denakaye's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
gingeraffe21's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
nanceoir's review against another edition
4.0
A novel about my favorite author, L. M. Montgomery? Um, yes please!
Even though I was pre-sold on this book, that didn't mean I warmed to it straight away. The first book (the novel is split into several books, each chronically a different time period) actually felt a little distant to me, but I can't pin down why. I was thinking that, much as I wanted to love the novel, it just wouldn't work for me. Things turned around in Book Two, though, and I really started getting into it. By the time I was done, I found I had a really nice journey.
If you already love L. M. Montgomery's books, you'll definitely find things to love here. And if you enjoy well-researched historical fiction that gets into a person's head, you'll have a good time with this one.
Oh, one random detail I particularly enjoyed was when Maud's clothing became more adult and there's talk of how much time it takes to get all those clothes on. It's not something I'm accustomed to seeing mentioned in books, but I so appreciate it.
Even though I was pre-sold on this book, that didn't mean I warmed to it straight away. The first book (the novel is split into several books, each chronically a different time period) actually felt a little distant to me, but I can't pin down why. I was thinking that, much as I wanted to love the novel, it just wouldn't work for me. Things turned around in Book Two, though, and I really started getting into it. By the time I was done, I found I had a really nice journey.
If you already love L. M. Montgomery's books, you'll definitely find things to love here. And if you enjoy well-researched historical fiction that gets into a person's head, you'll have a good time with this one.
Oh, one random detail I particularly enjoyed was when Maud's clothing became more adult and there's talk of how much time it takes to get all those clothes on. It's not something I'm accustomed to seeing mentioned in books, but I so appreciate it.
amies808's review against another edition
3.0
This follows Maud through three different phases of her teen years and while it was fun to read about the imagined life and motivations of my favorite author, I wish that this author had focused on just one “chapter” of Maud’s life. I think that would have given the book a lot more breathing room to explore Maud’s personality as well as the characters of the other people in her life. As it was, I felt like I was being “told” a lot, versus shown (and as a huge LMM fan, I love being shown - especially when it comes to the landscape!)
nataliesboooks's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
linneahedvig's review against another edition
2.0
I was excited to read this beautiful novelization about L. M. Montgomery. The author has written this to fit very well into the genre of Young Adult fiction, complete with #love-dilemmas. I didn't spend much time with it, but it didn't impress me. There is another L. M. Montgomery biography coming out later this month (House of Dreams) that I'll probably check out.
thepolybrary's review against another edition
5.0
Maud is an engaging fictionalized account of the early life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the creator of the Anne of Green Gables books beloved the world over. While a work of historical fiction, the book encompasses many known facts and events of Montgomery's life. I was very surprised to see how very similar, in many ways, her growing up years were to those of her character Anne. It was also very sad to see how, unlike Anne, she never really seemed to have support or love from much of her family. I was very intrigued to say the least, and will be looking at a full length biography of her in the future.
I was struck by how hard Montgomery worked to be able to write her stories. In a time when women were expected only to marry and have children, and anything else was considered strange or even evil, she chose education over even her current happiness or in some cases relationships with her family. She seems to have been a feminist before the term was coined. Though she did of course later marry and have children, it was only after she was an established and successful author.
The author takes time to shed light on the condition of women's rights at this time in Canadian history, as well as the plight of some of the native people such as the Metis. There is also particular emphasis on the conflict between different denominations within the Christian church.
The author has included a brief historical biography in the back of the book, along with specifics about what happened to certain characters. This really helped to tie up the story, especially since this particular book ended before Montgomery was even eighteen.
4.5/5 stars. Highly recommend for anyone who has enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables story!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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I was struck by how hard Montgomery worked to be able to write her stories. In a time when women were expected only to marry and have children, and anything else was considered strange or even evil, she chose education over even her current happiness or in some cases relationships with her family. She seems to have been a feminist before the term was coined. Though she did of course later marry and have children, it was only after she was an established and successful author.
The author takes time to shed light on the condition of women's rights at this time in Canadian history, as well as the plight of some of the native people such as the Metis. There is also particular emphasis on the conflict between different denominations within the Christian church.
The author has included a brief historical biography in the back of the book, along with specifics about what happened to certain characters. This really helped to tie up the story, especially since this particular book ended before Montgomery was even eighteen.
4.5/5 stars. Highly recommend for anyone who has enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables story!
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Twitter | Bloglovin | Instagram | Google+
barbarajean's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lpershing's review against another edition
5.0
this is one of those books that i could not put down. it is also one of the most memorable books i’ve ever read. maybe not heartwarming in the way one might expect, but a very beautiful and wonderfully written story.
pizzabrot's review
4.0
What a unique premise, telling the story of L. M. Monthomery's adolescense! 4.5 well-deserved stars for this lovely, comforting read, perfect for calm nights cozying up in bed (but minus 0.5 stars for not making me connect as much with Will as I and probably also the author wanted the reader to do) Now I really can't wait to read Anne of Green Gable's story as soon as I get the opportunity! I enjoyed this so much, even that gigantic headache that is pushing its way into my brain right now can't stop me from finally reviewing the book; even though I've certainly put it off long enough (a couple hours, that is) because I'm not ready to, don't even want to let go of Maud and her world. Still, making this sacrifice because damn if this book doesn't deserve a proper review doing it justice. (how sad that it is only me who's going to write it) It hits me everytime how much easier it is to review terrible books, because once again I'm at such a loss to describe the enormous amount of feelings I have for this novel. I've been lucky enough to have read my fair share of good books so far this year, but seldom it happens that it metaphorically (or literally? My headache begs to differ...) pains me to finish it, that's how much I grew to love the characters, the setting, the whole story in general! "Maud" is another one of those books my parents have bought me for Christmas without really knowing what it was about, just guessing that it looked and sounded like such a Kathi book - which it totally ended up to be! And at the beginning of the novel, while suspecting that I would enjoy it well enough, I had no idea how much I was actually going to love it! Silly old me never properly reads the blurb of a book on purpose because that's how real my fear of spoilers is, so opening the book I was very confused because I had no idea that it was actually a fictionalized biography of the author of "Anne of Green Gables"! I've got to admit that at first that fact felt like a bit of a let-down, being unfamiliar with Anne's story (for now - I am very determined to change that, even more after reading about her author!) and having the feeling of being cheated of more than a fair share of anectodial references to the Anne novels. But it was SUCH a great read nevertheless! It was a bit of a slow start for me at first, since I had no clue whatsoever of the experience of a girl living in that time period (1890-1892), had no understanding of what it was like, why so-called "scandals" were even seen as scandals, what the big deal was about Maud and her teacher, Maud and Nate, Maud and her dreams, Maud's relationship with religion.... But the book is written in this wonderfully affectionate way that you just can't help but fall in love with it ever so quickly! Maud is a such an endearing protagonist; if the real L. M. Montgomery was only a bit anything like her, I feel sorry for not having been alive sooner so I could've been the best of friends with her. There were so many parts in this book where I'd have loved to just jump straight into the scene, having a grand time with Maud and her friends at school, passing notes with Nate, going to school plays, or just lying around on the fields, picking berries with her cousins, going on life-changing journeys falling in love with all sorts of people...The beautiful atmosphere was practically palpable throughout the novel, it was a marvellous read! Nate was probably my absolute favourite character of the book; I'm such a sucker for well-written and sarcastically cheesy letters and the childhood-friends-turn-to-lovers trope, and romantic old me couldn't get enough of Maud's and Nate's innocent blooming relation- and penpalship. (really, those letters were EVERYTHING). Nate, dear Nate... These two had the perfect picturesque bittersweet story, and Maud's decisions spoke on such a deep level to me that it actually felt like I was sort of meant to read this book for my inner peace (without wanting to go into detail why this is the case). Even though I wished her choices would've been different ones, I could understand her thoughts all too well, since life isn't always about fairytale endings or going the easy way. Sometimes there are no right decisions and life isn't always perfect, no matter how much it pains other people involved in the scenario (in this case, ME, while having to read certain things) (buuuuh). In this case the book felt way more mature than I ever expected it to be, and I will forever cherish the first part of her story and hold it dear to my heart. The other two parts, while not speaking to me on the same inner personal level, were amazing reads as well and I thoroughly enjoyed every step of the book. The resolution felt hopeful and sad at the same time, since it once again showed how life doesn't always work out the way you want it, the way you planned it, the way you, as a reader, and you, as a person living your life, wished for it. I loved how the author not only told us the end of Maud's story, but included her friends' conclusions as well, since you become so overly attached to this characters over the journey of the book that you wish the very best for all of them and want their real life-counterparts to have lived an amazing life as well. Again, that's not always how life works out, but that's the beauty of the book: the combination of a fairytale-like story without ever forgetting the realism, as painful as it might be. I still can't believe I've actually finished the book, I find myself going back to it constantly, leafing through the pages, rereading Nate's and Maud's letters, her thoughts about certain things, the way everything came to a conclusion...what a beautifully-written book. Once again, as seems to be the case with all the books I so dearly love, I can't actually explain what's so fantastic about it, other than that I just have those very strong feelings about it that make my heart feel like it wants to burst straight out of my body (wouldn't that be a bloody mess!) I don't think there are many people who'd love this book as much as I do, but it was exactly what I needed at this very moment and stage of life. Part of why it took me (unjustified) ages to finish the story was because I didn't want to let it go, because I wanted to stay a bit longer in Cavendish, with Maud and her friends as well as her thoughts, because even though she and I are different in what we want from life (or rather in her knowing what she wants while I am aimlessly stumbling through it), I felt like I connected with her on such a strong level that now, having finished the book, I kind of feel like I lost a dear friend. Oh, isn't that the cheesiest review ever written?
Thanks to the author for making L.M. Montgomery feel as alive as I've always heard her fictional characters to be.
Thanks to the author for making L.M. Montgomery feel as alive as I've always heard her fictional characters to be.