{"id":33594,"date":"2017-09-12T21:32:57","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T01:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33594"},"modified":"2017-09-12T21:32:57","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T01:32:57","slug":"review-of-maud-by-melanie-j-fishbane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33594","title":{"rendered":"Review of Maud, by Melanie J. Fishbane"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Maud<\/em><\/p>\n

by Melanie J. Fishbane<\/p>\n

Penguin Random House, 2017. 400 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Maud<\/em> is a novel based on the teen years of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables<\/a><\/em> and Emily of New Moon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

I actually didn\u2019t expect to like this book too much. I\u2019ve read all of her journals, and they are wonderful \u2013 and I was skeptical that they could be written as a novel even close as good as the journals themselves. I have read a biography of L. M. Montgomery, written by Harry Bruce, and it was dissatisfying after reading the journals.<\/p>\n

But though I still think the journals are better and L. M. Montgomery\u2019s writing itself is unsurpassable, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Now, I knew what was going to happen, and the characters felt like old familiar friends. It\u2019s been awhile since I\u2019ve read that first journal, so I didn\u2019t necessarily remember every detail, either. It was like someone telling me a favorite story I\u2019d almost forgotten.<\/p>\n

And I did really enjoy this book. It\u2019s easier reading than the journals, told in a coherent story, with some themes throughout \u2013 Maud looking for a place where she belongs and determining to make her mark as a writer \u2013 and being willing to sacrifice the normal ambitions of her friends \u2013 finding a husband \u2013 in order to follow that dream of being a writer.<\/p>\n

It has been awhile since I read the journals, but I do believe that Melanie Fishbane stuck very close to the actual details of Maud\u2019s life. So readers can enjoy this book with the knowledge that it\u2019s true and really happened.<\/p>\n

And the novel did help me understand why Maud turned down her suitors, including boys she actually loved. Getting married young, in those days, really would have cut off her chance to go to college and to become a writer. I understood better the choices she made when they were presented in novelized form.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, this book presents a lovely and inspiring story of L. M. Montgomery\u2019s teen years and the rise of her ambitions to make her name as a writer \u2013 ambitions that she went on to fulfill. If you don\u2019t know her story, I highly recommend this book. And it turns out, even if you do know her story, you will thoroughly enjoy this retelling.<\/p>\n

@MelanieFishbane<\/a>
\npenguinrandomhouse.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/maud.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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