I somehow stumbled upon this book on audio and I feel like that was “positively providential” as Rachel Lynde would say. It’s the story of Anne of Green Gables before she came to Green Gables. I started listening to it on the one blustery, somewhat wintry day we had here in Arizona, and oh my, it made me feel so happy! It answers all of the questions an Anne Fan has, such as:

• how did Anne’s parents die?
• where did Anne get her active imagination?
• how did Anne come up with her pretend friend Katie Maurice?
• how did Anne become such a hard worker

it has so many great themes, including the following:

• addiction
• redemption
• friendship
• love in marriage
• broken marriage
• men’s and women’s roles/husband and wife roles
• nature’s beauty
• fake neighborliness and real neighborliness
• education
• sorrow

and much more! I haven’t finished yet, so no spoilers please! I have a feeling that it is going to turn out perfect, just like Lucy Maud’s books always did. If you love the Anne books, you will love this one. I listened to it yesterday and it smoothed over all the stress of my Valentine’s Day. (I ran out of time and felt rushed fixing our family’s Valentine’s Day dinner and ended up burning some of it. So sad.) It’s one of those stories that makes me you appreciate your own problems. The author, Budge Wilson, a Canadian, was authorized to write it by the heirs of L.M. Montgomery.

I encourage you to get it from your public library and read it today! If my county library system has it here in rural Arizona, I bet yours does too. I will be hosting an online discussion for this book in April, so watch for that!