Newlyweds Anne and Gilbert Blythe settle into married life in their new home, meeting neighbors both friendly and not.

In my re-read of the whole Anne of Green Gables series, I did read this one a while back, in chronological order (of the storyline). I, however, forgot to ever write up a review of it so this one won't be fresh or great.

This book takes place in yet another new town with Anne meeting still new people. We hardly ever hear of the old Green Gables friends but instead learn the whole history of folks in this new locale. There is one hard-to-crack nut in their neighbor Leslie, who is bitter about her hard-knock life and refuses to let Anne in as a friend. Persistent Anne is not eager to give up though.

Meanwhile, back at home, Anne has settled down into being a housewife and her teaching career is no longer mentioned as a thing, despite her years of college and training, and the likelihood that this town has a school, too. She gives birth to one healthy baby and one stillborn baby, thus reaching high highs and low lows.

At the end of the novel, Gilbert decides to move them again so that Anne must leave this house of dreams. I know it's very much of the time, but I feel this book is truly the beginning of the end of the spunky, feisty, lovable Anne who is instead subsumed within the ambitions of her doctor husband and the foibles of her children, becoming an incredibly bland and unremarkable character from here on out in the series. ( )

After the first book in the series, I have liked each one just a little less than the one before it. It didn't seem quite the same anymore and also began to feel repetitive. Fortunately, this book brought me back to the love I had for the first book.

It's not as if there are no more characters or situations that in some way mirror those from earlier books. But there was a lot less of that, and overall, everything felt new and fresh again. I'd say the characters introduced in this book, as well as getting to see Marilla and some of the others a bit more, really made the book for me. Not to mention Gilbert and Anne starting their lives together. I loved Captain Jim and got a kick out of Miss Cornelia, especially the way she and Captain Jim bantered.

Then there's Leslie Moore. Of all the ways her story could have gone--and I had a few different predictions, believe me--I never imagined that twist.

Overall, I loved this book about as much as I loved the first book in the series. Unfortunately, it only highlighted the slower, drier books in between. I have no idea what to expect of the rest of the books in the series, but I can't wait to find out. ( )

This has got to be my favourite book from the series so far, even the first one. This book covers Anne's 25th year. She gets married, moves to Four Winds, makes new friends, and gives birth to two children. The girl who got herself into hilarious hi-jix has grown up. Anne is now a matron who still acts childish at times and likes to meddle in other people's lives so they can be as happy as she is. Anne does, however, for the first time, truly discover tragedy and sorrow. This book is mature and probably written for 16/17-year-olds at the time.

It is no longer a children's book. There are no child characters. However, pregnancy is treated very gently. Never is it mentioned that she is pregnant or expecting. Simply put, a baby is coming. The act of childbirth is glossed over though. The baby just arrives after a mysterious period of time. On the other hand, death is dealt with directly and not sugarcoated. I think this shows the contemporary reader's own experiences. Death was common and dealt with at a young age while 'well-bred' girls of the day often didn't know the facts of life until the wedding day itself. Though the book is mature and deals with tough subjects there's still a lot of fun, joy, and happiness. I loved this volume. ( )

Loved it! I can't get enough of the optimism and imagination of Anne. The nature descriptions really help me appreciate the little things. ( )

It Is no surprise, but the later "Anne" books fail to live up to the first two. ( )