Anne Of Green Gables

I cried. I had to suck it in though, and quickly dry my eyes so that my children wouldn't see, since we were in the car. It was a bit of a long drive home from where we were, and since my Hubby was driving, I was happily, excitedly, reading Anne Of Green Gables. The end just got me right in the heart. My feelings... my FEELINGS! (Not that my children would have seen my tears, involved in their own car ride activities.) 

My Hubby noticed though, steeling some glances at me before asking, "Are your crying? Why are you crying?"

"The book, the book made me cry. "

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you." *sniff

"Did all the hobbits die?"

*I give him a stern look. 

"What? I was joking."

(Telling me all the hobbits die is what he did when I read Lord of the Rings shortly after we started dating. Now whenever I have book feels, he asks me if the hobbits died.)

This is the second time I have read Anne Of Green Gables. The first time I read the book, I was in grade seven or eight maybe. I didn't remember much of the exact story, just impressions of Anne and Marilla. I did remember the scene with Gilbert in the schoolhouse when Anne resolutely decides to hate him. I did not remember how much Anne grows up in this novel. She's goes from 11 to 16. Grown up life began so soon back then...

I loved Anne. I loved her exuberance, her fierceness and her imagination. Anne was loyal and hardworking, but would get lost in her dreams. There was joy, excitement and adventure. There was also pain, anger and sorrow. Anne's story was every bit as wonderful as I remembered. 

Though I always intended to reread and finish the series, my time in Prince Edward Island at the beginning of July inspired me to pickup the novel when I got home. Something about being there, visiting the Anne of Green Gables Museum, seeing Lucy Maud Montgomery's things and learning more about her life, connected me to her stories. Anne of Green Gables, is just one of those quintessentially classic Canadian books. Children across the nation and the world read it. It's been made into countless adaptations. I know there is a new one, I haven't seen it yet though. 

The hope that Anne has, as she arrives at the Cuthberts, after having so much sadness and hardship in her young life, calls out to everyone. She moves beyond it, works hard, and makes the people she cares most about proud. Anne of Green Gables really is one of the best books I have ever read and I am looking forward to when my children are old enough to read it too.