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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
If you felt slightly disappointed at Anne of Avonlea for the excessive Davy Keith and lack of Gilbert Blythe, you will be delighted to find out that Anne of the island is quite the opposite! I DEFINITELY recommend reading Anne of the island as one of my favourite Anne of Green Gables books to date.
1. Anne gets proposed to not once, not twice, not thrice, but multiple proposals (I couldn’t keep count), but this most prominent is by Gilbert Blythe!! (This is what I’ve been waiting for the entire series since Gilbert Blythe called her “carrots” that fateful day. And it’s every bit as good as you imagine!) And they’re getting married!
2. Ruby Gillis: tragic really but I loved the section where she lamented about her future - how she was just a child with her whole life ahead of her - just felt so beautifully written.
3. NO DAVY KEITH!! Luckily, in this book, Anne heads off the Redmond College and intolerable Davy Keith is reduced to summer chapters and letters. This was a welcome relief.
4, Honorable mention to the time when Diana entered Anne’s story into the baking powder ad competition. The additions were hilarious! And so were Anne’s writer struggles… one of my favourite ‘episodes’ in the series!
(Admittedly I’m reading in publication order, so onwards to Anne’s House of Dreams!) Thank you to this delight of a book.
Spoiler
1. Anne gets proposed to not once, not twice, not thrice, but multiple proposals (I couldn’t keep count), but this most prominent is by Gilbert Blythe!! (This is what I’ve been waiting for the entire series since Gilbert Blythe called her “carrots” that fateful day. And it’s every bit as good as you imagine!) And they’re getting married!
2. Ruby Gillis: tragic really but I loved the section where she lamented about her future - how she was just a child with her whole life ahead of her - just felt so beautifully written.
3. NO DAVY KEITH!! Luckily, in this book, Anne heads off the Redmond College and intolerable Davy Keith is reduced to summer chapters and letters. This was a welcome relief.
4, Honorable mention to the time when Diana entered Anne’s story into the baking powder ad competition. The additions were hilarious! And so were Anne’s writer struggles… one of my favourite ‘episodes’ in the series!
‘She loved Gilbert-has always loved him! She knew that now. She knew that she could no more cast him out of her life without agony than she could have cut off her right hand and cast it from her.’
(Admittedly I’m reading in publication order, so onwards to Anne’s House of Dreams!) Thank you to this delight of a book.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Trigger warning: animal murder. I didnt remember those parts the first few times I read these books as a kid, but they took me by surprise as an adult. Just be warned.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Two point five stars. This book is nowhere near as soul-satisfying as I remember, and I'm deeply sad about it.
The Anne Shirley books (excepting the first, which is a masterpiece) read like the literary equivalent of paint-by-numbers. They are enjoyable in the moment but extremely predictable and they don't really make you feel anything and you don't remember much about them when you're done.
In this volume, Anne goes away to college. As usual, she meets several kindred spirits, gets extremely lucky and finds herself in the right place at the right time every other minute, and is almost unbearably good and upright so that everyone who meets her loves her. She also learns what love is and isn't about (which is to say the last remnants of the fanciful and imaginative Anne of Green Gables whom we all loved are snuffed out by a ruthless Lucy Maud Montgomery).
ORIGINAL REVIEW from May 2013: Admittedly the most predictable of all three so far, I think my feelings were still the most gratified in the reading of this volume.
Gilbert + Anne 5evere
The Anne Shirley books (excepting the first, which is a masterpiece) read like the literary equivalent of paint-by-numbers. They are enjoyable in the moment but extremely predictable and they don't really make you feel anything and you don't remember much about them when you're done.
In this volume, Anne goes away to college. As usual, she meets several kindred spirits, gets extremely lucky and finds herself in the right place at the right time every other minute, and is almost unbearably good and upright so that everyone who meets her loves her. She also learns what love is and isn't about (which is to say the last remnants of the fanciful and imaginative Anne of Green Gables whom we all loved are snuffed out by a ruthless Lucy Maud Montgomery).
ORIGINAL REVIEW from May 2013: Admittedly the most predictable of all three so far, I think my feelings were still the most gratified in the reading of this volume.
Gilbert + Anne 5evere
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was actually so painful reading through Anne’s stubbornness and fumbling of Gilbert! Girl!! Greatly enjoyed reading about her time at college, all her struggles, feelings and mishaps were relatable, right down to friends “growing up” and marrying before you, having their lives sorted out.
The pacing was good, the new characters like Phillipa were interesting, we never saw much of Roy her mysteriously handsome rich boyfriend of two years, but maybe that was intended to paint the picture of him actually being boring as hell.
Will be continuing the series.
The pacing was good, the new characters like Phillipa were interesting, we never saw much of Roy her mysteriously handsome rich boyfriend of two years, but maybe that was intended to paint the picture of him actually being boring as hell.
Will be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty