Emily Climbs by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction/Classic
Blurb (on back of book):
Emily Starr was born with the desire to write. As an orphan living on New Moon Farm, writing helped her face the difficult, lonely times. But now all her friends are going away to high school in nearby Shrewsbury, and her old-fashioned, tyrannical aunt Elizabeth will only let her
go if she promises to stop writing! All the same, this is the first step in Emily's climb to success. Once in town, Emily's activities set the Shrewsbury gossips buzzing. But Emily and her friends are confident — Ilse's a born actress, Teddy's set to be a great artist, ad roguish Perry has the makings of a brilliant lawyer. When Emily has her poems published and writes for the town newspaper, success seems to be on its way — and with it the first whispers of romance. Then Emily is offered a fabulous opportunity, and she must decide if she wants to change her life forever.
MY OPINION: *****
This is one of my favorite books! This is the sequel to
Emily of New Moon (which has been reviewed), and it is just as wonderful, if not more so.
I think that one of the reasons why I love this book and the other parts of the series so much is because I can relate to Emily herself. I am a writer: I could not live if I was not able to write. I also want to be successful one day (doesn't everybody?) and I also want a good education. I also am like Emily just in her personality, though I do not speak up as much as she does.
This book really made a difference. It is a classic, written in the 1920s, but I feel like I can relate more to this than I can to newer and more modern books. This book seems "real", and the characters literally seem to jump off the page. Lucy Maud Montgomery was incredible.
I also like Ilse. She is now so loved by her father, and her personality has very much differed, in my opinion. She is still fiery and stands up for herself, but not in the same ways as before. Maybe all she ever needed was a bit of love.
I really love reading all about Teddy Kent, possible lover of Emily Starr. He is so talented, and he is really determined about his art. He is like the male version of Emily in a way: determined, loves his occupation, and can't live without his art. But he is also caring, kind, and loving to everyone and everything, most especially his mother, who is so misunderstood.
Lastly, Perry Miller is finally amounting to something. For those of you who have read the first book, you should already know that Perry is a chore boy at New Moon who is determined to be a someone in the world (or at least in Canada), and is also seeking Emily's hand in marriage.
I can't leave out Aunts Ruth, Elizabeth and Laura. They are two very different sisters, but Laura is the same as always: loving and caring to Emily. She is also very quiet and never stands up for herself against Aunt Elizabeth, but she is still someone who makes a difference in Emily's life. Aunt Elizabeth, on the other hand, is still just as old-fashioned and stern as before, although you can see just a hint of loving care to Emily. Aunt Ruth, though, is still as cold as ever, though she changes a lot throughout this book in particular.
This book was amazing. I hope that everyone has a chance to read this book and the other parts of the series in some point of their life, no matter how old/old-fashioned it is! I would recommend it to middle-schoolers, and even high-schoolers!
Main Character: Emily Byrd Starr
Sidekick(s): Teddy Kent, Ilse Burnley, Perry Miller, Andrew Murray
Villain: Growing up
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this could happen, though it does not mean that it will.
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