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A review by ljrinaldi
Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery
4.0
It is a bit of a jump to go from Anne of Green Gables, set in the late 1800s to this one written in the 1930s, between the wars. It could easily have been set in Victorian times, if not for the telephone, motor car and the Great War being mentioned in passing. Because it is set on Prince Edward Island (or P.E. Island as it is referred to), there are still horse and carts dotting the landscape, and oil lamps, and pot bellied stoves, as though going to Prince Edward Island, where L.E. Montgomery grew up, sends you back in time.
The story follows Jane Victoria who lives with her Maternal grandmother as well as her mother in Toronto where, for most of her 10 years of life, she has not know that her father is not only alive, but never divorced her mother as well. When he sends for her to come to P.E. Island to summer with him, she does so, and then learns the truth of her existence.
It is another story, which L.M. Montgomery excels in, of a young girl finding herself, finding what it is she can do, without being told she can not. Despite her keeping house for her father in the Summer, it did not seem sexist or forced in anyway, as she also climbs on roofs, and has other adventures that are not tied to her gender.
This is a very accessible book for middle-school readers, written without a lot of long speeches that we had in Anne of Green Gables. Also, although there is foreshadowing, it is well done.
The story follows Jane Victoria who lives with her Maternal grandmother as well as her mother in Toronto where, for most of her 10 years of life, she has not know that her father is not only alive, but never divorced her mother as well. When he sends for her to come to P.E. Island to summer with him, she does so, and then learns the truth of her existence.
It is another story, which L.M. Montgomery excels in, of a young girl finding herself, finding what it is she can do, without being told she can not. Despite her keeping house for her father in the Summer, it did not seem sexist or forced in anyway, as she also climbs on roofs, and has other adventures that are not tied to her gender.
This is a very accessible book for middle-school readers, written without a lot of long speeches that we had in Anne of Green Gables. Also, although there is foreshadowing, it is well done.