If you enjoy historical fiction and happy endings, check out this bestseller from one hundred years ago, by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The first book in the Anne series, Anne of Green Gables provides a peek into a charming world of long-ago, with its setting on quiet, rural Prince Edward Island. Anne is a dreamy, creative 11-year-old orphan who arrives on the island to live with Matthew and Marilla, an elderly brother and sister. Unfortunately (at least at first), Matthew and Marilla are expecting the orphan to be a boy, who will help on the farm. But Anne charms her way into their hearts.
The novel is full of simple vignettes of Anne’s adventures in her first real “home” that are incredibly engaging, and spark the full range of emotions in the reader. The language is lovely and dense, evoking the pace of a time and place so different from our own. The conclusion of the book, a satisfying turn to young adulthood, is exactly right. This is one book from the past that is worth your time today! Place a hold on a copy, because they are constantly checked-out.