The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Emily of New Moon - L. M. Montgomery - UPDATED REVIEW

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
Image result for emily of new moon"Genre: YA Classic

Blurb (on back of book): Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely—until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her mother's snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She's sure she won't be happy. Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends: with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who's sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper. Amazingly, Emily finds New Moon beautiful and fascinating. With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon.

 MY OPINION: ******

I believe that this is my tenth time reading this book, and no, I am not exaggerating. I have regretfully ran out of space to write anything more about it on Goodreads so I have to make do with this (dying) blog.

I love this book. I first read it when I was still what you would consider a child, before my preteens even. I loved it then and I love it now. However, as I am older and have a different perspective on most things (I hope), my opinion has changed, although the rating has not.

This series has always been my favorite of Montgomery's, despite my deep and utter love for Anne Shirley of Green Gables. However, since I was a child, there was something about Emily that made me love her just a tiny bit more. I have not reread the Anne series in quite a while, but I'm sure that Emily will still be my favorite even if I did.

Emily Byrd Starr is a cynical, prideful, almost snobby and arrogant girl. It is a truth that needs to be acknowledged, something that I never believed or saw in my innocent child eyes when I was reading this the first couple of times around. I went back through my old reviews and realized that I never truly voiced my feelings about any of the characters, so here I am now.

Emily is not a likable character. At least, not to me. She's a very whimsical, unique, imaginative, creative child, of course, but other than that, she is arrogant, vain, spoiled, and very snobbish, as well as stubborn and a bit... crazy. She is written as a little orphan girl who is to be pitied, but it's quite hard to feel any sympathy towards her when she has a mindset of being superior to everyone simply because she is a "Starr" and a "Murray". Of course, back in those days, I'm sure that family names and your bloodline summarized your reputation in society but as a little eleven year old girl, it was not respectful or admirable in the slightest.

I've never thought of her in this way. I do believe that she does have some justification in her anger and outlook on the world but the fact that she thinks that she's better than everyone else is not an admirable trait.

Of course, Emily is a writer, and that was a very interesting part about her. I feel as if she's been a little bit of an inspiration for me. I remember being seven or eight and saying that I wanted to be a writer and climb the Alpine Path, just as Emily does. This book bears a strong influence on my childhood and my ambitions and for that, I will always love it. I loved reading Emily's letters to her father and how her writing adapted, changed, and matured along with her.

Ilse Burnley is a neglected, rapscallion, quite scary girl. She becomes one of Emily's closest friends. Her father, Doctor Burnley, has always neglected her, for reasons that only become clear towards the end (and which I will not spoil). She is nothing like a demure, sophisticated young lady should be, what with her name-calling and swearing and bad temper. However, I admire her spark and her courage and her spunk. As those were different times, I can understand why she was not considered a well-mannered girl but I could relate to her character much more than I could to Emily's.

Teddy Kent (my favorite) was a little saint as usual. I love him to the ends of the earth. Always have, always will. (I used to refer to him as my literal husband, I know, I was a strange child). I love that boy to death. He's a budding, incredibly talented, handsome artist who becomes one of Emily's dearest friends (and more than that heheh). I loved his character and how he was so caring and kind and compassionate towards everyone. I felt bad for his situation with his mother (which is only truly explained in the third book) but all in all, I loved everything about him.

Perry Miller is the last of the four close friends. He is the servant boy at New Moon and soon becomes more than that. He saved Emily's life and has become a close friend ever since. I love his spunk and determination. He is incredibly dedicated to what he wants to be: Prime Minister of Canada. He cares about his education and about his friends and family, and he's a very admirable character. Of course, he isn't the best mannered, but it just made him all the more quirky and likable.

Dean Priest. I feel as if he is worth mentioning. I don't like him, I don't like his character and frankly find him quite creepy. I understand that this was back in the day and that age gaps and relations didn't matter but he is literally a 30-something-year-old man who instantly tells himself that he's going to marry Emily (who is 11-12 by the way) in the future. That's just a little strange and something that I was a bit worried about.

The aunts (Elizabeth and Laura) were so contrasting but I think that's was what made them so equally dislikable and likable (respectively). They had their own personalities and while I felt it was a little cliche, I liked both of them. Cousin Jimmy was a sweetheart despite his queer spells.

I love Mr. Carpenter as much as I hate Ms. Brownell.

Overall, I loved this book the same as before. While I have a different outlook on it now, I'm sure that in the future, that will change some more and I will be okay with that. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fun, friendship-centered, classic novel.

Main Character: Emily
Sidekick(s): Teddy, Ilse, Perry, Laura, Jimmy, Elizabeth, Mr. Carpenter, etc
Villain(s): Elizabeth (at times), Rhoda, Ms Brownell, pride, etc
Classic Elements: It's a classic. That's it. :)

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