Somehow I missed this book in the Anne of Green Gables series the first time I read them many years ago. I was excited to find a 'new' book in the series to read, but I was a little disappointed in it.

I'm not sure if it's just that I'm reading the book when I'm many years older, or if it's just not as good as the original - I suspect the latter. Rilla just didn't grab me, she was bit vapid and unambitious, and not really what I felt a daughter of Anne and Gilbert would be.

I was touched by Dog Monday, and how the war affected the Blythe family, I still liked Susan, and the romance was sweet, if tenuous (I'm not convinced one kiss created the great love story implied, but it was a different age). However, overall it was just OK. I'm glad I've read it, but have no desire to read it again.

2019 read:
Everything I learned about WWI came from this book and possibly the popular meme "If WW1 Was a Bar Fight."

In some ways, the world today is still reeling from the effects of WWI. I love this book because it isn't a romance. It's a medley of grief, growth, sacrifice, and compassion and so much of the terror, the desperation, and the tension were really hers and it shows in the writing. She looks at all angles, even the pacifist(though he's not really meant to be taken seriously), and settles down the untidiness that life always carries.

I unashamedly wept like a baby throughout this book (Susan and Norman notwithstanding). It might have been the seasonal depression thing. But it probably was Montgomery's underscoring of the vivid helplessness and desperation that you feel when your world crashes around you and there is nothing you can do but hope, pray, and do the menial day-to-day things that make no difference.

probably the most nature and introspective of the Anne books. I loved it.

Oh, rilla; mi rilla... This rate is for you, mr poetry.

I had a fit of nostaligia over the Memorial Day holiday and re-read most of the AoGG books (all but Windy Poplars and Rainbow Valley). I'm not sure if I had ever read this one before -- it certainly stands out from the rest of the series as feeling more rooted in history because of its link with WWI.

This book was so refreshing after Rainbow Valley, Rilla really reminded me of Anne in her younger days and those were my favorite books so I had a good time.

I really enjoyed this series, it was whimsical, sweet, and just delightful. There were definitely a few books I did not like at all, but then there was Anne of the Island and Anne's House Of Dreams which really made up for those. I'd recommend reading these in spring, as they feel like new beginnings and charming weather and happiness.

I did not enjoy the arc of childhood joy and discovery and wonder of AOGG to Anne’s children going off to fight and die in WWI, but at least I can say I’ve read the books now (RIP Anne with an E)

So heartbreaking for so many reasons. No one can stay the same person they were at the beginning of a war as at the end.