Emily of New Moon (Book 1 in The Emily Series) by L.M. Montgomery - Classic Coming-of-Age Novel for Teens & Young Adults | Perfect for Book Clubs, Homeschool Reading & Gift Giving

This review is based on a hardcover edition of this novel which I believe to be unabridged. I came to the book due to the recent Canadian Television Series, and though I've enjoyed that series very much, I find the book is altogether quite different from the series. It held my interest from the first page, and I was deeply moved by the entire achievement. Little Emily in this novel is a writer, a child with the heart and soul of a poet/prose writer who is immensely sensitive to the beauty around her on Prince Edward Island where she is growing up. Her closest friends, Teddy and Ilse, are also highly creative; and the soul of the novel has to do with the passion and courage of Emily in a world where vulnerable creative personalities meet with general bias as well as specific obstacles to their development every day. For me, the strongest and most arresting passages in the book have to do with nature as Emily sees it and moves through it.... trees, woodlands, coastal areas, gardens both natural and created, and the neverending panorama of changing skies. It is worth noting that Emily sees as much beauty in winter around her as she sees in spring or summer; and when she feels deeply, her joy is mingled with pain. Her soul opens when she is given opportunities to write down her thoughts; and the act of writing is therapeutic for her; and over the course of the novel she grows in insight and strength. ----- ------- There is much more to be said about this book. It is part of group of novels of the period that dealt with appealing orphans placed in homes where they had to win over the unsympathetic guardians who burdened with their care. And much can be said about the metaphor of the orphan, and why these books attained such popularity. ---- Another key aspect of the novel is that it takes the mind and soul of a child completely seriously, and does not shrink from strong condemnations of those who are rude and abusive to children. It is not written per se for children; but it is written by some one for whom the child is a full human being. ----------- I do want to explore those aspects of the book (and others) as I continue to read Lucy Maud Montgomery but the primary value of this novel for me is that Emily is a writer; and I think there is much here to comfort, encourage and inspire writers of all ages. The novel rings true. The novel is not just for children. The novel transcends time. I recommend this to anyone interested in the dilemma or the adventure of the creative child, the child who is a dreamer, the child who sees miracles in the physical world all around her, the child whose soul longs to write or paint or make art in any form. This is lovely novel, and it is a strong one and reading it was a rare pleasure. ------ One last note. When I finished it I thought at once of "Martin Eden" by Jack London. That is a book about an adult, and a much darker book. It is wholly different book, and it provides a deeply disturbing ending that many might find disappointing. But "Martin Eden" also about a writer, about the anguishing struggles of a sensitive soul who longs to be surrounded by beauty and to make beauty. ----- I recommend both books very much.