Title: Rainbow Valley
Author: L.M. Montgomery
Series: Anne of Green Gables #7
Genre: Historical
Audience: Children-Adult
ABOUT THE BOOK
Anne Shirley is grown up, has married her beloved Gilbert and now is the mother of six mischievous children.
These boys and girls discover a special place all their own, but they never dream of what will happen when the strangest family moves into an old nearby mansion. The Meredith clan is two boys and two girls, with minister father but no mother - and a runaway girl named Mary Vance. Soon the Meredith kids join Anne's children in their private hideout to carry out their plans to save Mary from the orphanage, to help the lonely minister find happiness, and to keep a pet rooster from the soup pot. There's always an adventure brewing in the sun-dappled world of Rainbow Valley.
~ MY REVIEW ~
**4 stars**
I'm so happy I finally read Rainbow Valley! I read the previous books in the ANNE OF GREEN GABLES series by L.M. Montgomery a few years ago now ... but just never got around to book seven. Now I have! *grins* And it was fun! I'm so excited to get my hands on a copy of Rilla of Ingleside!
It was wonderful to be back in this classic world, filled with wonderful characters. The bits we saw of Anne, I, of course, loved! I had missed her! She is as passionate, whimsical, sweet, and delightful as ever. And, I do admit, it thrilled my heart when someone said, "Anne Blythe!" Oh, brings back the memories of when she once despised the boy, Gilbert Blythe, while he did all he could to get her attention! <3333 I love their darling romance!
Gilbert and Anne's children were lovely! ^_^ Jem, Dianna, Nan, Walter, Rilla ... who am I forgetting? Don't they have six children? It was a little hard to keep track, as we were seeing a whole lot of the Pastor Meredith's children as well: Jerry, Faith, Carl, Una ... And of course, the boisterous orphan girl, Mary. I felt all the children were pretty unique with their personalities, and their adventures were fun and humorous. Endearing and even heart-wrenching.
Mr. Meredith and Rosemary's romance ... enchanting. One of my favorite parts of Rainbow Valley. I was very much angry with Ellen, but it all turned out so sweet. And when Ellen cried a little at the end ... "I hope we will all be happy." That was lovely.
Now Susan, I could hardly stand! And even Miss Cornelia. There was something so arrogant and pompous about them. Always talking about other people and acting as if they're so much better! -_- I didn't appreciate their judgmental attitude, or wishy-washy-ness. Hopefully they'll get better in the next book.
Rainbow Valley was a pretty slow-paced read, but that's generally how the ANNE OF GREEN GABLES series is. And when I'm in the mood for a classic, I quite enjoy peeking into Anne's life! ^_^ Wish we could have seen more of her! And Gilbert!
My biggest complaint? While I feel there are some poignant (though subtle) faith themes running through Rainbow Valley, the characters do have a rather careless attitude when it comes to loving your enemies/turning the other cheek/forgiving wrongs/treating others as better than yourself. I just felt there was more than one time where the adults could have spoke of patience, forgiveness, and kindness to the upset children, instead of applauding their anger and even slight disrespect.
Anyway, overall Rainbow Valley was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to returning to these characters.
