Rilla of Ingleside

Rilla of Ingleside by LM Montgomery
Bantam, 1998
Originally published J.B. Lippincott, 1921
277 pages
Children's Classic
5/5 stars

Source: Own

This is the last book in the Anne of Green Gables series and one with a more serious tone as World War I breaks out and several of our beloved male characters enlist. However this book, as you might guess from the title, focuses on Rilla, youngest child of Anne, and life on the homefront in Canada during the Great War.

There was a lot to love about this book. First unlike the previous two books, this one focuses one just one character: the lovely spoiled 15-year old Rilla. Because it follows just her, I had a greater understanding of her, of her hopes and dreams AND was still able to learn the fates of my favorite characters.  Over the course of the book, Rilla matures so much and endures a lot. She was a great character and even had some of the irrepressible joy of her mother.

Second, this book is mostly set during WWI. The beginning of the book overlaps with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, an event the papers mention but few take notice of. How could the death of an Austro-Hungarian archduke affect the denizens of Canada? But too soon, everyone is swept up into war. Rilla has three older brothers and various other young men around the island enlist, including Rilla's sweetheart. No one is spared the pain of missing loved ones and some do die. Thus the emotional stakes are very high.

Third, this was a different book for me. I've read several books set during WWI and other wars. I've read books about serving at the front and about staying at home. But I'm an American and most of the books I've read have been about the American experience. This is a Canadian book and thus follows the fortunes of the United Kingdom and Canada. Thus I got to learn a bit more about the Great War!

Overall, an excellent mix of the serious with the humorous to leaven the tense parts as well as featuring a great character arc and some history lessons.

Rainbow Valley

Rainbow Valley by LM Montgomery
Bantam, 1998
Originally Published Frederick H. Stokes Co., 1919
225 pages
Children's Classic
3.5/5 stars

Source: Own

This book is still technically part of the Anne of Green Gables series (packaged all together, this is labelled as the seventh) but it focuses much more on children, who are very like her in sensibility, and their adventures rather than Anne. Thus I feel that this is slightly misrepresented as Anne barely appears and in fact it is the new Presbyterian minister's children who have most of the page time with Anne's kids occasionally showing up as well. They are neighbors and spend a lot of time together in an area named Rainbow Valley by the Blythes.

Like the previous books, these are mostly vignettes alternating focus on the kids and allowing all of them to have a bit of spotlight. While I did like those kids for the most part, as they have good hearts and intentions even if they run wild, I feel a little upset with the publisher for marketing them all together. Surely there were stories about Anne's bunch that could have been told instead! This is compounded by the arrival of a character called Mary Vance, who seems okay at first but then becomes very annoying as she is a bossy know-it-all. It also seemed like she received more page-time than the Blythes and was supposed to be funny.

I also find myself growing a little tired of the necessity of everyone being matched up, of the incessant gossip within their small town, and the little things like that. I do enjoy the children's misadventures still as they always seem able to come up with new stuff. I was also struck by the foreshadowing to a coming war. It is my understanding that this was published in 1919 but is set probably in about 1912-4 or thereabouts and certain passages helped me ponder what would happen in the next (and last) book, which does cover the years of the Great War.

Overall: Definitely my least favorite of the Anne books as it doesn't have much Anne nor does it have a fully cohesive plot.

Anne of Ingleside

Anne of Ingleside by LM Montgomery
Bantam, 1998
Originally Published Frederick A Stokes Company, Inc., 1939
274 pages
Children's Classic
4/5 stars

Source: Own

By this book, Anne has five children (with one more on the way) and is consequently very busy. Thus this book tends to focus more on the adventures of her children rather than her own, giving me somewhat of a Cheaper by the Dozen vibe. Of course, I am sad to not have as much Anne but her children are a lot like her and there are still some good bits. This is especially disappointing as the book jumps around and alternates focus; I would have preferred a narrative that only followed Anne as the previous books did.

My favorite part was in the beginning when Gilbert's aunt comes to stay for two weeks, which is soon extended indefinitely. This woman is not pleasant and she grates on the nerves of everyone: Gilbert, Anne, the children, and their live-in maid Susan. Still she provided much entertainment to this reader, especially whenever she took offense at something.

The other part I anticipated was Anne's doubting of Gilbert's affections for her. She works it up into a big thing, terrified that Gilbert may now care more for the girl he hung around with in college (while Anne was seriously dating another man, I might add!)  This is teased on the back cover and I assumed it would cover many pages and chapters. However it was vastly overstated and of course Gilbert cares for no one but Anne. It's patently ludicrous to suggest otherwise; he's been hers pretty much since they met.

Overall, I would have to say that this is one of the lesser efforts. I kind of feel like even Montgomery was over Anne by this point and just wanted to get one more book out there for her publishers even though she wanted to explore other worlds and characters.

Anne's House of Dreams

Anne's House of Dreams by LM Montgomery
Bantam, 1998
Originally Published Lippincott, 1922
227 pages
Children's Classic
4/5 stars

Source: Own

In this fifth Anne book, Anne and Gilbert are married (!) and are living in their "house of dreams" in Four Winds as he sets up his practice and she takes up housekeeping. She also makes new friends: Captain Jim in the lighthouse, Miss Cornelia, a staunch spinster and Presbyterian, and beautiful morose Leslie Moore and her tragic life.

All together in some ways this book is a sadder one than the previous stories. Leslie lives a miserable existence and Anne suffers some serious heartbreak, although I won't tell you why since it caught me surprise. Still there are the happy times to balance out the sad, just as in real life. And the end of the book exemplifies that. As Anne and Gilbert expand their family, they must leave their beloved house of dreams for a bigger house in town. Good-children, bigger house, more respect for Gilbert's skill as a doctor; Bad-leaving a place where they were happy: good and bad just like real life!

And while Anne and Gilbert are married, I didn't feel they had enough scenes together. I feel bad comparing it to Betsy's Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace (and the whole Betsy series in fact) but since the main characters in both are women who like to write who've grown up over a series of books before marrying her childhood sweetheart, I inevitably find myself doing so. And I feel like Betsy and Joe spend way more time together; the romantic in me finds this more pleasing.

Another thing I noticed about this book were the descriptions. Having read all eight books by now, I felt like this one especially depended on descriptions and Anne's sometimes fanciful imaginings of her scenery. While I found this charming in the first book and tolerable in the others, I was a bit tired of it by now and skimmed certain passages when I found myself growing bored. I like to read about the local gossip and about their lives, not what things look like. Of course, that's a personal preference; I'm sure others will find it enchanting as they read through the series.

Overall, this is probably among my least favorites due to the excessive descriptions and lack of Anne/Gilbert love.

Anne of Windy Poplars

Anne of Windy Poplars by LM Montgomery
Bantam Books, 1998
Originally Published McClelland and Stewart, 1936
258 pages
Classic;
4/5 stars

Source: Own

Okay, so this was a good book but Anne is without Gilbert and I happen to really like them together so it loses in that regard. The narration is also a little odd as it switches from Anne's letters to Gilbert to third-person narration without any warning. I was fine with the letter technique and am not sure it needed to be changed up like that.

In this book, Anne is the principal of Summerside High School. I'm not entirely sure what principal meant at that time but I do not understand how a twenty-something would be in that position. Of course, I didn't understand a sixteen-year teaching in previous Anne books so I guess it fits. Meanwhile Gilbert is in medical school so they have a three year separation to endure-sadface for this reader.

But Anne has plenty to do in the meantime. She has to find a place to live during her tenure and she has to charm the Pringles, the clannish, well-to-do family who object to her placement when one of their own could have had the position. The first problem is easily remedied when she finds Windy Poplars with two widows, Rebecca Dew, and an adorable like-minded next door neighbor whose spirit is being crushed by her strict grandmother. The second problem soon ends as Anne displays her backbone, charm, and a little bit of luck.

We follow Anne over the course of her three years there, each with new scrapes and new adventures as well as new couplings and the signature Anne charm. Pretty much everyone falls for her eventually.

Overall: Really quite good.

Anne of the Island

Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery
Bantam Books, 1998
Originally Published LC Page & Company, Inc., 1915
243 pages
Classic
4.5/5 stars

Source: Owned

This is the book I was waiting for after Anne of Avonlea, the one where Anne and Gilbert get together (and I may have peeked at the last page just to make sure!) While there could have been more of them (as if I wanted to read about Anne and some other guy or Gilbert and some other girl), I was happy with the scant passages we did receive (am now imagining fan fiction that rectifies this lack).

Happily beside the romance, Anne is having plenty of adventures at Redmond College with her roommates and classes. There were a lot of humorous situations and one dreadful one involving a cat, but I don't want to spoil any of those surprises for you! Marilla, although not having a huge role in this book, is still there and I'm grateful for her steady presence and Mrs. Rachael very much endears herself to me by deciding that Anne and Gilbert should marry.

As I write this, I am almost finished with the Anne series, and I'm struck by how much of the books revolve around romances. I know that shouldn't seem very special to me but I guess I'm used to a lot of contemporary YA novels which have one primary love relationship (either a duo or a triangle) whereas these books bring in a lot of characters and match them up and sometimes send them out of the story when no longer necessary. It's not a bad thing; it's just a recurring plot element.

Overall: Yay-Anne and Gilbert, FTW!

Anne of Avonlea

Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery
Dell Laurel-Leaf, 2003
Originally Published L.C. Page & Company, Inc., 1909.
276 pages
Classic
4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series as well as the start of my tribute to Anne and LM Montgomery week. Could I have picked a better time than Thanksgiving? Probably but this is when I wanted to do it so whatever.

This book starts with Anne, aged 16 (!) and beginning a two-year stint at the local school as a teacher. I cannot imagine being a teacher at this age (that's how old my sister is and I certainly wouldn't trust her with a schoolroom of impressionable children).  She also faces new challenges with a crabby male bachelor neighbor and taking in a set of twins, sweet Dora and exuberant Davy. Meanwhile Anne still has time to get up to some of her usual crazy adventures and misfires in addition to pondering the bizarre behavior of the handsome Gilbert Blythe and her feelings toward him.

I just want to say that I was very disappointed with the lack of Gilbert in this book. At this point in time, he is teaching in a different place so it makes sense that they wouldn't be able to interact much. However the later books better make that deficiency up to me as I adore Anne and Gilbert and can't wait for them to get together! Gilbert seems aware that they are a great couple but Anne isn't yet decided.

While I loved just about everything about the first book, sometimes Anne's imaginings and descriptions grated on me a bit. I love reading about pretty much every character, the crabby, the gossipy, the sweet, the dull, no matter what they're doing. But sometimes Anne has to describe just exactly how something looks and I don't fully appreciate it. I like action more than description and I was sometimes a bit bored in this book.

Happily there are still some great episodes such as Anne's determination to never beat a student, being sorely tried and Anne's little foray into matchmaking. There are many funny stories and many sweet moments. However I would describe the mood as very upbeat and cheerful rather than sad, which is good because it leaves me smiling and eager for the next book.

Overall: A fine outing with Anne even if it didn't quite serve up what I wanted!

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Dlilithium Press, 1988

Originally 1908

240 pages

Children's; Classic

Summary: Matthew and Marilla decide to adopt a boy but instead they get a voluble little girl named Anne. This book follows Anne from youth to adulthood, with her various scrapes and triumphs.

Why I Read: This is a classic and I felt bad that I had never read it so when I was browsing for books in the library, I decided to see if they had it and they did!

My Thoughts: I fell in love with Anne-what a fun child! I totally would want to be Diana and get to hang out with her (I'm not talkative enough to be Anne!) One problem was I could usually only read a few chapters at a time because Anne overwhelmed me. But just what a good book! I cried several times but I laughed so much more. I'm so in love with Gilbert although I know have to read the rest of the books for that to further develop (at the end they're just friends).

One question: did I read this right in that Anne is going to be a teacher at 16? That's crazy-I don't think any of my friends could be teachers yet and we're three-five years older! How things were different!

Overall: 5 out of 5. One of my top picks for what I read in March and something I've already recommended to some of my friends and will continue to do.

Cover: The picture is actually the back cover because Gilbert looks hot! And Anne's hair is very pretty.

Recommended: to everyone! But especially people who like the Betsy books by Maud Hart Lovelace; I feel like they're somewhat similar only this is set in Canada.