I love retellings! It's always so fun to see what elements they take from the original and how they weave them throughout. This one was a fun and fast read. It can either be a great way to introduce Anne or it could give the original fun feels and be like a return to home.

I loved this queer retelling of Anne of Green Gables! Anne of Green Gables was one of my favorite books growing up and as a queer adult this satisfied me in the few ways the original didn't.

I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it weren't related to Anne of Green Gables. I kept looking for the familiar characters in this one, but they seemed largely unrelated aside from names.

This retelling of Anne of Green Gables features a modern look at a girl who is not afraid to stand out. When Anne's family moves to the small town of Greenville, her bold choices and big ideas land her in a bit of a mess. From day one she becomes a target for the group of "forevers" that see her and her moms as a bit too different for Greenville. Her only escape is her love of disco, rollerblading, and her new friend Berry. As attack after attack come at her from the forevers, Anne feels like she can be less and less herself. After meeting a forever who is a bit more like herself, she makes the decision to not let a little town change her. Filled with ups and downs, Anne of Greenville reminds everyone that maybe small towns are big enough for new personalities.

This book does deal heavily with both homophobia and racism, so trigger warnings where needed.

Fresh take on Anne of Green Gables for a new generation! I will read anything Mariko Tamaki puts out!

Anne of Greenville by Mariko Tamaki is a modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables. Many favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters from the original have been adapted and included in the story. Anne retains the same quirky, well-intentioned nature as the classic character, but is a queer Japanese-American girl who loves all things vintage and disco. I couldn't help but love her from the very beginning of the story as she thoroughly and unapologetically embraced who she was while also trying to find her place in the town of Greenville.

As with Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Greenville has some trouble fitting into her new community and new school. In this modern adaptation however, Anne regularly deals with racism and homophobia from various members of the community. Fortunately, Anne has a constant friend in Berry as well as an immense amount of support from her moms. As Anne tries to navigate school, she's also trying to figure out her relationship with her crush, Gilly...are they enemies, friends, or maybe more than friends? Anne with figure all that out (and more) as she adjusts to her new life.

I'm a big fan of Anne of Green Gables, so I was equally excited and nervous about this modern reimagining, however I found that my favorite parts of the story were present (such as Anne's quirky nature and her relationships with others). I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Alice Wen, and was captivated by the narration from the very beginning. I feel like Tamaki and Wen did an excellent job of capturing Anne's nature and giving her a voice. The book did an excellent job of dealing with classic issues that many students still face in the modern world.

I would highly recommend this book to a high school/young adult audience due to strong language throughout the book. In this adaptation, Anne is a high school student for the duration of the story, so I believe that's the author's intended audience.

This really wasn’t for me. I wanted it to be. It wasn’t bad. And it seemingly ticked a lot of boxes for me but it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

I love this modern retelling of Anne of Green Gables. Most of the main points are included: Spunky Anne and her shenanigans, adopted parents, a support best friend and the rival, I love all the allusions to the original characters subtly crafted in their names, but I love the modern relationships and teenage scenarios.

This story opens with Anne roller skating into her new small town and throwing a disco themed performance in the middle of the main square. No one is impressed by her antics and her homemade disco balls wind up a little soggy. The only silver lining is that she makes one friend: Berry.

As Anne tries to navigate an increasing homophobic and racist school, she relies more and more on her friendship with Berry, her roller skates and love of disco to cope. But can Anne survive the hatred, personal attacks and bullying without fighting back? And when she does stand her ground, will anyone be on her side?

I love the social commentary woven into this novel. And it's rare when a book motivates me to want to do something new or try something out, but this book made me splurge on roller skates - so now I need to revisit my childhood of skating days!

I really liked this! I never read Anne of Green Gables, so I don’t have an idea of how close it is, but I thought this was great for tackling homophobia and racism. And I loved that she loved disco!

Anne of Green Gables holds a special place in my heart, but this adaptation does not. I'm not sure why the author decided to make an adaptation of a classic children's story instead of just writing an original one. The ties back to Anne are mostly superficial, and I think I would have liked this story more if I weren't constantly comparing it to the source material. I was also confused by the age of the characters. Obviously, they were in high school, but maybe because of the original story or the whiny, high-pitched voice of the narrator, they came across as much younger. The narration did nothing to help the story, and the voice acting might have made me like it less because the narrator sounded much younger than high school age, and made Anne seem very annoying, and not at all endearing.

I received a copy of this audiobook though NetGalley for an honest review..

I loved Anne of Green Gables when I was growing up so I was looking forward to this modern retelling of the story. It has the same vibes but deals with having two moms and being part Japanese American. Also Anne is gay. Luckily Berry is a girl in this version! If they continue this series I will definitely read it!

Anne is a queer, Japanese-American teen girl who was adopted by two lesbian mothers. She's got her own quirky disco loving style that is totally her and is trying to figure out who to be true to herself and still fit in at her school. Although this book is full of nods to the original, you don't have to have read any of the Anne of Green Gables series to enjoy this story. Anne is a biracial girl at a new town seemingly set on snuffing out her light. Beautiful story!

I like the idea of LGBTQ+ & BIPOC representation in the Green Gables world. I really wanted to love this. It just... annoyed me.

This is billed as a retelling of Anne of Green Gables, set in modern small-town America. It isn't a retelling. The narrative arc is entirely different, and key characters have been either eliminated or changed to an unrecognizable degree. There's no Marilla, no Matthew, no Mrs. Allen. Instead of being a traumatized orphan whose imagination, compassion and resilience carry the day, Anne is a cocky free-spirit who's lived a stable, if peripatetic life. I love the idea of a gender-swapped Gilbert Blythe, but Gilly is not Gilbert, and Berry is not Diana Berry. Gilbert is mischievous, gregarious and brainy. Diana is warm, outgoing, popular and a little unimaginative. Gilly is a shy, spineless who shows up mostly as the mean girl's side-kick. Berry is an artsy, mildly sardonic, loner. This Rachel Lynde never really redeems herself. The original characters of the mothers seemed promising at first, but they're never really fleshed out. Despite Anne's assurances that her moms are "really cool," they behave like the typical useless, out-of-touch YA fiction parents. Greenville's homophobic bullying both uglier and more persistent than the teasing in the Avonlea schoolhouse, and it sucks a lot of fun out of the narrative.

The town of Avonlea is almost a character in L.M. Montgomery's books. Avonlea is somewhat provincial and prejudiced, but also warm, inviting, and rich in the myriad of ways the community supports each other. Not everyone is a kindred spirit, but Anne's neighbors look out for one another. Greenville is a racist, homophobic backwater that has a few cool people. Admittedly, these few appealing characters are shunned as weirdoes by the rest of Greenville. But their existence is enough to redeem the town?

L.M. Montgomery's books hinged on character development and coming-of-age, with little hint of romance until book 2. I could accept this as a totally different book on its own merits, but... it just doesn't satisfy me in original plot or characterization, either. This follows a rather tired YA romance arc, and Anne does not seem to have appreciably grown at the book's end.

This was a delightfully fun read. Anne was a very fun, creative and engaging character just as in the original. I appreciated that it didn’t read exactly like ‘Anne of Green Gables’ but more as if it was inspired by it as it had its own unique fun quirky mistakes and incidents.
I love the queer representation in Anne, Gilly and Anne’s adopted parents.
I think the author did an excellent job making an honest representation of how homophobia can exist in small towns with privilege. I loved the creative ways Anne, her friends, and her parents pushed back against this part of the town’s culture creating a hopefully message out of some very terrible and sad incidents in the book.
I can’t wait to see more from Melissa de la Cruz Studio! I would recommend this book to middle grade readers growing into YA that loved “Anne of West Philly” by Ivy Noelle Weir, “Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy” by Rey Terciero, and “Jo” by Kathleen Gros.

Listen, if you give me any version of Anne I am likely to eat it up, but then this landed in my lap. Like many other reviews, I was so excited for an LGBTQ+ retelling but the problem is that this wasn't Anne... none of the charaters were true to who they were supposed to be. At the bare minimum Anne should act like Anne and Gil should act like Gil even in girl version. Not to mention I was kinda hoping an LGBTQ+ retelling would mean that Anne ended up with Diana.... I mean its right there the whole time in the original story.

This was a really fun queer YA retelling of Anne of Green Gables. I enjoyed how diverse the cast of characters were in this story. Anne is a queer, Japanese-American teen girl who was adopted by two lesbian mothers. She's got her own quirky disco loving style that is totally her and is trying to figure out who to be true to herself and still fit in at her school. Great on audio too narrated by Alice Wen. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute book that used adjacent character names to many Anne of Green Gable characters and the main was even named Anne Shirley, but other than that there was little in common with the L.M. Montgomery series.

Anne and her mothers move to a small, conservative town where Anne, who has been supported and validated in her otherness, finds the local commitment to the status quo stifling. This story is about her and her mothers learning how to navigate the cultural hegemony of the community and still remain authentic.

“In this modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, Anne is an ABBA-loving singer/actor/writer of disco-operas, queer, Japanese-American who longs to be understood for her artistic genius. Recently relocated to middle-of-nowhere Greenville and starting at a new school, Anne has a tendency to A) fall in love quickly, deeply, and effervescently and B) fly off the handle in the face of jerks. Both personality quirks quickly come into play when the soccer team boos the premiere of her disco performance, which—in a roundabout way—introduces her to her new BFF, Berry, and she soon after meets the girl of her dreams, Gilly.”

Anyone reading this to be closer to their Beloved Anne is likely going to be disappointed. There’s only the barest whiff of Lucy Maud’s original Anne Girl. A few names (Berry, Gilly, Lynde) and places are the same, but, that’s about it.

I wonder if it would have a higher rating on Good Reads if that connection hadn’t been made.

If you can get past that, though, this book is a heartbreaking delight.

It kills me to watch Anne (anyone new to town, really) be bullied in such violently homophobic, sexist, racist ways. But I loved seeing her navigate that, all the while keeping her heart – and her style – intact.

It’s definitely written for a younger audience. I felt a tiny stab of pain every time something ‘old’ was spelled out.

Lucille Ball needed to be explained and the narrator mispronounced The Bee Gees.

The cuts. They sting.

If you like Eleanor & Park, Looking for Alaska, or Perks of Being a Wallflower, this one might be for you.

7.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Audio for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Admittedly it has been a few years (decades) since I've read Anne of Green Gables. Despite that, this was very relatable - the names of the characters, the small town charm, the story. I love love love the modern twist and updated characters. It was such a great listen that I found myself hoping there will be another one to show what happens next in Anne's story!

CW: racism, homophobia, bullying

This was a fun book, a queer, disco-loving reimagining of Anne of Green Gables.

I really enjoy Tamaki's writing and I've read just about everything she's ever written (not including the comics), and her writing really shone in this book.

In this version, Anne is a disco-loving teen with hair coloured bright orange. She is also part Chinese, adopted by her aunt and her aunt's wife. They move to a new town, Greenville, for her mom's new job as the high school vice principal and Anne goes in to things as her brightly coloured, vintage loving self, to not great results.

Having read the original Anne of Green Gables several times, it is a lovely, fairly feel good story. This wasn't quite that. There was quite a bit of bullying happening to Anne by the local clique, homophobia, racism. It was a lot. But Anne had her good friend Berry to help support her through all of it.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I didn't find the ending overly believable. I won't say more because of spoilers.