Thursday, April 28, 2022

"The Story Girl" by L.M. Montgomery (re-read)

My L.M. Montgomery Readathon group on Facebook is just completing our group reading & discussion (begun in January) of  "The Story Girl," one of Montgomery's early novels, published in 1911 (three years after "Anne of Green Gables").  The popular 1990s television series "Road to Avonlea" was based in part on this book.  

The plot -- such as there is -- revolves around the adventures of the King cousins of Carlisle, Prince Edward Island, and their friends. As the story opens, brothers Beverley & Felix King arrive from Toronto to stay with their extended family when their father is called to work in Rio de Janeiro. Among the people they meet: their 14-year-old cousin Sara Stanley, known as "The Story Girl" for her ability to captivate an audience with her stories (which we, as readers, also get to enjoy). 

As I mentioned in my original review, "The Story Girl" was written and set in a much different time, and there are a few terms/stereotypes/etc. that might give the modern reader pause and provoke/warrant discussions with younger audiences. Overall, though, for me, this was a warm and pleasant (re)read, and (as usual) our group discussions added so much to my understanding & appreciation of the book. 

My original rating of 4 stars remains unchanged. Our next selection has yet to be announced, but I hope that, eventually, we will cover the 1913 sequel to this book, "The Golden Road" (which I actually read as a pre-teen before "The Story Girl" -- there's a story behind that ;) and if/when we get to that book -- or I read it again on my own -- I will tell it to you here!).   

This was Book #22 read to date in 2022 (and Book #6 finished in April), bringing me to 49% of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books -- almost halfway there! I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2022 tagged as "2022 books."  

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