A prequel to Anne of Green Gables, Before Green Gables tells the story of Anne Shirley before she arrived at Green Gables. Born in Nova Scotia, Anne is orphaned as a baby, and then spends her young life moving from one foster home to another, escaping the reality of her life through her vivid imagination and her untameable spirit.
Trying to create a prequel to a classic Canadian novel like Anne of Green Gables and trying to re-imagine one of the best loved Characters in Canadian literature is no easy feat. Budge Wilson gives a nice try, but I just think it's too hard to re-create that character, due to the fondness we have for her. Even though Anne is a very imaginative upbeat and intelligent little girl in the original story, I found in this novel that Wilson made her a little too eager and a little too intelligent for her age. The story wasn't that creatively written. The way Wilson makes a lot of everyday events a large portion of the book kind of drags the story out and makes it too padded down, like when Anne is walking to school or going to get eggs from the local "Egg Man".
I guess I'm just a purest; I like to think of Anne as I have known her my whole life. However I did like the way the end of the book ties nicely with the beginning of the original story. I suggest to read the original saga of Anne and imagine for yourself what Anne's life was like before.

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Characters **
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I didn't think a prequel was necessary but LM Montgomery herself could not have done a better job if she had thought of it. I was pleasantly surprised and insipired to reread my entire Anne series again!

Well written to captivate the style of L. M Montgomery. A cute story. Obviously an easy read as it was written for kids.

This book was better than I expected. The character developement of Anne as a small child was amazing. I couldn't put the book down it was one of my most favorite reads and I loved it from beginning to end. If you are a fan of Anne of green gables this is a must read.

As much as I love the original Anne books, this one unfortunately didn't measure up. The feel wasn't the same as the L.M. Montgomery's original works. At times I could see Budge Wilson trying to write in Montgomery's style, but it just didn't work for me. I honestly thought I would tear through the book in a weekend after reading the other online reviews. But it ended up being a book that I could put down and not necessarily pick up again. I'm not familiar with Wilson's other works, but this book just never came to life for me. You might want to consider borrowing this book from the library before you decide to add it to your permanent collection.

A great read. Heartwarming and addictive. Makes you want to re-read all the Green Gables stories. Very enjoyable.

I read this book this weekend & I was a little apprehensive because how do you compare with the original Anne of Green Gables. I was very pleased with the writing & the story of Anne's young childhood - so much so that I'm now re-reading Anne of Green Gables. Before Green Gables flows very well into the Anne books.

It was with much anticipation that I waited for the release of this book and I must say I was not disappointed. The author beautifully portrays the young Anne Shirley prior to her coming to Green Gables. What a beautiful piece of literary work. I would love to see a movie based on the book. Mrs. Montgomery would be proud of Budge Wilson's portrayal of the young Anne.

When I first heard about this book, I had my doubts that it could meet my expectations. I received my original "Anne of Green Gables" book for Xmas in 1965, and have been a big Anne (with an "e") fan ever since. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It has it all -- humour, richness, tragedy, optimism, life lessons, sadness, love, triumph over adversity, etc. That being said, you will need a box of tissues beside you -- it's emotionally draining at times. Often, I had a lump in my throat (and that's unusual for me). Budge Wilson has done an excellent job in capturing the spirit of the original book, without pretending that she's L.M. Montgomery. When I finished, I dusted off my 1965 book for a re-read as I just didn't want the story to end. I predict that many "baby-boomers" will be checking this out. It will be a "keeper" book for most people. Bet it will hit the big screen too. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did...