Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, Book 2)

I was really excited to get the hard cover design offered in the web page but the one I received is a blank cover, no design. Other than that, the book arrived in perfect conditions and of course the content is what expected.

"Anne of Avonlea" is the second novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series. After her foster father's sudden death, 16-year old red-haired orphan Anne Shirley gives up a college scholarship to stay with her ailing foster mother Marilla on their farm in the village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Thanks to the unexpected generousity of childhood rival Gilbert Blythe, Anne gets the job of teacher at Avonlea's one-room school. The imaginative and enthusiastic Anne is determined to make the best of her situation. Armed with a teaching certificate, she takes on the challenge of inspiring young minds and finds education runs both ways. In between teaching and grading papers, she will begin to experiment with her own writing. When Marilla adopts the orphaned young twins of a distant cousin, Anne willingly adds child care to her responsibilities. Anne still has a circle of friends in Avonlea, including best friend Diana Barry and fellow teachers Jane Andrews, Priscilla Grant, and Gilbert Blythe. Together, they will explore their beautiful island home, take on some village improvement projects, and experience a few last youthful escapades. Anne and Diana will share their dreams of a romantic future. To her delight, Anne will arrange the reunion of two star-crossed older lovers. At age 18, the deserving Anne gets another chance at college. Her last summer at home will mark childhood's end. She will be shocked when Diana becomes engaged to an amiable but unremarkable former schoolmate. Anne herself will be troubled by her changing feelings toward best guy pal Gilbert, who has become a handsome, responsible young man. At book's end, Anne will glimpse a future that includes, not an imagined romantic hero, but a sensible, caring friend she sees in a new light. "Anne of Avonlea" is very highly reocmmended to her many fans of all ages.

The sequel to Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea is just as good as the first. Anne is older now, and she becomes a teacher at the town school, Marilla and Matthew adopt little boys, and Anne's relationship with Gilbert ripens. If you have not read Anne of Green Gables, I recommend reading that first, so you can understand this book better. This version of the book is hardback and VERY colorful, which I really enjoyed, and it is a book from the Illustrated Junior Library Editions. It comes with a plastic covering to protect the book. This book along with Anne of Green Gables would be a great book for any young girl, and can be passed down to the next generation.

After the great success of "Anne of Green Gables," Lucy Maud Montgomery had to quickly write a sequel to continue the misadventures of the mischievous red-headed orphan on Prince Edward Island. Since the original classic was not intended to be the first in a series, Montgomery had to make some changes. The one that will drive you crazy is that Anne is back to being oblivious about Gilbert Blythe being the love of her life and her perfect match. You have the last chapter of the first novel where it seems the Anne and Gilbert have arrived at an understanding and all is right with the world, and now we are back to square one with Anne Shirley the only one in Avonlea who does not know that she and Gilbert are a perfect match. The other thing that becomes obvious as you read "Anne of Avonlea" is that Montgomery is somewhat uncomfortable with the Anne-Girl growing up, even though she is only "half-past sixteen." This discomfort is evidenced by the infusion of new children into the story as Anne becomes the teacher at Avonlea school, which allows her to stay at Green Gables, and Marilla adopts the irrepressible Keith twins, Davy and Dora. There are some new adults in the mix as well, with the mysterious new neighbor with his parrot and (my favorite part) the eccentric Miss Lavendar who has been waiting a quarter of a century for her beloved Stephen Irving to return to her. The biggest difference between the first book and the second is that Anne is more of a spectator this time around. Along with "Anne of Windy Poplars," one of the books that Montgomery slipped back into the chronology of the series, "Anne of Avonlea" is a testament to Montgomery's respect for the teaching profession. You will notice that the book is dedicated to her former teacher, Hattie Gordon Smith. While this is not one of my favorite Anne novels, it is still a worthy successor to the classic story. However, be warned: If you watch either of the "Anne of Avonlea" movies you will that virtually nothing from this novel ever made it to film that takes this book for its title.

After the great success of "Anne of Green Gables," Lucy Maud Montgomery had to quickly right a sequel to continue the misadventures of the mischievous orphan on Prince Edward Island. Since the original classic was not intended to be the first in a series, Montgomery had to make some changes. The one that will drive you crazy is that Anne is back to being oblivious about Gilbert Blythe being the love of her life. The other thing that becomes obvious is that Montgomery is somewhat uncomfortable with Anne growing up, even though she is only half-past sixteen, as evidenced by the infusion of new children into the story because Anne is now teaching at Avonlea school and Marilla has adopted the irrepressible Keith twins, Davy and Dora. You can also throw into the mix the mysterious new neighbor with his parrot and (my favorite part) the eccentric Miss Lavendar who has been waiting a quarter of a century for her beloved Stephen Irving to return to her. Along with "Anne of Windy Poplars," this book is a testament to Montgomery's respect for the teaching profession; the book is dedicated to her former teacher, Hattie Gordon Smith. While this is not one of my favorite Anne novels, it is still a worthy successor to the classic story. However, be warned: If you watch either of the "Anne of Avonlea" movies you will that virtually nothing from this novel ever made it to film.

In this, the second story of the Anne series, we become reacquainted with Anne and her friends, and we are introduced to many fascinating new characters who either make her feel like tearing her hair out or enrich her life. Although she is now sixteen and a fully fledged schoolmarm, she still displays the irrepressible knack for getting into scrapes that she had as a child, which include falling through a roof, dying her nose a ghastly colour, losing her temper with the irrascible Mr Harrison, her next door neighbour, and sowing the first seeds of love with Gilbert Blythe.Millions of readers around the world are forever thankful that Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote several more books about Anne's escapades, for if she hadn't, we would forever be wondering what would have become of Anne, asking ourselves what kind of teacher would she have been like, would she have gone on to university, would she have married Gilbert Blythe and borne his children? When we contemplate asking ourselves these questions, we would perhaps feel amazed that a mere literary character has had such a profound effect on our lives. Then perhaps, after doing all this, we would then return to our bookshelf, pick up a story about Anne, read a few pages, and then we would know for sure why we have fallen eternally in love with her.