Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published: 1908
Genre: Fiction/429 pages
Source: iPad
My Rating: 5/5
Anne Shirley is an 11 year old orphan, adopted by two older siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who live on Green Gables farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Anne is a boisterous, loquacious child who brings trouble at first to their homestead, but after a time she brings a new vitality as her guardians gradually learn to love her and then cannot imagine life without her.
I have been meaning to read this book for a long time and I'm so glad to have finally done so. Anne is an inspirational character who never fails to be happy with all the obstacles which do befall her as time goes on. She chooses how she will feel using her imagination to help her along.
As Anne states, "It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will. Of course, you must make it up FIRMLY."
Her exuberance for nature and romance is contagious to all around her. She gives special romantic names to the lakes, woods, and people surrounding her. She is also fiercely competitive as she strives to be first in her class; she achieves what she sets out to do. She works hard to learn from her faults and to get what she wants out of life for herself and for her friends and family. Anne is always on the lookout for "kindred" spirits - people to whom Anne "can confide her inmost soul." She enjoys being with others like her imaginative self and purposefully seeks them out. I loved how she also stands up for herself, making sure everyone spells her name properly ending with an "e".
This was my first book by this author; I will definitely continue to read more of her work. This book is classified as a children's book, but I think it is for young and old alike. There are many valuable lessons to be learned and to remind the reader how to live the life he or she might want to lead- a life filled with imagination, love of nature, time for friends, hard work, and the realization that family is the most important in the end. This book inspires a zest for life!
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