DNF REVIEW • I've been a huge fan of L.M. Montgomery since I first read Anne of Green Gables in elementary school, so I was excited by the prospect of a novel inspired by her life. Mary Henley Rubio's biography, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings, was one of my favorite reads of 2013 and made me even more curious about this talented, complicated woman. So, I went into this novel with prior knowledge of LMM's life but was interested in how it would be fictionalized. Unfortunately, I just never clicked with the writing. I believe it was meant to emulate LMM's own style, but it lacked her charm and humor for me. I struggled with the story – it didn't have the drive of a strong historical fiction novel nor the depth of an actual biography. Fishbane draws a lot of connections to Anne, but it's done in a way that feels awkward and forced. I appreciate the research that went into this novel; unfortunately, the execution didn't work for me.

If you are as big a fan of LM Mongomery, then this book is an absolute must-read! It is lovely, and is reminiscent of all her beloved novels. I really liked this one, and am buying it in paperback as well. Thank you netgalley for this lovely, lovely book.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, I was unable to get into it. I know that other readers will enjoy it, so I will not be posting a negative review or rating it on Goodreads. Thanks anyway!

This book was fine but didn’t really standout as hard to put down historical fiction- and I enjoy and of green gables so the author didn’t really capture me with this version of L.M. Montgomery’s life.

This offers an effective Anne of Green Gables narrative feel, which is appropriate, given it's inspired by L..M. Montgomery! Really lovely, and any huge fan of Anne Shirley will love this!

I don't know what else to say but that I loved this book so much! I bought this as a gift to my daughter once it was released and she loved it as well.

A fairly accurate depiction of Lucy Maud Montgomery early life, a few details were fictionalized for sensationalism, I get it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was cute, feminist telling of a strong female character that definitely (hopefully) spark something in young girls to remain fearless, especially in the current political climate.

Unfortunately this book was not what I wanted it to be. I had trouble getting into it from the beginning. While the premise sounded wonderful I just couldn’t really get into the story,

A well-researched portrayal of the life of young Lucy Maude Montgomery. The writing style reminded me of Anne books. I liked the inclusion of Maude's childhood letters and journal entries. Her life was sadder than Anne and the romance was bittersweet. There are a lot of characters to remember and the plot is slow paced. The ending was a little rushed. Overall, fans of Anne and L.M. Montgomery will enjoy this.

Maud is an engaging fictionalized account of the early life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the creator of the Anne of Green Gables books beloved the world over. While a work of historical fiction, the book encompasses many known facts and events of Montgomery's life. I was very surprised to see how very similar, in many ways, her growing up years were to those of her character Anne. It was also very sad to see how, unlike Anne, she never really seemed to have support or love from much of her family. I was very intrigued to say the least, and will be looking at a full length biography of her in the future.

I was struck by how hard Montgomery worked to be able to write her stories. In a time when women were expected only to marry and have children, and anything else was considered strange or even evil, she chose education over even her current happiness or in some cases relationships with her family. She seems to have been a feminist before the term was coined. Though she did of course later marry and have children, it was only after she was an established and successful author.

The author takes time to shed light on the condition of women's rights at this time in Canadian history, as well as the plight of some of the native people such as the Metis. There is also particular emphasis on the conflict between different denominations within the Christian church.

The author has included a brief historical biography in the back of the book, along with specifics about what happened to certain characters. This really helped to tie up the story, especially since this particular book ended before Montgomery was even eighteen.

4.5/5 stars. Highly recommend for anyone who has enjoyed the Anne of Green Gables story!

Historical fiction on the teenage years of Lucy Maud Montgomery. It includes friends she had and certain life events we know took place. The rest is made up, but within the realm of possibility. Anyone familiar with any of LMM's books will find similarities to some of her own fictional works, though nothing like Fishbane just took her stories and interspersed them into her life.

To be honest, Maud's life was pretty awful, or at least not very pleasant, all things considered. Her stepmother, who thankfully Maud didn't have to live with very long, was a horrid witch and her father was about as caring and useful as a barnacle.

Maud didn't appear to much want love/romance/marriage, or at least not MORE than she wanted college and a writing career, but any romantic hopes or aspirations potentially died along with a very good friend.

From the author's note at the end, it was hard to say whether her life was happy. Honestly the book is more melancholy than anything else, in my opinion. I kept wishing something terribly good and happy would happen, which I suppose her attending college is that in Maud's mind, so I guess I'll have to be content with that.

I didn't mind the read, and it desperately made me want to watch Road To Avonlea so there is that, but overall, I just feel a bit underwhelmed. Maybe what I really wanted from this was just a Montgomery book?

I am a huge fan of Anne of Green Gables! I loved reading this book about the author! The story of Anne now almost sounds autobiographical. Wonderful edition to a collection of Anne books. Wonderful story! It's well-researched and well-written.

I really enjoyed this book. Set in Canada, the author discription of Prince Edward and Prince Albert island made you feel like you were there. A beautiful read.

A must-read for LM Montgomery fans. Well done, Melanie!

I so wanted to love this title, based on the early life of one of my favorite authors. But me and this book just didn't quite see eye to eye.

There's just too much mushy stuff for my taste. It seems that the entire plot moves along based on who Maud is “in love” with. She's a young teenager, for goodness' sake (who isn't even allowed to wear her hair up, you know), and I just wanted to learn more about her development as a writer than I cared for who she was crushing on.

Some notes on various characters...

Her parents (or her mother in particular) is hinted at having a shameful past, all throughout the story.

Maud's relationship with her stepmother, on the other hand, is clearly depicted as strained. There's always tension between the two characters. I, right along with Maud, intensely disliked the woman.

Oh! And Mr. Mustard! Did such a man really exist in Maud's real life? I can hardly imagine that her parents allowed this detestable man to visit her for so long and not put a stop to it.

“To Maud, books were essential; without them she would have crumbled into despair.”

There is some character development though, and I saw some changes in Maud closer to the end of the novel, like she was going somewhere new. She does sometimes have a bit of a naughty or rebellious streak showing – but maybe that's the Anne in her.

I wouldn't recommend lightly handing this novel over to young girls who have fallen in love with quirky Anne Shirley, without a parent's perusal. I'd consider it only mildly mature, but I (personally) would only recommend it to readers 16 or older.

“But creating a world of characters who spoke to her, sharing the stories she knew and loved, this was her calling. Most of the time, she didn't feel she had control over anything but her words.”

Creative concept. I teach in the region that the original Lucy Maud Montgomery lives in, so it is very relevant for me.

Somehow I missed the Anne of Green Gables books growing up. But I picked them up recently as a 30 something adult and was charmed by Anne. I gobbled up the series, and when that ended got to Maud. This would be just okay if you were not familiar with the Anne stories, but I think most people who enjoy this are going to be drawing on their fanaticism for Avonlea. Maud's circumstances were more depressing at times than Anne's and she seemed to lack a lot of the spunk or pluck that Anne had.

I am from PEI and this is really interesting concept for me and my own heritage. I liked a closer look at Maud and the creator of Anne of Green Gables

This topic is no longer of interest to me and I will not be finishing this book.

Unfortunately, I DNFed this book in the first 15%. It just didn't grab my attention.