Maud

February 13, 2017
In a delightful debut novel, Fishbane presents a fictional portrait of the teenage years of Anne of Green Gables author L.M. Montgomery. The story opens in 1889, with 14-year-old Maud living with her maternal grandparents in Prince Edward Island. They are distant, but Maud finds comfort in her writing, friends, and new teacher, Miss Gordon, who encourages her writing. Maud and her friend Nate grow close, but her grandparents don’t approve of him, and she’s sent to live with her father and his new family in Saskatchewan. Maud makes new friends and even finds love in her new surroundings, but she always strives for more. Fishbane lovingly captures the small-town charm of Maud’s Prince Edward Island home and the rugged frontier of Saskatchewan while etching an affecting portrait of a young woman determined to follow her heart and be something more, at a time when options for women were few. Fans of Montgomery’s novels will recognize much of Maud’s life in that of Anne, but even readers not familiar with those books will be easily drawn into her world. Ages 12–up.

March 1, 2017
Historical fiction based on a few teenage years in the life of Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Fourteen-year-old Maud Montgomery lives in a small town on Prince Edward Island with her dour maternal grandparents. It's the late 1880s; with the exception of a very few Metis, everybody is white, and most are Presbyterian. Maud's mother died when she was a toddler, and her now-remarried father lives in Saskatchewan. Maud chafes under her grandparents' restrictions and sneaks walks home with schoolmate Nate; she worries about her relationships with friends and her teacher; she writes in her journal and composes poetry. When her grandparents discover her tepid relationship with Nate, they send her west to her father for a year. Maud doesn't get along with her stepmother; she doesn't know what to make of a teacher who seems to be courting her; and she makes friends with another boy while also publishing her first pieces of writing. Fishbane thoroughly researched Montgomery's life to create this lengthy debut, but she doesn't turn it into a novel: there's a great deal of retelling in the passive voice. While Anne of Green Gables remains a classic, Montgomery isn't widely known among today's U.S. schoolchildren, and it's doubtful they'll be willing to wade through these pages to get glimpses of the girl Maud might have been. Disappointing; steer interested readers toward Mary Henley Rubio's biography, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings (2010), instead. (cast of characters, historical note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 12-adult)

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April 1, 2017
Gr 7 Up-This book, based on the early teen years of Lucy Maud Montgomery, opens in 1889, when the -Anne of Green Gables- author is 14. Motherless and with an absent father, Maud lives with her strict maternal grandparents in picturesque Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Though life at home is full of obligations and duties, Maud finds distraction and excitement with her tight-knit circle of friends. She excels in school and aspires to be a published writer, though her options are severely limited because of her gender. As her grandparents remind her, Maud's goal should be to obtain a suitable husband. The story follows Maud as she reluctantly leaves the island for the newly developing territory of Saskatchewan to live with her father and his new family and then returns to her beloved Cavendish when things sour. The novel ends in 1892, but an addendum provides a summary of Maud's later years. Fishbane's admiration for Montgomery is apparent throughout, and her writing is reminiscent of the author's. The third-person narrative is filled with vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of the island and the untamed yet scenic Saskatchewan. Secondary characters are fully drawn and their interactions detailed and rich. Fishbane effectively evokes Maud's loneliness at having no true place to call home, despite her rather large extended family. Notwithstanding a cluttered start-too many characters are introduced at once, and a -cast of characters- at the outset is daunting-the tale quickly finds its footing as a compelling and informative tale of a beloved author. VERDICT An engaging addition that will appeal to more than just fans of L.M. Montgomery.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY

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