Rainbow Valley

This book felt like something of a bait and switch. It purports to be about Anne's children. In fact, it's mostly about the neighboring children, who recently moved in with their widowed father, the new minister in Ingleside. It makes sense. Anne and Gilbert have been established as basically perfect, so there would be very little conflict in a book about their children, who are also likely to be perfect. Or at least perfectly supported and encouraged. The book would be unbearably saccharine and preachy, much like Anne of Windy Poplars was. Still, it would have been nice to get some indication of that in the cover art or book blurb or something.

Rainbow Valley was fun. A bit of a return to the first book in the series, with the younger characters. At this point, it's all feeling a bit formulaic. I'm picking up on the smallest hints, and I know exactly what's going to happen all the way through.

There's one book left. A lot of people have said that it's their favorite, that it actually feels like a departure from the rest of the series. I'm going to read it, and I hope I'll enjoy it. But I'm also feeling ready to be done with Anne.

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