I could not get into this book after trying a few times. I originally requested it because of the connection of Anne of Green Gables but that wasn't enough to finish reading it.

Set in 1960s Canada, Home Free is the story of 11-year-old Leanna "Lee" Mets, an enthusiastic fan of Anne of Green Gables. An aspiring writer, she's encouraged by her teacher to write her own story. Lee is thrilled when she hears that a real-live orphan is coming to live next door. Cassandra Jovanovich has red hair just like Anne—but she's not willing to be the romantic heroine of Lee's orphan fantasies. Sensitive and snappy, she has no time for Lee's dreams of being an orphan. Nor does Lee's mother, whose signature comments on everything Lee does and says is "Sniff." Soon Lee comes to understand that Cassandra's life is not the glamorous story she envisioned, and nor is orphanhood a life to aspire to.

Unfortunately, the entire book is made up of Lee's childish prose, rather than interspersing excerpts of her diary within a more mature narration. This makes it an occasionally tiresome read, with Lee explaining which vocabulary words she's learned at school, quoting her teacher Miss Gowdy, and rambling a little too much.