Rainbow Valley - L.M. Montgomery

By
⭐8/10

Back in the Anneverse! I was a little hesitant to get back to it because I didn't love the last one didn't want anything to stain my view of one who has become maybe my second favorite author. However, she wrote this one while she was still young and thus likely still more passionate about writing these stories.

To start, I thought this was about to be another classic. The thing about the previous entry (which she wrote 20 years later) is that it's about Anne's kids, and they are all sweet and innocent and boring. This book quickly introduces Montgomery's speciality which is bad kids (and old grouchy lady of whom there are a few)! This book killed me and it was kinda the mark of a real comic genius, always pushing the envelope a little. I'm sure it was quite scandalous in the 20s when little girls were reading about Mary Vance threatening to kill herself if others wouldn't forgive her. 

But Mary takes a back seat in the book pretty quickly which is a shame because the other characters are all kinda good not great. It actually centres on the neighbor children, and even Anne's kids are hardly featured. I know there were battles daily with her publishers about these stories and I can't imagine they were thrilled with this choice. It's still part of the Anne of Green Gables series, but Anne herself is only featured on like 5 pages. Still, it's a good choice because surely Montgomery had run her course with Anne. 

Otherwise it's got all the hallmarks. Lots of little silly stories and hijinks, a laughably predictable romantic subplot, and lots of love for nature, small town squabbles, and heart warming friendships. However, the final chapter does something totally unique for her which is foreshadowing the final, darkest entry! It really made me long for a Montgomery who wasn't forced to write children's stories her whole life because just that small section was wildly evocative and gripping. I am almost sure the final book won't be as dark as I think, but it's interesting to think about what it would look like if Montgomery was given the liberty to talk about serious subjects. 

But I guess we'll see. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Philosopher in the Valley & My Reflections on Leaving Palantir

By
Image
This book was perfectly timed to my paternity leave, a time where I was not actively working and could reflect on my job. The post will be a short review of the book, followed by a much longer section where I will attempt to verbalize all my thoughts on Palantir. Thoughts on my time there, what I did and didn't like, and why I am leaving. I am not writing this as some manifesto. I have been explaining to a bunch of people in my life why I have been considering leaving, and my thoughts never feel coherent, the reasons change day to day. This is for myself to reflect, and I might even continue to edit it as I remember things. I thought this book was excellent, a biography of Alex Karp, but also a tale of Palantir's history. The author was around Karp for an extended period of time, providing a lot of details that even I did not know. It lays out all the Palantir milestones over the years, many of which I remember quite clearly, but hearing about it with a bit more distance is co...
Read more

My Favourite Books of 2025

By
Image
    I read a lot of books this year as usual, and spanning a ton of different genres and categories. That's pretty evident in my favourites as well, as I have a book or two from most of the genres I read, and I loved them all for different reasons.     Most of these will be repeats from some of my monthly favourites, but these are the ones that really stood the test of time! Here they are, in no particular order.      This fantasy book from an underrated author is about Maeve, whose hands were badly burnt as a child, and so she has lost the use of them. She has spent the last ten years with her aunt and uncle, who were healers, but now she's finally returning home to the family she barely knows anymore. She feels misplaced as they're still adjusting to how she needs to do things now, but she finds solace in her youngest brother and the stray dogs she adopts. When they all disappear into the forest one day, she goes after them, and adventures begin....
Read more

July Reading Favourites

By
Image
Look at that cover! This is a YA horror book written by a trans Canadian author that knocked my socks off. A small town has secrets it's trying to hide, and after the death of a boy and a newcomer arriving, things start slipping out of control. It's a book about being trans or queer and living in a small town, and how a community creating a facade of a perfect town can backfire. Also maybe closing your eyes to anything that's "not your business" is not good actually! It's violent and full of rage, and I loved the way it played with time and perspective. Check the triggers, but if you're interested in reading it, I'd recommend going in blind without looking at reviews or a longer description! This is a short book of essays about ableism and disability justice, specifically relating to technological advances for disabled people. Most of the essays focus on a different type of technology for different disabilities (prosthetics, hearing aids, cures for aut...
Read more