Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by michellewatson
Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery
Fancy review here: https://bookdevotions.com/book-reviews-april-2022
First off, I just want to say that I do not like the name of the main character, Pat. And I don't really like the name of her family farm, Silver Bush. The names in this book were not great for me. But the story was!
Pat Gardiner lives with her family on Prince Edward Island, and their farm is called Silver Bush. Pat is in LOVE with Silver Bush because it's her home, where she's loved and where she belongs. She doesn't want anything about her home or her life to change. And, of course, everything does!
When the story opens, Pat is a child of...8 years old? I can't remember. By the time the book ends, she's a mature teen. So, this is technically a coming-of-age novel, but it has the innocent, G-rated vibe of a children's book. Very similar to Anne of Green Gables. This story is brimful of humorous childhood antics and family/social drama, just like Anne. It also isn't afraid to venture into the sensitive areas of loss and grief—even the common losses that we feel when our world changes (naturally, as it should).
Like Anne, Pat is dreamy and fiercely loyal to her family and friends. Like Italian-level loyal. Like "you are dead to me if you insult my family." I know A LOT of people like this, so I was like, "I get you, Pat." Pat says herself that she has no great talent except the talent of loving the people and places that God has given her to love, and she has no greater ambition in life than to stay at Silver Bush forever and take care of the house and anyone who lives in it. And, my oh my, isn't that something? We moderns scoff and say, "That's no way to spend your life, Pat." We say it with our own shriveled hearts and closed fists. I am modern, and I am trying to learn a thing or two from Pat.
Judy Plum has got to be one of the best characters that Montgomery created. She's the family housekeeper (and nurse, cook, etc.) Montgomery gives her a Scottish brogue, so reading her speeches can be slow going due to the heavy dialect-spelling, but it sure does give her tons of flavor. Spicy flavor. Oh, oh! And after ye be readin' about good ol' Judy, ye'll niver be th' same agin.
This book is an ODE to nature. Montgomery writes flawlessly about the natural world. It makes you want to kiss some buttercups and weave a crown of daisies for your head. This was one of the things that I found most appealing about this book, really.
And I would just like to add...without spoilers...POOR JINGLE!!!!!!! I might even love him more than Gilbert. There, I said it.
First off, I just want to say that I do not like the name of the main character, Pat. And I don't really like the name of her family farm, Silver Bush. The names in this book were not great for me. But the story was!
Pat Gardiner lives with her family on Prince Edward Island, and their farm is called Silver Bush. Pat is in LOVE with Silver Bush because it's her home, where she's loved and where she belongs. She doesn't want anything about her home or her life to change. And, of course, everything does!
When the story opens, Pat is a child of...8 years old? I can't remember. By the time the book ends, she's a mature teen. So, this is technically a coming-of-age novel, but it has the innocent, G-rated vibe of a children's book. Very similar to Anne of Green Gables. This story is brimful of humorous childhood antics and family/social drama, just like Anne. It also isn't afraid to venture into the sensitive areas of loss and grief—even the common losses that we feel when our world changes (naturally, as it should).
Like Anne, Pat is dreamy and fiercely loyal to her family and friends. Like Italian-level loyal. Like "you are dead to me if you insult my family." I know A LOT of people like this, so I was like, "I get you, Pat." Pat says herself that she has no great talent except the talent of loving the people and places that God has given her to love, and she has no greater ambition in life than to stay at Silver Bush forever and take care of the house and anyone who lives in it. And, my oh my, isn't that something? We moderns scoff and say, "That's no way to spend your life, Pat." We say it with our own shriveled hearts and closed fists. I am modern, and I am trying to learn a thing or two from Pat.
Judy Plum has got to be one of the best characters that Montgomery created. She's the family housekeeper (and nurse, cook, etc.) Montgomery gives her a Scottish brogue, so reading her speeches can be slow going due to the heavy dialect-spelling, but it sure does give her tons of flavor. Spicy flavor. Oh, oh! And after ye be readin' about good ol' Judy, ye'll niver be th' same agin.
This book is an ODE to nature. Montgomery writes flawlessly about the natural world. It makes you want to kiss some buttercups and weave a crown of daisies for your head. This was one of the things that I found most appealing about this book, really.
And I would just like to add...without spoilers...POOR JINGLE!!!!!!! I might even love him more than Gilbert. There, I said it.