Friday, June 28, 2013

Emily's Quest

Emily's Quest (Emily Novels) by L.M. Montgomery. $5.99. Publisher: Laurel Leaf (July 1, 1983). Author: L.M. Montgomery. Reading level: Ages 8 and up
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As you can read here, I really enjoyed Emily Climbs by Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of the enormously popular Anne of Green Gables. Unluckily, Emily’s Quest fell below the standard set by the previous novel.

Emily is as prideful as ever in the third and final installment in the Emily trilogy, and her sweetness and gaiety is far less evident here than in Emily Climbs. She does suffer some life-changing events, yes, but I hate her careless treatment of men’s hearts and her Blair Water-supposed “flirtations”. Being romanced by many a man, “falling in love” with at least one, getting engaged to one, jilting that one, . . . It's pitiful. And the conflict between herself and her childhood love, Frederick “Teddy” Kent, was a little cliché on the whole, ending too quickly for my taste. Altogether, I just disliked the general “feel” of this book, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

eight stars. Good! Extremely well-written and enjoyable to read. I’ll probably be rereading it someday. If it wasn’t for it being a classic, though, I might have given it seven stars.

8 comments:

  1. usually when I think of L.M. Montgomery, I think of Anne. I actually didn't know she wrote anything else... :/ But I actually just started reading Anne yesterday, so, yeah. It's extremely good! I'm kind of surprised. I think I'll be finishing it quickly. :)

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    1. Yeah, I usually think of Anne too :) I don't know when I discovered she wrote other novels . . . maybe it was three or four years ago. My aunt was trying to get through the Anne series at the time.

      I'm so glad you're reading Anne of Green Gables! It is really great. Have fun :)

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  2. I really did enjoy this book, but I actually don't care for Teddy. He's a little cardboard-like, and not half as interesting as Dean. Do you like the Anne or Emily series better? I go for Emily every time, though the Anne movies are my favorite.

    Rebecca

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    1. I don't like Teddy that much either! He's just not very interesting. Definitely *not* a Gilbert!

      Hmm, I think I like the Anne series better. I liked Emily of New Moon, really liked Emily Climbs, and was just kind of so-so about this one. I adored Anne of Green Gables and Rilla of Ingleside especially :)

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    2. I should re-read the Anne series! Oh, so little to read and so much time - strike that, reverse it. ;) I like Gilbert well enough, but he's never been an absolute favorite of mine. L. M. Montgomery is a great writer!

      Rebecca

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    3. I know, there are way too many books in the world. . . .

      I like Gilbert better early in the series--the first three and fifth books especially. After that he's not quite as good for some reason (probably because he got older ;)).

      I agree--L.M. Montgomery is extraordinary!

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  3. Hannah, I completely agree with you - the "feel" of this book is just off! I LOVE LOVE the first two Emily books but I seldom re-read the third one because it just kind of depresses me. Emily is like a different character altogether. L.M. Montgomery dealt with pretty severe depression and I think that shows up in her writing by the time of this book came along.

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    1. Ah, that would explain it. I think I knew she struggled with depression (well, I knew she committed suicide...), but I didn't think of that being the cause of the darkness of this book.

      I didn't think of it that way, either, but Emily *is* like a different character! sigh.

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