As quoted by Buddha, “With our thoughts, we make the world.” For Anne Shirley, a young, bright-cheeked orphan brought to the budding beauty of Prince Edward Island, the world cannot be more lovely than she imagines it. From a huge lake that she nicknames the “Lake of Shining Waters” to the multicolored flowers she fashions into crowns, Anne’s imagination knows no limits. In L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Anne believes she is being brought to a permanent home—a place called Green Gables owned by siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Matthew fetches her from the orphanage and she fawns over the gorgeous land the entire ride back to Green Gables, giddy with joy at finally leaving the orphanage. But when they arrive, strict Marilla drops the bomb that Matthew was too shy to expose: they wanted to adopt a boy, not a girl, and intend to send Anne back to the orphanage. Brokenhearted, Anne cries herself to sleep, but it is not the sight of her tears that moves Marilla: it’s the prospect of Anne being adopted by another cruel old lady instead. Marilla is strict, but she is not wicked. With much reluctance, and to Matthew’s joy, Marilla resolves to keep Anne after all. Is it just the magic of the beautiful Green Gables? Or is Marilla’s gradual softening of heart for Anne a show of real parental love? Anne begins as an insecure, gangly girl whose temper and absentminded dreaminess land her in all kinds of hot water. But in the grass and flowers on the banks of the Lake of Shining Waters, Anne grows up slowly and surely—and any amount of blunders and mistakes on her part cannot take away from how much she is loved by all. This book was wonderfully, heart-achingly gorgeous. I love classics because they so often follow one person’s entire life, and it was splendid to live in Anne’s world from childhood to womanhood. She was such a vibrant character, her quirks and dreams and shortcomings truly taking life on the page. I feel as if I’ve grown up with her and loved her just as much as Matthew and Marilla did ever since she arrived at their doorstep. It was bittersweet to see Anne grow into a woman because I adored her starry-eyed youth, but I was so proud of her in the end for always striving to be the best Anne she could be. She grew past her flaws and did her best to protect the people she loved. The writing style was impeccable—it is marked by many a monologue, as Anne loves to talk for pages upon pages about what she is passionate about, something that endears her to me and everyone around her. There’s something indescribably warm about L. M. Montgomery’s writing that evokes the sweetness of spring, the nostalgia of summer, and the heartache of autumn all at once; reading it is truly an experience I think everyone should have. And the setting! Green Gables was so lush and natural, filled with little brooks and lakes and forests, mirroring the purity of Anne’s heart. It felt just right for her youthful, carefree soul, but I’ll admit to being a little (and by little I mean intensely) jealous of Anne. I mean, who wouldn’t want to frolic among blooming flowers and old-fashioned white houses with sprawling fields bracketing glittering lakes? Anne made so many stories in her head by simply living there, establishing an ethereal quality about the book. What I adored most, though, was the omnipresent motif of love. It was executed perfectly in that subtle way that can’t help but pull on one’s heartstrings—Matthew’s openhearted, pure love for Anne, Marilla’s grudging, developing, and eventually wholehearted love, Anne’s love for her parents and friends, Anne’s friends’ playful love for her. Montgomery knows how to add these elements without overdosing on them, and her small but significant ways of showing love were both heartwarming and tearjerking—a perfect combination. Anne of Green Gables is an iconic book. It has passed through hundreds of years and survived until today because it tells, perhaps, one of the most important stories of all: the story of a child who started out small and grew to be great because she knew how to love and be loved. Mind you, I was bawling my eyes out by the end from the pain of letting this book go, but I always end up loving a book that makes me cry. Even if you don’t shed any tears, I hope you find the same comfort in Anne’s story as millions of other readers have, including me. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Puffin Books, 2014. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
book review
Mexican Gothic Reviewed by Sita, 13
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s gothic horror novel Mexican Gothic is incredible. It has truly mastered the art of its trade, undertaking the ‘something-is-a-little-off’ family living in a something-is-quite-a bit-off house’ story without being cliché, melodramatic, or making the characters unsympathetic or unrealistic. The novel, set in 1950s Mexico, kicks off with its protagonist, 22 year-old Noemí Taboada, at a party with her boyfriend Hugo, when she gets called home by her father. Her father tells her that her cousin, Catalina, who is like a sister to her, had sent a letter to her after months of silence between the two following Catalina’s suspiciously quick marriage to Virgil Doyle. In the letter, Catalina says she hears ghosts in the walls and thinks that Virgil is going to poison her. Concerned for Catalina’s health and safety, Noemí ’s father asks Noemí to go to High Place, the manor in El Triunfo where Cataline lives, in the countryside of Mexico. At first Noemí refuses, but when her father promises to allow her to do a masters program in anthropology instead of simply getting married, she agrees. Once Noemí arrives at High Place, she discovers that the house is lit only by candles, that Catalina has tuberculosis, and that Virgil’s father, Howard Doyle, is interested in eugenics and believes in inferior and superior races. As her stay begins to lengthen, she starts having nightmares, sleepwalks for the first time since childhood, begins to notice that the family acts strange around her, and realizes that Catalina is no longer the lively young girl she knew so well just a year ago. The story is quite well-crafted. Noemí is a very interesting, likable, and believable protagonist. She stays in the house for a long time even though it creeps her out because of her love for her sister, her father, and her desire to get a master’s degree. She doesn’t immediately dismiss all the Doyles and her rebellious nature forces her to rock the boat even when it could be dangerous, just out of spite. Noemí, though, isn’t alone in being well-crafted. Each character is understandable, never acts out of character, is lifelike and heir actions are wholly plausible when meant to be, and the plot twists and secrets hidden in the book make sense in relation to the overall arc of the story. It is very hard to construct a haunted house-esque story without resorting to hackneyed tropes, making your characters unreasonable or implausible, or making the grand reveals too out of the blue to be believable or too obvious to be surprising. Yet Moreno-Garcia avoids all these pitfalls while weaving a masterpiece that caused me to tear through the book in mesmerized fear and spellbound horror. In other words, if you like horror, historical fiction, or gothic novels even the tiniest bit, to say that this book would be worth reading would be the universe’s most profound understatement. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Del Rey Books, 2021. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II, Reviewed by Brais, 12
Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II, by Alan Gratz, is a historical fiction novel set in Nazi Germany, 1943. Michael O’Shaunessey, a 13-year-old-boy, is an Irish and German citizen and the son of the Irish ambassador to Germany. Because of Michael’s dad’s job, the family is living in Berlin during World War II. Ireland, while publicly neutral in WWII, is sending spies to Nazi Germany, including Michael’s parents. Things get even more complicated for Michael when he is required—as every German boy during the Third Reich—to join the Hitler-Jugend, or Hitler Youth. Michael’s parents advise him to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble to protect the family’s secret, but Michael has his own ideas. Throughout the story Michael develops his spying skills and his ability to blend in, while staying true to his convictions. As a member of the Hitler Youth, he needs to resist the powerful propaganda machine that tried to eradicate the Jewish people and their culture from Germany. Reading this book, I found the pervasiveness of the Nazi indoctrination stunning. One example in O’Shaunessey’s novel is a math problem given to the Hitler Youth, which forces problem solvers to equate Jews with aliens. The pace of this story is very good, with exciting moments happening in every chapter. I found Michael’s experiences as a newcomer in Berlin relatable because I have had to move a few times with my family and been in situations in which I hardly knew anybody. I also enjoyed learning more about WWII and what it might have been like to experience Nazi propaganda as a young person during the Third Reich. This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy action-packed historical fiction, especially set during war conflicts. As I have always been interested in historical fiction and the two World Wars, this was the perfect book for me. Another book I liked, also set in WWII, is The Last Mission by Harry Mazer. I recommend Projekt 1065 for middle schoolers and up. For younger readers, the I Survived series, by Lauren Tarshis, is an outstanding collection of life-and-death stories revolving around actual historical events, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the Titanic. (I was a big fan in elementary school and even got one of my books signed by the author!) Projekt 1065 is the first book by Alan Gratz that I have read, but he has written other historical fiction on topics such as 9/11 (Ground Zero), D-Day (Allies, Resist), and the refugee crisis (Refugee). I cannot wait to start my next one! Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II by Alan Gratz. Scholastic Press, 2016. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
