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Anne of Green Gables was one of my favorite books as a child, and I re-read it while taking “History of Children’s Lit” class in library school and loved it even more. So when I heard about this book, a prequel to the classic but written for adults, I was very excited.
The book didn’t quite meet my expectations but it wasn’t a disappointment, either. We meet Marilla when she was about the same age that we meet Anne, so that was interesting. I thought the character was a bit one dimensional though, and I didn’t always understand her motivation. I did enjoy meeting her family, besides her brother Matthew, especially her aunt. I thought I would learn about the start of the bad blood with Gilbert Blythe’s family but that plot line was plodding at times and it seemed forced.
There was quite a bit of politics throughout the book, about slavery and U.S. and Lincoln and more. It often felt like filler to me but it was interesting for the most part. I was not aware of the role that Canada played in the Civil War and with the Underground Railroad.
If you haven’t read Anne of Green Gables, I’m not sure why you would want to read this. I understood the impetus to write it for adults, although it certainly would be fine for young adults as well. While I much preferred BEFORE GREEN GABLES by Budge Wilson, which is a prequel about Anne’s early life, ultimately I did enjoy my visit back to Green Gables.
10/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
MARILLA OF GREEN GABLES by Sarah McCoy. William Morrow (October 23, 2018). ISBN 978-0062697714. 320p.
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