Further Chronicles of Avonlea (Chronicles of Avonlea #2)

Synopsis

Nestled between the ocean and the hills of Prince Edward island is a road. This road leads to the house-- Green Gables-- where a girl named Anne grew up, and to the wonderful place called Avonlea.

In this second volume of heartwarming tales by L.M. Montgomery, a Persian cat plays an astonishing part in a marriage proposal; a ghostly appearance in a garden leaves a woman to the fulfillment of her youthful dreams; a young girl risks losing her mother to find the father she never knew; and a foolish lie threatens to make an unattached woman a laughingstock when an imaginary lover actually comes to town. Filled with warmth, humor, and mystery, these unforgettable stories re-create the enchanting world of Avonlea.

Loved

• These stories were a little more hit-and-miss for me than those of Chronicles of Avonlea, but there were some really fun and moving stories that I just loved.

• "The Materialization of Cecil." Oh my goodness this was definitely the funniest story in this collection and I about died listening to it! I won't give everything away, but basically an "old maid" (over 23 years old) is embarrassed about never having a beau, so she tells the quilting circle women about an imaginary man named Cecil and the dreamt-up romance they had years ago. Things get really interesting when a man with the same name as the imaginary Cecil comes to town. I just loved the humor and silliness of this story and I laughed the whole way through it!

• The relationships. Many of these stories were about reconciling lost familial relationships, many of which were really touching stories and relatable to real life. I loved the often times strange circumstances that brought characters together and ended up forcing them to bond and forgive each other.

• The lovable characters. L.M. Montgomery is gifted at making us care for and understand her characters so we can root for them and become inspired and excited when things work out for them- and she can do this in one-chapter stories. By the end of each story I felt so attached to these characters that I felt like I had read a whole novel about each one, even though it had just been 20-ish pages. I loved getting just enough detail about the characters' backgrounds and just enough insight into their thoughts that we could get to know them thoroughly in such a short amount of time.

• The writing. I'm biased since L.M. Montgomery is my fave, but I am just amazed by her writing every time I read/listen to her books. Listening to this story was my tenth Anne book in a row, and I still can't get enough of her writing. I love everything about it, but my favorite aspect is the quirky, lovable, and relatable characters, like I just talked about. The other aspect I love so much is her stunning imagery. She can describe a regular summer afternoon and not only can I picture it perfectly, but I can smell the blossoms, feel the sun warming my face, and picture the beauty around me as if I was 100% there. Her imagery and descriptions are just flawless and are really what create much of the magic of these books.

• "The Brother Who Failed." I listened to this story on my way home from work and wasn't expecting anything spectacular from it. I ended up in tears and was so moved by this story! I can't do it justice in describing it, but it was a beautiful tribute to the selfless, humble, and unassuming people who go unnoticed and don't care for praise or recognition. It was a very meaningful story and I think everyone should read it because of its message and advocacy for selfless family/sibling bonds.

• I also loved that Anne and Diana were in one of these stories! That made me so happy :)

Didn't Love

• As I said above, these stories were a little more hit-or-miss for me and I didn't love all of them like I did in the first book. There were a few that were just heartbreaking (which I thought I could trust L.M. Montgomery to always give happy endings ;), a few that were much more serious than the others, and one whose romance was so strange that I was bothered by it (you'll know which one I mean if you've read it). But most of the stories I enjoyed and would recommend.

• The other problem I found myself having with this second book is that some of the stories started to become redundant from events and similar people in the original Anne series and from the stories in the first Chronicles of Avonlea. L.M. Montgomery is predictable as it is (which I'm totally fine with and actually appreciate :), but these stories didn't feel as original because we had heard variations of some of them before.

Content

• Language: 
• No language.

• Sexual content: 
• A few sweet kisses.

• Violence:
• A few stories mention a lot of death- both of sons, adult and infant. But no violence.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed these stories, but mostly because I love L.M. Montgomery's writing so much and I would read anything she has written. I loved many of the stories and I found the majority of them to have deeper and more meaningful themes than those of the first Chronicles, which were mostly various romantic stories. These stories were more about reconciling with family members, and learning to be selfless in different situations. There were a few stories that left me in tears, a couple that left me swooning, and many that left me smiling and completely lost in the magic of the Avonlea world. If you love this author and want more of the Anne world, I definitely recommend these!