Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables

by L. M. Montgomery

Read the timeless classic about the beloved Anne Shirley, a red-haired orphan with a fiery spirit, before the new NETFLIX series premieres and don’t miss the forward by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, celebrating the 100th anniversary of this children’s favorite!
 
Eleven-year-old Anne Shirley has never known a real home. Since her parents' deaths, she's bounced around to foster homes and orphanages. When she is sent by mistake to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she wants to stay forever. But Anne is not the sturdy boy Matthew and Marilla were expecting.
 
She's a mischievous, talkative redheaded girl with a fierce temper, who tumbles into one scrape after another. Anne is not like anybody else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special, a girl with an enormous imagination. All she's ever wanted is to belong somewhere. And the longer she stays at Green Gables, the harder it is for anyone to imagine life without her.

"[Anne is] the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice."-Mark Twain

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

5 of 5 stars

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Anne of Green Gables is one of my absolute favorite books of all time.  No mater how many time I revisit Anne Shirley - whether by physical book, audiobook, or adaptation - I find myself always enchanted by by Anne and the language L.M. Montgomery uses in describing her.  It's not a complicated, surprising, or action-packed book... but Anne of Green Gables is heartwarming to the max.

It's amazing that a book about an orphan girl who lived about a century ago and had no astounding adventures can stay so close to the heart of so many people.  And yet, Anne Shirley is timeless.  I still find myself loving Marilla and Rachel's friendship nearly as much as Anne and Diana's - I find myself longing for a bosom friend such as Diana - and my heart absolutely breaking when Matthew passes.

But most of all - Anne and Gilbert's very slow and sweet romance wraps me up and I adore this couple more than any other. I've read this every couple of years since my first read (although the story itself has been with me since childhood) and I imagine I will be drawn back to it again and again and again.
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2017 Review: 5 stars

This book is so charming that it left me smiling even when I wasn't reading it.

Anne is the sweetest child you will every meet. She knows just the right things to say and has the most incredible imagination. It's little wonder that Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert decide to keep her, even though the asked the orphanage for a boy.

This book tells of Anne's adventures - the good, the bad, and the ugly. From falling off a roof to her endless quest for puffed sleeves on her dresses, the reader follows her antics and laughs with her, cries with her, and gets very angry with her (how DARE he call her "Carrots"?!). However, as you fall in love with Anne, you also fall in love with Gilbert, Diana, and her who merry crew. Anne Shirley captures EVERYONE'S heart. She can't help it.

Although this book was written over 100 years ago, it still charms modern audiences. I could read it over and over again and never tire of Anne. That's how wonderful it is.

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