is obviously a prequel to the Anne of Green Gables series. In this book, Budge traces Anne's childhood from before birth all the way to Green Gables. Anne's parents' deaths and her subsequent time spent with two families, helping with children, do not make for the most idyllic childhood, but Anne maintains her unique spirit and optimism throughout these trials.
Being a huge Anne fan, I was pretty excited to read this. It does start pretty slowly, spending quite some time on Anne's parents and their lives. However, Anne is still her wonderful, spunky, and literary self, despite the drudging life she leads. Actually, I found myself thinking that her trials didn't quite add up to the horrors I imagined for her. I thought for sure, things were more difficult. I was surprised at the numerous people in her life who are kind and loving. I'm quite sure this expectation was colored by the depiction of Mrs. Hammond in this movie
(which I adore!) Since it has been some time since I read the original books, this certainly inspired me to pull those classics out again. Overall, I found it beautiful and fairly true to Anne's spirit, if a little long and windy at times.RATINGS:
s-factor: none
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: ->
Some domestic violence happens, though it is mostly "off stage"
Overall rating: ***
