Emily of New Moon

I had been wanting to read Emily of New Moon for awhile, although I wasn’t sure if I would like Emily as much as Anne. Imagine my surprise when I liked her maybe a little bit more? Don’t come for me Anne fans! Lol. I still love Anne!

However, I loved Emily of New Moon. She is feisty and temperamental, resilient and independent. I loved reading her story. There were flashes of Anne, with her whimsy and love of words and writing and poetry, but Emily is her own character. In the foreword written by Kate MacDonald Butler, Montgomery’s granddaughter, she states that Emily was her grandmother’s favorite creation, and that her grandmother has been quoted as saying “People were never right in saying I was Anne, but in some respects, show more they will be right if they write me down as Emily.”

I only had two criticisms – and a TW – there are a lot of references to cat deaths and also a character that had some off-putting vibes.

Otherwise I was completely sucked into this story that Montgomery has said reflected a lot of her own inner life in childhood.

“Emily had inherited certain things from her fine old ancestors – the power to fight – to suffer – to pity – to love very deeply – to rejoice- to endure.” show less

Emily of New Moon was an enthusiastic 5 out of 5 star read for me, and a new all time favorite book! This story is a delightful journey into the heart and mind of a spirited young girl. Montgomery's writing beautifully captures the essence of Emily's inner and outer world, full to the brim with vivid, enchanting descriptions of rural Prince Edward Island.

I'm fairly certain that I started to read Emily of New Moon when I was around 10 or 11, and DNFed it because her father dying in the beginning was too emotionally devastating. Reading it this time as an adult, I can confidently say, it does not stay soul crushingly sad! Keep going! It's so worth it.

When thinking of Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon in comparison to each other, show more I would definitely say that the introverts among us will be more likely to connect to Emily, in contrast with extraverted Anne. For me, a fellow introvert, she was highly relatable.

The way Emily loves writing and uses it to process her experiences and emotions resonated deeply with me. Throughout the book, she writes letters to her father, which function more like diary entries. Reading these letters had me legitimately wondering if L.M. Montgomery was secretly a time traveler who journeyed to the future for the sole purpose of reading MY diary to obtain writing material. Because wow, did they EVER closely resemble my own diary entries from when I was 12! I've never felt so seen before.

Montgomery’s secondary characters are richly drawn, each adding depth to Emily's experiences and shaping her journey. Ilse, Teddy and Perry are fantastic as Emily's cast of friends. All of their characters are so uniquely fashioned and fully fleshed out that they could have easily helmed their own stand alone novels. The best secondary character hands down, though, was Father Cassidy. I LOVED him. I can't believe he's only in this one book! Lucy Maud, how could you?!?

As is the case in all of Montgomery's books, the subversive humor and poignancy combo reigns supreme! No one does it better than her. show less

This was a re-read. I don't recall how many times I've read the Emily books, but it is certainly fewer times than the Anne books. And my memory is that I always felt vaguely resentful of Emily for not being Anne, and toward her world for being a somewhat more bitter, realistic one. But this time around I was able to appreciate the book-- and Emily-- for what they are. And in truth, they fed something in my reader-soul that the Anne books don't. I still love Anne, but this re-read made me love Emily too, and not because of the ways she is similar to Anne, but because of the ways she is different. I am eager to continue my re-read of the second and third books now!

(3.5 / 5)

When Emily's only remaining parent, the father she is very close to, dies, she is taken in by 2 aunts on her mother's side. Aunt Elizabeth doesn't really want her and only takes her because the lot fell to her. Aunt Laura is at least kind to Emily, but overall, her mother's side of the family are proud, snobby people who strongly disliked Emily's father and disdain their niece. Emily's new classmates also treat her badly because of her proud family. Emily learns to cope with her difficulties by writing to her late father, pouring out her sadness and frustrations.

After reading the Anne of Green Gables books by the same author, this book is considerably darker, sadder, even somewhat depressing. For all the times I was surprised show more to see how terribly some of the people of this time period acted, especially older women, in the Anne books, a few of the characters in this book made my jaw drop. There is some charm to the story, and Emily herself is quite deep and introspective. She also can be brash and quick-tempered. I liked the way she was able to get past certain injustices or clashes with other people by simply writing about them. Though she bordered on mean when she described people in her writing at times.

There are some bright spots in her life--friends she made, for instance. I think Perry was my favorite, because though he is uncouth, he is also super kind and protective of Emily, who, frankly, could use a protector. He may have taken it a step too far now and then, but that seems to describe a lot of the characters in this book. One thing I really liked was that Emily was so terribly upset over what she was told Ilse's mother had done, considering that that kind of thing seems so commonplace now. I'd love to go back to a time when it's seen as a terrible, even unlikely thing. The outcome to that story arc, though, was...bizarre, is all I can really say.

I kind of get the feeling that I might like this series more as it goes, which would be completely the opposite of the Anne series, where I started to like each book less after the first one. However, I'm not completely sure if I'll continue the series.

Extra note for the audiobook version I listened to: Overall she made the main voices distinct enough from each other, but there were times when she read the letters Emily wrote to her father where she would simply neglect to put any real emotion or inflection into parts. It could have been better. show less

Emily Starr is in many ways similar to Anne Shirley and you can tell Montgomery shaped them from the same mold. Their youthful spirits are as tough as brick walls and they never undermine their own precocities for the sake of their peers; they demand respect, yet this does not make them any less generous and faithful to their friends. However, I think Emily is perhaps the more sophisticated of the two and is faced with more interpersonal challenges. Unlike Anne who has her fair share of trusted allies, Emily struggles to maintain a sense of harmony with the ever-changeable people around her. But nevertheless, she is the kind of intrepid girl who takes no prisoners, and she never fails to show who’s boss to those who are jealous of her show more unparagoned talents and try to take advantage of her. Anne Shirley is perhaps the more loved and long-lasting of the two, but in my opinion I find Emily more potent and personal. show less

It seems almost inevitable that anyone seeking to review L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon will find themselves comparing it to the author's most famous literary creation, Anne of Green Gables. Both books tell the story of a young orphan-girl who is sent to stay with elderly people on a Prince Edward Island farm, both feature a highly imaginative heroine who is appreciative of beauty and sensitive to ridicule, and both detail how that heroine wins a true home and family for herself.

But although Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables follow a similar narrative trajectory, and although comparisons are only natural, there are significant differences between the two novels, and it is perhaps not entirely accurate to treat Emily and show more Anne as if they were simply two examples of the same character-type. Not only are they emotionally quite different - Emily an introvert and Anne an extrovert - they seem to be on widely divergent spiritual journeys.

While Anne travels from the interior to the exterior - replacing imaginary friends with real ones, and learning not to overindulge her imagination - Emily is better able to balance the demands of the interior and exterior, making real-life friends without sacrificing as much of her dream-world. She is after all, a poet and a writer, a vocation that is affirmed at the close of the novel.

I have seen this book described as "dark," or "serious," and many have noted that Emily is the most autobiographical of Montgomery's characters. I confess that Anne is my favorite - probably because I encountered her first - but there are unquestionably some areas in which Emily's narrative is the superior one. I found the supporting cast, particularly Emily's friend Ilse Burnley, far more engaging than their counterparts in Anne of Green Gables. The writing may be a little uneven, with a few vaguely purple passages, but there were also moments of intense emotional impact. I cannot read When the Curtain Lifted without feeling shivers down my back.

There is a bone-deep integrity to Emily that is very moving. I appreciate the fact that she seems better able to look past some of the religious identity-issues that are so dominant in Montgomery's world, from her friendly interaction with the marvelous Father Cassidy, to her sensitive and respectful attitude toward Ilse's atheism. All in all, she makes for an engaging heroine, more than equal to the famous Anne (my nostalgic loyalty notwithstanding). show less

I heard someone say once that the Anne books are perfect spring/summer reads, while the Emily books are fall books. The seasons have nothing to do with the stories, but this book does have a more "fall" feel to it than the Anne books do. The writing is a little more mature and the themes are a tad darker (but don't worry—this book, at least, is still easily recognizable as trademark L.M. Montgomery storytelling), making it feel—richer, maybe?—than some of the Anne books.

Emily is a great character, but I have a feeling I'll enjoy her more when she's a little older. Her constant writing of poetry is a little tiresome, and it is a bit creepy that every male she meets (who's not an uncle or father) wants to marry her some day. She's show more only 12, guys. show less