Another interesting one to re-read as an adult. I have to admit, I was starting to sympathize with Leslie Moore in this book when she says that she resents Anne her happiness - books 3 & 4, and maybe book 2 are all about the precious adorableness of every single thing in Anne's life (which is why I think I especially get tired of Davy, and Elizabeth, and all the other charming sad little children that Anne saves...). But this is the book where I think things start getting more interesting - we see Anne lose a child, in the next book we see her having problems with Gilbert, Rainbow Valley's a bit of a blippy lark, although it does have its moments of realism, and then we end with Rilla of Ingleside, one of the saddest, most realistic accounts of World War I and the people left behind that I've read.

I'll always love these books first and foremost for the charming depictions of PEI life, for the sweet and simple romance between Gilbert and Anne, for the strength of her love for Marilla, Matthew, Diana, etc., and for Anne's ahead-of-her time brightness and creative way of looking at the world but it's interesting to revisit them and discover the subtle depth that pervades these books, particularly the later ones.