Many adult readers will be familiar with the classic story of Anne of Green Gables, about a spunky orphan, her foster parents, friend Diana, and friend/love interest Gilbert. It seems, too, that more than a few of us have reimagined Anne in our own image. Here, Anne is a girl of color moving not to Prince Edward Island, Canada, as in the original, but to West Philadelphia, where she develops a crush on classmate Diana.
The siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert have only ever fostered elementary school boys before. Marilla in particular is a little hesitant about fostering eighth-grader Anne, but is soon won over by her optimistic, chatty nature. Despite her upbeat demeanor, however, Anne is sensitive about not being wanted and is scared of being sent back to a group home. She struggles to control her anger and to follow the rules when her creative mind is leading her in other directions.
When Marilla introduces her to a neighbor’s daughter, Diana, the two girls soon become close friends, as in the original. Anne’s crush on Diana (which was not in the original, but that many readers seem to have read into it over the years) is strongly hinted at but not fully developed; she never tells Diana how she feels about her. As in the original, too, there’s also an annoying boy named Gilbert in their class. He and Anne butt heads at first, but eventually become friends.
While some of the scenes directly echo ones in the original, there are also fun updates such as Anne’s involvement with the robotics club and learning to code. Matthew does have a heart attack at one point, echoing the original, but unlike in the original, he doesn’t die. (That’s a minor spoiler, but I offer it for adults evaluating the book for younger readers.) Most importantly, Anne, the Cuthberts, and Diana are all people of color, offering representation in new ways to a new generation of readers.
