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adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent
Minor: Racism
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Abandonment
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
I have loved Anne of Green Gables since I picked it up in middle school. It's such a beautiful story and I always find myself wanting to fall through the pages of the book into beautiful Avonlea. This is definitely a reread, but it's the first time I tried the audiobook version and it was even more immersive! The only reason it took so long to finish is because I did not want it to end!
As a character, I have always admired Anne. Her optimism and true love of life has inspired me to find the small joys in my own life. It has given me the courage to give every person a chance because you never know where you'll find a "kindred spirit", as Anne lovingly calls all of her friends. Every time I pick this book up, I find myself falling in love with the story and all the characters all over again.
I know this isn't much of a review. Maybe I'll come back and write more at some point, but all I can really think about is how much I absolutely adore Anne and every person in Avonlea (yes, even Rachel Lynde).
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
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
It’s a beautiful novel with some sad moments, but mostly such wholesome and lighthearted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Easily readable, with likeable heroine and supporting characters not at all archetyps, the story unfolds beautifully, even in the "tense" moments.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
Minor: Child death
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
I love this book! I had read about half of it before watching the show, and still thoroughly enjoyed both. Anne is such a lovable character and this was a great read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Racism, Xenophobia
adventurous
funny
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:
Yes
Book TW: allusions to child abuse, prejudice, xenophobia, self-hate
Anne of Green Gables is one of those stories that feels like nostalgia and childhood even if you’ve never read it before. I of course knew that the story was about a spunky red-headed girl going into it, but that was about it. However, I had been under the (wrong) impression that we stayed with Anne as a child the whole time. I didn’t realize that the book is snapshots of childhood and follows her as she grows into a young lady.
I loved the character of Anne. She’s spirited, imaginative to a fault, and charming. Her mile-a-minute dialogue made me laugh and she was forever getting herself into shenanigans. But I also love to see her growth, as she changes from impulsive to determined and from head-in-the-clouds to still imaginative, but in a grounded way. I really liked seeing how Anne changed the people around her for the better, especially Matthew and Marilla. Even Anne’s perpetual “best-enemies” relationship with Gilbert Blythe is humorous and has a distinctive arc. I love the way the descriptions paint the pastoral bliss of the Gables that Anne sees and paints a lovely picture.
Being such an old book, there are of course some problematic elements as well, such as a few of the adult characters speaking with casual xenophobia and the gender stereotypes typical of the late 19th/early 20th centuries (the book was originally published in 1908 and set in the 1870’s). However, even with women not yet being able to vote, there’s a surprising amount of early feminism in the book as Anne is able to do whatever she sets her mind to and excel academically and socially.
There is also a decent amount of self-hate as Anne is very self-deprecating and hates her red hair, freckles, and skinniness until very late in the story. She often makes comments about her strong dislike of her appearance and even as she gets older and she seems to accept herself, it’s more because her hair has finally darkened to “auburn” and her freckles have faded and she is only then described as very pretty. It just rubbed me a bit the wrong way, although I did like that Anne seemed to sincerely love Diana’s “plumper” figure and often compliments her on it and the narrative always seems to consider Diana lovely and fashionable. So there’s a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to how the female image is perceived.
Overall though, I did really enjoy the story and the ending made sense for the arcs of the characters. I even cried a little near the end. It’s a fairly wholesome story about an imaginative, optimistic girl who gets a family quite by accident and then creates a family and home that she loved and loves her. I am definitely glad I finally got around to reading this classic.
Anne of Green Gables is one of those stories that feels like nostalgia and childhood even if you’ve never read it before. I of course knew that the story was about a spunky red-headed girl going into it, but that was about it. However, I had been under the (wrong) impression that we stayed with Anne as a child the whole time. I didn’t realize that the book is snapshots of childhood and follows her as she grows into a young lady.
I loved the character of Anne. She’s spirited, imaginative to a fault, and charming. Her mile-a-minute dialogue made me laugh and she was forever getting herself into shenanigans. But I also love to see her growth, as she changes from impulsive to determined and from head-in-the-clouds to still imaginative, but in a grounded way. I really liked seeing how Anne changed the people around her for the better, especially Matthew and Marilla. Even Anne’s perpetual “best-enemies” relationship with Gilbert Blythe is humorous and has a distinctive arc. I love the way the descriptions paint the pastoral bliss of the Gables that Anne sees and paints a lovely picture.
Being such an old book, there are of course some problematic elements as well, such as a few of the adult characters speaking with casual xenophobia and the gender stereotypes typical of the late 19th/early 20th centuries (the book was originally published in 1908 and set in the 1870’s). However, even with women not yet being able to vote, there’s a surprising amount of early feminism in the book as Anne is able to do whatever she sets her mind to and excel academically and socially.
There is also a decent amount of self-hate as Anne is very self-deprecating and hates her red hair, freckles, and skinniness until very late in the story. She often makes comments about her strong dislike of her appearance and even as she gets older and she seems to accept herself, it’s more because her hair has finally darkened to “auburn” and her freckles have faded and she is only then described as very pretty. It just rubbed me a bit the wrong way, although I did like that Anne seemed to sincerely love Diana’s “plumper” figure and often compliments her on it and the narrative always seems to consider Diana lovely and fashionable. So there’s a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to how the female image is perceived.
Overall though, I did really enjoy the story and the ending made sense for the arcs of the characters. I even cried a little near the end. It’s a fairly wholesome story about an imaginative, optimistic girl who gets a family quite by accident and then creates a family and home that she loved and loves her. I am definitely glad I finally got around to reading this classic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Xenophobia
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Sexism
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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:
Complicated
Reread as an adult - it holds up beautifully and is just as delightful as when I was a child.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Death of parent