Anne of Avonlea by L M Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea follows on from Anne of Green Gables. After the shock decision of Anne not to attend university but to return to Avonlea to be with Marila, Anne manages to secure a job teaching at the local school. As if a new job wasn't enough a relative of Marila's dies and Marila is left to bring up six year old twins Davy and Dora whilst their uncle finishes his job and secures a new home for them. Although Dora is extremely well behaved, Davy is a handful and is soon getting into all sorts of scrapes. Anne somehow also finds the time to work on improving Avonlea with the Improvement Society and it is not long before she too gets into some scrapes. With new neighbours and friends and old rivals Avonlea continues to provide adventures for Anne during her late teens.

Anne of Avonlea picks up right from where Anne of Green Gables finishes. Although some of the characters from the first book are no longer present or take much lesser roles in the book, there are enough of the core characters to keep a sense of familiarity. The book is another gentle trundle through Anne's adventures with the usual mix of mini disasters and small triumphs. It is certainly a mellow book, entirely suitable for young children and adults alike and best enjoyed over a mug of hot chocolate.

It is hard to be critical of Montgomery for her style of writing. After reading Anne of Green Gables I find that my expectations have changed and I was able to slip into reading Anne of Avonlea quite easily and not find it tedious or irritating. Certainly Anne has managed to rid herself of some of her more annoying habits and as one might expect is beginning to grow up. The book was written at a very different time from the modern day which means we have to accept its differences.

I would recommend that anyone who wants to read this book read Anne of Green Gables first (click on any mention of Anne of Green Gables in this review for a link to my review for the book). It is certainly worth reading if you want a light and gentle read to whisk you away to another more innocent age after a long hard, miserable day at work.

*3 stars*