Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery
Recommended for: Ages 8 to Adult (reading and interest level)
Rating: G
Anne Shirley is grown up, has married her beloved Gilbert and now is the mother of six mischievous children.
These boys and girls discover a special place all their own, but they never dream of what will happen when the strangest family moves into an old nearby mansion. The Meredith clan is two boys and two girls, with minister father but no mother -- and a runaway girl named Mary Vance. Soon the Meredith kids join Anne's children in their private hideout to carry out their plans to save Mary from the orphanage, to help the lonely minister find happiness, and to keep a pet rooster from the soup pot. There's always an adventure brewing in the sun-dappled world of Rainbow Valley.
Rainbow Valley is an interesting book. I enjoyed reading more about Anne Shirley's children and about the Meredith children. There were funny parts as well as some sad parts.
Writing:4/5
The writing was pretty good. L. M. Montgomery is able to write about regular life without making it boring. There were some parts that were a little wordy, mainly at the beginning of chapters where she is descriptive about the weather.
Setting:5/5
This story is set in the early 1900s on Prince Edward Island, Canada, in the town of Glen St. Mary. The setting seemed pretty good, but I don't really know much about Canada at that period. It does tell what behavior people thought was wrong, like not wearing socks to church.
Plot:4/5
I don't know what the main plot would be for this book since it mainly just follows the life of the Meredith children and the "scandals" they cause. Even though there is no main plot, it was still interesting and well written.
Character Development:5/5
The characters were all unique and even though they have faults and make mistakes, they are still likeable characters. Anne's children weren't the main focus and the youngest boy Shirley was barely in it, but her children are still unique.
This book was worth reading and, even though it does not focus on Anne and her children, it is still a good continuation of the series.
Rainbow Valley was the only one of the Anne books I didn't read in order--because I didn't have it. I only read it later, and then listened to it on audio book, and now it's one of my favorites, along with Anne of Ingleside. I think the books about her children are the most interesting in the series.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I enjoy reading reviews about books that I love.