Emily of New Moon (Emily of New Moon, #1) (New Canadian Library S.) (Emily Trilogy, #1)

by L. M. Montgomery

Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely--until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. Although she's sure she'll never be happy there, Emily deals with her stern aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by using her quick wit and holding her head high.
   Things slowly begin to change for the better when Emily makes some new friends. There's Teddy Kent, who does marvelous drawings; Perry Miller, the hired boy, who's sailed the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, Ilse Burnley, a tomboy with a blazing temper. With these wonderful companions at her side and adventures around every corner, Emily begins to find her new home beautiful and fascinating--so much so that she comes to think of herself as Emily of New Moon.
   In this first volume of the celebrated Emily trilogy, Lucy Maud Montgomery draws a more realistic portrait of a young orphan girl's life on early twentieth-century Prince Edward Island.

• ISBN10: 1770497471
• ISBN13: 9781770497474
• Publish Date: 9 September 2014 (first published 1 December 1976)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Tundra Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781770497474

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

At first glance Emily of New Moon appears to have a lot of similarities to Anne of Green Gables; after all, it's a novel about a young orphan girl sent to live on Prince Edward Island, where one of her new guardians is strict and the other balances that with kindness.   This superficial comparison, however, overlooks the different takes on the premise and tones of the novels, as well as the differences between Emily and Anne themselves.  Emily of New Moon is an equally beautiful story, and one told in true L. M. Montgomery fashion, but  one that tilts a little more towards the mysterious and Gothic.

Emily, having been raised primarily by her father with little interaction with other children, is an often serious child who seems to know too much for age.  While Anne is all spunk and imagination run amok, Emily is a river that runs deep.  That doesn't stop Emily from having her own outbursts and scrapes; they're simply not as outrageous.  This possibly makes Emily relatable, however.  Though Emily was written nearly 100 years ago, surely many readers today will relate to the unfairness of adults who believe other adults over children and the embarrassment of being forced to wear clothing the other children at school mock.

Emily of New Moon is also where Montgomery dips into her superstitious side. Emily has nearly as big an imagination as Anne, playing with the Wind Woman outdoors and Emily-in-the-glass inside.  However, she also experiences "the flash," which seems to be something like an unexpected glimpse of the spiritual, and it's quite possible she might have inherited her family's rumored talent of the second sight.  It's moments like these it's clear Montgomery wasn't so far removed from the beginnings of Gothic literature and clearly finds a sprinkling of the supernatural the perfect seasoning for her own works.

Though Anne has whole-heartedly won me over, I also love Emily.  She's steady with an impulsive streak and loves cats and writing.  Her group of friends is also more likable, I think, than Diana Barry, whom I like for Anne's sake but find incredibly boring.  Emily has a whole cohort of acquaintances to amp up the fun, and I can't wait to rearead the next two books in the series and see them all again.