Shirley gave me permission to use my best vocabulary. Anne Shirley gave me hope that there might be a kindred spirit for me too! Figuratively speaking, ANNE was my kindred spirit. But I really did begin to think that I could find a friend in that little small town. The book brought me back. Amazing how a book can change your life, isn’t it?
Anne of Green Gables is a “royally beautiful” book with characters that will be your kindred spirits. The character, Anne, has kindred spirits in more contemporary books, as well. She reminds me of KateDiCamillo’s character, Despereaux, and also Katherine Hannigan’s character, Ida B. If you haven’t read Anne of Green Gables…you need to add it to your TBR stack immediately!
Amy Bright
@brightteacher
Amy Bright teaches Fifth Graders at Cibolo Green Elementary in San Antonio, Texas. And hasn’t held a grudge against her parents since 1986.
I read this book so many times after getting it for Christmas in the 5th grade that when I forgot about an oral book report in 7th grade, I was able to give one about Anne without any preparation. Whew! A bit of a hard sell these days, but there are still some young fans.
Thanks for the comment! I find it hard to “sell” my daughter on any book these days. She barely made it through the Hunger Games because she’s so weighted down with all the novels that are “required” reading in high school. I could easily jump on my soap box and preach about how much SSR is needed in middle and high school…but I won’t…for now.
This is a book I never read, although my nieces have read it. My boys never showed an interest, and so I wonder: is the appeal related to gender? I’m not sure.
I loved this line you shared: “My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.”
Wow.
That’s the perfect line from a poem as much as a novel.
Kevin
It’s a girlee book. But Anne Shirley is such a great character! You should take a peek.
I loved this series when I was a kid. Might be time for me to reread too. Thanks for the reminder.
It will make you smile! And who doesn’t need a smile and a good chuckle?
Wow, great stuff! Your words are like magic and that is am amazing gift.
Honey, you’re so sweet to me! xo
I, too, love Anne Shirley and have read her story on numerous occasions…to myself, to my daughter twice and to my dying aunt. She had read it herself and loved it. At 84, she could no longer read it on her own, so while visiting her in the hospital every day, we shared Anne’s story again. If you are interested in another book about Anne, you might search out Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson. It is a prequel and is brilliant! Thanks for sharing her revisit.
Ooo! I love prequels! I’ll have to look it up! Thanks so much for sharing about how you shared this story with your Aunt. Nerdy Book Club members are the neatest people on earth!
Great post! The delight I had in reading it myself the first time as a kid is somehing I now get to experience as I read it with my girls. My oldest enjoyed it thoroughly and Im cueing it up to read soon to my second grader. Everyone, I think boys too, can relate somehow to Anne’s insecurities and dreams.
Yes! Good point…we connect with Anne because of her “insecurities and dreams”. LOVE IT!
As to gender, I’m not sure it would appeal to boys, but it is a delightful book as are all the others. I liked hearing your connection to when you read it and how it helped you face a challenge, just as books do so wonderfully. I remember reading this one in grade school and then discovering there were more was just heavenly. Thanks for reminding us about the book.
My pleasure!
I’m a huge fan of L.M. Montgomery. Young writers (especially girls, it must be admitted) would love her Emily trilogy, and she wrote two adult novels (The Blue Castle and A Tangled Web) which are fabulous. A Tangled Web reminds me of a Canadian Downton Abbey, complete with feisty matriarch. The 7th book in her Anne series is one of my favorites–the only fictional account I’ve ever read from the point of view of a Canadian woman during World War I. L.M. Montgomery is a wonderful author and a fascinating person too!
You’ve mentioned books I’ve never read. Time to add to my TBR list and make a trip to the library. I’m getting that happy feeling knowing that my book bag is about to overflow.
I must have read the whole “Anne” series 10 times when I was a kid, but have not gone back as an adult. I have feared that my changed perspective would render the books less delightful. I am glad you found Anne just as charming now as you did when young. I am going to reread them all this summer. Thank you for the inspiration.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed the book during my reread. I carried the book around the house trying to find someone that I could read Anne’s one-liners to. My teenagers are very patient with me.
Thank you for this beautiful review. Anne Shirley became my friend as a young reader– so real in my imagination. It’s because of her I love to read today. I shall forever thank L.M. Montgomery for this precious character.
Based upon the comments on the retro review you and I are in good company – inspired by Anne as kids/youth AND still reading today. We were #nerdybookclub members as kids but just didn’t know it.
I think Anne Shirley would be a Nerdee too.
Love this book. To me the book is all about the fact that the people that come into our life don’t always seem to be what we want but then we realize they are what we need. Do think Ann with an e ever realized what a value she is? (I know she is not a real person but I she that desperate to please mixed with the inability to bite the tongue in many of my students and I hope they see their value.)
AWESOME comment! Agree! One of the reasons why I enjoy children’s literature so much is because it helps me empathize with my students. Great connection, Charlene. And no, I don’t think Anne realized it. And maybe neither do my students….I should tell them today. “You matter..you make a difference..you add spice to my life..you make me smile!”
Oh Anne….my kindred spirit. I read the entire series from cover to cover, multiple times, in elementary and middle school. I think it’s time for me to buy a set for my grown-up bookshelves….
Did anyone else read L.M. Montgomery’s Emily series? I loved her as much as I loved Anne.
-sarah
ladykatie32 commented earlier about the Emily series and said she really liked it! I haven’t read any Emily books…but I will now! You talk to Anne like I do…Oh, Anne…
I said that a lot when I reread the book, but the Oh, Anne was usually followed by a giggle.
Great book to review, Amy. I read this one when I first started teaching, and I loved it. I think I’ll take your cue and reread it. I loved how you called it a “royally beautiful book”. That’s the perfect way to describe it. Thanks for a great review! From one fellow Texas teacher to another!