The Blue Castle - LM Montgomery

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this little-known book by the Anne of Green Gables author. The main character is Valancy, an old maid at 29 who has never had any marriage prospects (LOL ME!), and all of her relatives are so stuffy and boring and ridiculous. She quietly obeys whatever they say and puts up with her very dreary life because she feels like she needs them. But when she has some heart pains she sees the doctor, and when he tells her she has maximum one year left to live, she decides she won't be afraid anymore and she'll do what she wants for once. Valancy starts telling her family what she really thinks of them, gets a job taking care of a disgraced woman, meets new people, and does whatever it takes for her to enjoy the rest of her life. There might be a marriage contract involved.

This is not a sad book, which I feel like is not a spoiler because the whole tone of this book is so light-hearted that you know there's no way things will end badly. There's not a ton of depth to this story, but it was so charming, fun, and silly, with that old-fashioned charm I forgot about after not having read a classic in a long time. It's very satisfying to see Valancy find out what she truly likes to do and embrace life, and become this really sassy woman. It was a great comfort read.