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A review by rachelholtzclaw
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
5.0
so i just finished reading this book, the final installment in a series that has grown to mean so much to me. i have so many thoughts and i'm trying desperately to form them into something coherent, so sorry in advance for the sheer insanity this review is about to be.
when i started the anne of green gables series at the end of november / beginning of december, i had no idea that it would end up becoming so important to me. i love anne and gilbert and their family (extended and otherwise) so incredibly much, each of these books somehow special and meaningful in their own way. i thought that i would love the books less as they went on, as the focus shifted from anne and gilbert to their children and their children's friends, but rilla of ingleside honestly ended up being one of my favorite installments. i can't imagine reading this book as a child, because this book is first and foremost about war. the themes of this book center around what war takes away from us, how it changes us, how we have to accept change in times that won't allow us to do anything else. it feels really pertinent right now, honestly.
i purposely made this book last as long as i could; when i read, i would read only one chapter, until today, when i finished the last three. i cried at multiple points in this book, and honestly i feel like crying while writing this review. i can't truly put into words the exact feeling reading this series has given me, but it's been a real joy, to say the least.
in the last chapter, jem says: "we're in a new world, and we've got to make it a better one than the old. that isn't done yet, though some folks think it ought to be. the job isn't finished - it isn't really begun. the old world is destroyed and we must build up the new one. it will be the task of years. i've seen enough of war to realize that we've got to make a world where wars can't happen." this just resonated with me so much, especially now, that i think this passage is going to stick with me for a long time, just like this series as a whole will.
thank you, anne. thank you, gilbert. thank you, joy, jem, walter, di, nan, shirley, and rilla. thank you, susan, miss cornelia, phil, marilla, matthew, mrs. lynde, ms. stacy, diana, leslie, and even royal gardner. thank you, l.m. montgomery. i know i'll always be able to visit the pages of these books and feel at home.
when i started the anne of green gables series at the end of november / beginning of december, i had no idea that it would end up becoming so important to me. i love anne and gilbert and their family (extended and otherwise) so incredibly much, each of these books somehow special and meaningful in their own way. i thought that i would love the books less as they went on, as the focus shifted from anne and gilbert to their children and their children's friends, but rilla of ingleside honestly ended up being one of my favorite installments. i can't imagine reading this book as a child, because this book is first and foremost about war. the themes of this book center around what war takes away from us, how it changes us, how we have to accept change in times that won't allow us to do anything else. it feels really pertinent right now, honestly.
i purposely made this book last as long as i could; when i read, i would read only one chapter, until today, when i finished the last three. i cried at multiple points in this book, and honestly i feel like crying while writing this review. i can't truly put into words the exact feeling reading this series has given me, but it's been a real joy, to say the least.
in the last chapter, jem says: "we're in a new world, and we've got to make it a better one than the old. that isn't done yet, though some folks think it ought to be. the job isn't finished - it isn't really begun. the old world is destroyed and we must build up the new one. it will be the task of years. i've seen enough of war to realize that we've got to make a world where wars can't happen." this just resonated with me so much, especially now, that i think this passage is going to stick with me for a long time, just like this series as a whole will.
thank you, anne. thank you, gilbert. thank you, joy, jem, walter, di, nan, shirley, and rilla. thank you, susan, miss cornelia, phil, marilla, matthew, mrs. lynde, ms. stacy, diana, leslie, and even royal gardner. thank you, l.m. montgomery. i know i'll always be able to visit the pages of these books and feel at home.