Marilla of Avonlea by Sarah McCoy is a wonderful look at Marilla Cuthbert's backstory. McCoy takes on the daunting task of telling the romance of Marilla and John Blythe; and does it well. We also see how her and Rachel's friendship grew and developed; as well as an interesting subplot about lives of former slaves who sought freedom in Canada by way of the Underground Railroad. While McCoy does not have Montgomery's skill at describing landscape I found her conversation and character development to be solid and very much in the Montgomery tradition.
Then for fun. I reread Anne of Avonlea, just to remind myself of details of Anne's life as she passed from girlhood to adulthood and found it to be every bit as wonderful as I remember.
Wives of War by Soraya Lane tells the story of three British nurses serving in France in the days and weeks after the invasion at Normandy. While in places the writing was more about telling than showing I truly enjoyed the story's focus on the character's friendship, how they supported each other through the stresses of long hours, and poor conditions. While there are definitely romance storylines the emphasis of the book is the important role nursing played in caring for the wounded and how they leaned on each other while doing this important work.
Please head over to Carolyn's for more Open Book.
Thanks for linking up! I've yet to read Anne of Green Gables, but my daughter read all seven books in the series the summer before last. Is this the same style? Wondering if it will appeal to her as well. In other words, still good for young girls (she's 12) or aimed more at adults nostalgic for the series?
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