"Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, #2

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anne is growing up and this sequel to Anne of Green Gables is full of new characters, one of whom is delightfully reminiscent of Anne in the early days. There are all sorts of reasons for today's girls to read these books, besides the fact that they are just plain fun. It is easy to forget just how much responsibility girls of a few generations back had to take. Anne is a breath of fresh air even if she is only a character in a book. I can hardly imagine a 16 year old today taking on the job of teacher to 15+ kids in a one room school, especially when all but the new children were her classmates the year before. Anne's not perfect, but the book is in stark contrast with the sense of entitlement and privilege that surround us.

The other thing that almost everyone can agree on is Anne's wonderful imagination and her love of nature. L.M. Montgomery's powers of description make you almost feel the crunch of leaves under your feet. Again and again, I find myself being reminded to not rush through the day with my mind on lessons, menu and the latest news and to take a good look at how the cove reflects the sun and how the leaves are beginning to change. It makes me wonder how I can take note of a pair of mallards on the cove and never really look at everything around it.

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