Reviews

Ana of California by Andi Teran

fictionista3's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.5

alifromkc1907's review against another edition

4.0

Read June 2023

carstensena's review against another edition

4.0

It's been years since I read Anne of Green Gables, but I was brought right back to the premise and feel of that narrative in Ana of California. I'm not sure how the author did it!
The end didn't entirely hang together for me (I can't believe that Ana would be naive enough to risk everything...OK, no spoilers), but I loved reading this book. A real treat.

julieclair's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this fresh, modern retelling of Anne of Green Gables, that works really well as a standalone novel. Readers familiar with Anne of Green Gables will enjoy looking for parallels, but lack of knowledge of the Anne story would not diminish readers’ enjoyment of the Ana story.

barbarajean's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

summeryoder's review against another edition

funny hopeful relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I thought this contemporary novel does a decent job as a hat tip to Anne of Green Gables. It isn't a perfect retelling, but I don't think that's what the author was striving for anyway. 
 Ana, the main character, is an endearing but quirky teen who's exhausted almost every option the foster system can offer her. A farm work program in northern California offers her a last chance before aging out of the system. 
 One complaint I have is how 3/4 of the book hints at various pivotal moments in the past lives of all the characters but waits till the last quarter of the book to reveal the details and significance of them, which resulted in a rushed and clunky ending. 

thebookishlibrarian's review against another edition

Ana Cortez has blown her last chance to live with a foster family, and her only option is to live in a group home. Then she is given a chance to move to a farm and join a trainee program in Northern California. She agrees, but when she arrives, she doesn’t know the first thing about farming. She knows she has a lot to learn. She will have to know the difference between all the types of plants and vegetables, learn how to wake before the sun comes up, and how to get along with Emmet and Abbie, the two kids whose parents own the Garber Farm. This is Ana’s last chance and she will try her hardest to make it work.

snowbenton's review against another edition

I made it 48 pages. The dialogue was so robotic and weird that if I met any of these characters in person I would run screaming in the other direction.

lazygal's review against another edition

3.0

Maybe my love for Anne of Green Gables made for more of a "show me" read than it should have; at least I didn't expect (or get) a 1:1 plot/character equivalency. Ana/Anne was as lively as she should have been, but rest had something a little missing, like Abbie/Marilla. And why was it necessary to keep dropping heavy-handed hints into Ana's past? That part got dragged out to an unnecessary degree.

ARC provided by publisher.

phenixsnow's review against another edition

2.0

I overall enjoyed this story,but something about it just didn't work for me. I thought the characters were one dimensional and flat and the story felt disjointed. It almost seemed like this was originally a much longer novel that they hacked pieces out of and what's left doesn't entirely make sense.