Anne of Avonlea - L.M. Montgomery - ★★.½

AUTHOR: L.M. Montgomery

SERIES: Anne of Green Gables, #2

GENRE: Young Adult Classic.

PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 1909

RATING: 2.5 stars.

Finally, after a lot of huffing and puffing, I am done with Anne of Avonlea, the second book of the Anne of Green Gables series. Sadly, the book didn't entirely live up to my expectations, but I think I am more to blame for that than the book itself.

Long ago, I had watched the old Anne of Avonlea movie of 1987. So somewhere, I had expected the book to be exactly the same story. But now I realise that the movie might have been based on some subsequent Anne book(s) because most of the things that occur in the movie aren't even in this book's timeline. Well, time will tell!

Anne of Avonlea details Anne's life from ages sixteen to seventeen. She is literally at the threshold of womanhood, but has not yet abandoned her girlhood. She looks at life with the same carefree attitude, she is still on the lookout for "kindred spirits", and she is as imaginative as ever!

There are some very interesting new characters who make an appearance in this book: The Harrisons, Ms. Lavendar (sic), Paul Irving, Charlotte the Fourth, and a little incorrigible guy named Dave. The old favourites are also present and equally lovable.

I found most of the first half pretty rambling and repetitive. Dave's antics seemed to be the same in every alternate chapter. Anne's silly goofs & blind idealism continue. Most of all, the recurring elaborate description of trees and streams and other elements of nature gets on your nerves after a point.

But enter Ms. Lavendar and you see the book transform. The second half of the book is entirely charming and thrilling, so by the time you reach the end, you have a sigh of satisfaction rather than relief. No regrets reading the book at all if the end is great!