Anne of the Island, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, was first published in 1915. For those interested, I read the 1970 Grosset & Dunlapp edition. It is the sequel to Anne of Avonlea.
New adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and frivolous new pal Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises…including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. But tears turn to laughter when Anne and her friends move into an old cottage and an ornery black cat steals her heart. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anne must decide if she’s ready for love…
Rating: 5/5
I love Anne of Green Gables for what it is, but I resonate with Anne in Anne of the Island: with her college goals, her confusion over her feelings, her feelings of loneliness and isolation as her friends fall in love and get married and move on in life, and her stick-to-itiveness. Anne of Anne of the Island is so much more relatable and sympathetic to me than the growing-up Anne of Anne of Green Gables.
I do think Anne of Green Gables is much more iconic, but Anne of the Island is probably my favorite of the series. Anne’s relatability is one reason. Some might think the romance aspect is a little contrived or goes on for too long, but I find it rings true for the most part. And the message about how doing something because it’s your idea of what it should be like or it’s how you imagined it to be is an important one. Anne still gets carried away with her imagination, but this time it’s disguised as something more “grown up”, as it were—romance.
For all my good things to say about it, I do think one or two chapters were unnecessary. The part where Anne goes off to teach, the random interlude with Mrs. Skinner and the romantic interlude with Janet and John seemed unnecessary to me and dragged the book on a teensy bit too long. But the parts that came after that were wonderful, so perhaps I can forgive Anne of the Island for not being entirely perfect.
Recommended Age Range: 10+ (and lower!)
Warnings: None.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Children’s
“Do you like Billy?” asked Jane bluntly.
“Why—why—yes, I like him of course,” gasped Anne, wondering if she were telling the literal truth. Certainly she did not dislike Billy. But could the indifferent tolerance with which she regarded him when he happened to be in her range of vision, be considered positive enough for liking? What was Jane trying to elucidate?
“Would you like him for a husband?” asked Jane calmly.
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