Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Reviewed by Sarah
Anne of Avonlea
avaliable here
Start Date: July 2
Finish Date: July 6
Anne of the Island
avaliable here
Start Date: July 6
Finish Date: July 7
Star Rating: 7 stars ******* because Anne is funny, but these books, like Annes stories, don't have a whole lot of plot to speak of
Movie Rating: G

So I failed to Review Anne of Avonlea right after finishing it, and immidiately upon finishing it I started the next one, and these books are more strings of funny, interesting stories than the carefully plotted novels I'm used to. Therefore, they both kind of run together in my mind, so I'm just going to review them both at the same time.

These were a whole lot of fun to listen to at work. Not quite as fun as Anne of Green Gables, but I'm not sure why. I've finally been able to crack this book slump, and that might be why--I want to hurry home and finish the other exciting books I'm reading. But I'm not sure thats it--maybe I just prefer the first book. Hmm.

It was interesting going into these having seen and loved the movie. The movie doesn't really follow these books at all. It just takes lines, scenes, and characters, tacks them onto a completely made-up plot, (I'm not complaining about the plot part) deletes everything else (which is most of it) and there you go. Granted, I haven't read the next book in the series, which I understand was also one of the books the movie was based on. Maybe thats where they pull many of the plot elements of the movie---? Well, I don't know how soon I'll find out, because I've been spoiled by Karen Savage. Having listened to these first three books read by her, I can't do what I did for Count of Monte Cristo and listen to several sub-par readers do the next one. Ok, so they might not all be that bad, but the continual switching is pretty bothersome if you ask me.

SPOILERS BEGIN HERE.

Ok, so whats with Anne being proposed to like fifty times? Ok, shes pretty and charming and all that, but we told quite clearly that she isn't a flirt, doesn't try to get attention, isn't really your conventional beauty, and yet there are all these guys who want to marry her enough that they work up the courage to ask her. One or two wouldn't have been so bad, but really, come on.