This heartwarming story has beckoned generations of readers into the special world of Green Gables, an old-fashioned farm outside a town called Avonlea. Anne Shirley, an eleven-year- old orphan, has arrived in this verdant corner of Prince Edward Island only to discover that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his stern sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy, not a feisty redheaded girl. But before they can send her back, Anne—who simply must have more scope for her imagination and a real home—wins them over completely. A much-loved classic that explores all the vulnerability, expectations, and dreams of a child growing up, Anne of Green Gables is also a wonderful portrait of a time, a place, a family… and, most of all, love.
Anne of Green Gables is a book that will make you fall in love with its “splendid” and “delightful” characters, but also throw you into the “depths of despair” along with its main character. This is a character-driven book that makes you deeply in love with Anne, Marilla, Matthew and the other residents of Avonlea. Anne is smart and precocious and dreamy and imaginative. Marilla is strict and undemonstrative. Matthew is warm, shy, and loving. My favorite part of the story line has always been the ongoing academic competition between Anne and Gilbert Blythe, who is not to be forgiven for commenting on Anne’s red hair when he first meets her. Prepare to laugh at Anne’s blunders and accident and prepare to grip the book with white fingers as she gets into scrapes and misunderstanding. You will be captivated by an effortless flow of beautiful imagery, delicate humor, and swift-paced narrative. L. M. Mont- gomery’s prose is faster cadence, leaner style, and brighter outlook on the world. It’s good-humored writing about a uniquely marvelous, good- humored heroine.
