This book felt like a way station on the way to the rest of Anne's life. Maybe that was intentional, but I didn't feel very present with the story or the characters. And much of the book felt very repetitive, both to itself and to the rest of the series so far, like a rinse and repeat with only the names and locations changed.

I really liked Anne's home for these three years--Windy Poplars, and the three women that came with it. Rebecca Dew was so much fun, especially in regards to poor Dusty Miller. And the situation with the poor, neglected Elizabeth was just about the sweetest, most heart-warming conclusion to a terrible story arc ever.

However, we get a lot of the same two basic storylines: A) Someone(s) is/are grumpy, unhappy, crabby, etc., whether in general or to Anne specifically. In some due course of time (either quickly or longer-term), Anne basically turns them happier or nicer, simply by being herself. B) Anne meets a woman who is a busybody or simply very chatty, who dominates all conversation for several pages, and something may or may not actually come of the entire situation. Any of these things on their own would not have been bad, and a few of these situations I liked more than the rest. But I feel like there could have been a lot more variety in the overall book and the three years Anne spent at Windy Poplars.

Most of the book is written in epistolary form, letters from Anne to Gilbert as they spend these 3 years apart. I'm not sure there was much reason for that, though, and even though some was written in normal 3rd-person narration, we barely got to see much of Anne's time back at home. This meant missing out on seeing much of the characters we got to know earlier in the series. But we did see enough to see poor Dora slighted even further. Seriously, Montgomery seems to only have created Dora to give young Davy a target for his mischievousness, and she's just this after-thought even now, 2 books later.

The series has lost a little of its charm for me, but I think this book was a bit of a departure from the rest of the series. I know it was written after books #5 & 6, so perhaps Montgomery was boxed-in, knowing she couldn't change the later books, so not much could happen? But it just felt dry compared to the rest of the series so far. Here's hoping that the next book regains the lovely Anne charm. ( )

Anne has to wait three years until she can get married as Gilbert is at medical school. So she takes on the position of principal in Summerside. She has all sorts of incidents and meets many new friends. She's getting pretty good at helping out young lovers and meddling in other people's problems.

This book is different from the previous books. First, it is written mostly as letters to Gilbert and also third person narrative. The book also reads older. Anne is now young 20's (ages 20 to 23, I believe). Chapter titles have been omitted and I really missed them. I enjoyed the book and had a pleasant time reading it in just a day. I did find the events to be rather superficial though and nothing happened that changed Anne's course of life. The book felt like a filler before we will get to the wedding in the next book. Also, Gilbert isn't in the book. He's mentioned frequently but he's always off the page. Still a fun book. I'm really looking forward to the next book though. ( )

pringles make pyes seem palatable! love it. ( )

Some hilarious characters appear in this book - though some of them could have done with more fleshing-out. ( )

Anne Shirley strikes out on her own. She is now the principal of Summerside High School. There, she meets adversity in the form of the Pringles, a tight-knit clan bent on getting Anne out of town. There are also a few other issues that arise.

At times both heartwarming and heart wrenching, for me this book falls a little below the mark of the previous novels in the series. A lot of the book is told via Anne's viewpoint in letter form to Gilbert. I really wasn't interested in those letters. So, that took away from the enjoyment aspect a bit.

Still, enjoyable reading. ( )