Sunday, December 14, 2008

Emily of New Moon


Montgomery, L.M. 1923. Emily of New Moon.

Emily--like Anne Shirley--is an orphan. And like Anne, Emily loves words--loves to write. But their stories are different in some ways as well. (Emily's not prone to getting into scrapes as Anne. Emily lacks the calamity of Anne as we first meet her.) Emily is a heroine that is easy to love. She's a dreamer. Yet she can be very practical and straight forward. Very earnest. In the first few chapters, Emily loses her father--he's dying--and her fate is decided. One of her relations--someone from her mother's side of the family--will take her in and raise her. But which one? Emily doesn't know what to hope for. She doesn't know any of them, doesn't love any of them. Yet the family that takes her in--Aunt Laura, Aunt Elizabeth, Cousin Jimmy--will become her family through and through. The book follows her through her first few years at New Moon, the name of her new home. And it involves her adventures--her days at school, her friendships (with Ilse, Teddy, Perry, Lofty John, Dean Priest, etc.), her home life, her letters written to her dead father, her poems, etc.

The book is enjoyable. And Emily is a joy. A real kindred spirit.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Lindsey said...

Oooh, and I want that copy in your picture! lol

I can't believe I haven't read Emily's books yet! I love love LOVE the Anne books. :-)

(Hence the blog name)

Noël De Vries said...

When I went to Prince Edward Island a couple of years ago, I bought postcards of Maud's first editions, including the image you used. Love them!

Emily's books take readers to a deeper level than Anne's, don't you think? I can't just breeze through them ... I have to take deep breaths and be prepared to not read anything else for a while. They shake my world.