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belinda31's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book would detail more of her history to become a writer so I was a bit disappointed. It was more about her childhood and contained diary excerpts.
sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
For fans of L.M. Montgomery's work, this short memoir is a joy to read. It was so fascinating to get a small glimpse of her childhood and early writing career and especially to see how many things from her own life and relatives' lives she wove into her work. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to get a small picture of an extraordinary woman's life.
robbyrose's review against another edition
5.0
Very interesting to read a memoir in her own words, however it seemed oddly scattered. I have to wonder if it was heavily edited to remove the negative aspects of her life, as her journals were.
laurenw's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
This book would be a delight to any fans of Montgomery’s work. It presents fun insights into the background to her story (including the true story that inspired Anne of Green Gables!). Reading her words on her history, one can note just how much of herself she has written into her books, from Anne’s trademark place-naming to the Story Girl’s penchant for tale weaving. Her love for the environment around her, so prevalent in her writing, is never more apparent than in this memoir. Interesting anecdotes abound, including Montgomery’s time working at a newspaper in Halifax. All in all, an entertaining read, especially for those for whom her books hold a special place in their hearts.
briannasbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I've been a fan of L. M. Montgomery since I first read Anne of Green Gables as a child. I can't believe that it took me so long to pick up this little memoir. It is a very quick read but full of the lovely prose you expect from Ms. Montgomery. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this author's life in her own words. Reading her journals will definitely be next on my list.
chelseyclark's review against another edition
2.0
This kind of thing is always hard to review; how do you critique the way someone remembers their life? It's very personal. Thankfully ol' Luce will never read this.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to this book after a trip to Cavendish over the summer, visiting Green Gables and making the walk over to where L. M. Montgomery's house originally stood. The guides there are awesome and extremely knowledgeable, being relations to the author (great great great nephew or something?) and told her story really wonderfully. I picked this up with hopes of filling in some more details, but it was kind of lacklustre.
My main issue was how long this book is - which may seem strange, seeing as it's a tiny little thing. But it really felt like Montgomery was stretching for content, particularly in the last two parts, which she borrows a lot from her own travel journals. This part really didn't entertain me or give much insight into how these travels affected her writing career. It was like she was contracted out for the 10 parts of this book (they were originally published in a series in a newspaper, I think the intro said), and realized she was running out of stuff.
The earlier chapters didn't do much else for me. Her childhood memories were probably nice if you were more into Anne of Green Gables and Montgomery's other works; I feel like they definitely would have given a little insight into some of the real life inspirations for her fictional world. But as a person who hasn't really read any of her work in a good fifteen years or more, I found these recollections a little dull.
The more interesting parts, for me, were the sections Montgomery talked about her initial attempts at getting published and her perseverance when success did not come immediately. Her drive is palpable and makes you want to go out and chase your own aspirations.
The editing on this little piece was pretty horrid; there was some strange punctuation which I found very jarring. The writing itself wasn't awful, nor was it terribly great. So all in all, I'd say fans should give this one a look, but otherwise, give it a pass.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to this book after a trip to Cavendish over the summer, visiting Green Gables and making the walk over to where L. M. Montgomery's house originally stood. The guides there are awesome and extremely knowledgeable, being relations to the author (great great great nephew or something?) and told her story really wonderfully. I picked this up with hopes of filling in some more details, but it was kind of lacklustre.
My main issue was how long this book is - which may seem strange, seeing as it's a tiny little thing. But it really felt like Montgomery was stretching for content, particularly in the last two parts, which she borrows a lot from her own travel journals. This part really didn't entertain me or give much insight into how these travels affected her writing career. It was like she was contracted out for the 10 parts of this book (they were originally published in a series in a newspaper, I think the intro said), and realized she was running out of stuff.
The earlier chapters didn't do much else for me. Her childhood memories were probably nice if you were more into Anne of Green Gables and Montgomery's other works; I feel like they definitely would have given a little insight into some of the real life inspirations for her fictional world. But as a person who hasn't really read any of her work in a good fifteen years or more, I found these recollections a little dull.
The more interesting parts, for me, were the sections Montgomery talked about her initial attempts at getting published and her perseverance when success did not come immediately. Her drive is palpable and makes you want to go out and chase your own aspirations.
The editing on this little piece was pretty horrid; there was some strange punctuation which I found very jarring. The writing itself wasn't awful, nor was it terribly great. So all in all, I'd say fans should give this one a look, but otherwise, give it a pass.
aliciamae's review against another edition
4.0
Utterly charming. I've gone far too long without reading L. M. Montgomery. Very interesting to see the parallels of her real life path to becoming an author and her character Emily Starr's path.
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