The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon, compiled by Judith Graves and edited by Robin Sutherland

It is no secret that I have admired Lucy Maud Montgomery and her work for most of my life, so I jumped at the chance to read an anthology inspired by the iconic Anne Shirley. And what better time for a collection like this than Montgomery’s upcoming 150^th birthday?

The ten stories in this book offer a variety of genres, writing styles, and character representation. And it’s a great opportunity to get a feel for some of the young adult authors across Canada. The collection includes stories by Susie Moloney, Hope Dalvay, Paul Coccia, Natasha Deen, Deirdre Kessler, Shari Green, Matthew Dawkins, Mere Joyce, Susan White, and Judith Graves.

“There are such a lot of different Annes in me.”

For me, the best thing about reading this book was discovering all the creative iterations of Anne and/or parts of her and her story. These authors took Anne to some unexpected places.

The first story, “Anne and the Bloody Book,” took me completely by surprise. In my notes I’ve written, “Wow. I was not expecting that.” It starts innocently enough with Anne and Diana meeting a peddler on the road. But we know how that ended for Anne last time – with green hair! This time, while Diana chooses a ribbon, Anne chooses a book. A mysterious book called A Ladies’ Dark Compendium. She stays up all night reading it. And here is where the story takes a slow and deliciously creepy turn.

“In Search of Kindred Spirits” modernizes the feud between Anne and Gilbert. When Anne comes home from school that day, she meets Marilla in the doorway where they share this exchange:

”You know about the… incident?”
“Of course. Ms. Stacey called to inform me. But I’d already heard the news by that time. Rachel dropped by the bakery to tell me personally. It’s on The Facebook.”

In “Carpetbaggers,” “Anne” is a 16-year-old orphan boy on his way to Montreal, by train, with a plan to find his dad. All he has to go on is his dad’s name—Matthew—and that he lives somewhere in The Village. He has no idea what he’s going to find when he gets there.

“4624463” is set in a dystopian world that is ruled by logic.

“We lived in a world where emotions were punished, families were outlawed, friendships were alliances of intellect and convenience, love and joy were stamped out, and I lived with a broken heart.”

But can a society like this be sustained? Certainly not if Anne is around.

In “The Wooden Box,” an orphan named Anne comes to live with an older couple in Prince Edward Island, one farm over and many years after Anne Shirley came to live with the Cuthberts. Only–quite the opposite of the first Anne–this Anne can’t speak. “… sometimes the words I feel are shards of glass cutting my tongue and throat. Or lumps of something I need to spit out and cannot. I swallow the word-lumps whole and suffer as they twist around in my guts.”

The other stories in the collection include: an Anne who has been stolen from her family in Jamaica and longs to find her way back; an Anne that runs away from an abusive foster father to an abandoned (and possibly haunted) building called Green Gallows; a foster child who pretends to be Anne Shirley to help cope with her grief; and a story written in verse that takes Anne off the island and drops her into the Yukon.

The final story in the collection—”ANNe”—features an AI Anne who is being “retired” to the country, if all goes well…

“Those potato fields have many eyes, child. Best remember that as well. If even one of those hoe-wielding farmers discovers the truth, they’ll turn on you like feral dogs.”

I will leave you with my favourite line from the book:

“I craned my neck—stealthily, of course—to glimpse Blythe’s library haul. Even though he was my sworn enemy, I still wanted to know what he was reading.”

Hope Dalvay, Mere Joyce, and Susan White will all be at Dartmouth Book Exchange on Saturday November 30 for Mongomery’s 150th Birthday Tea. See details here!

Judith Graves is an award-winning young adult fiction writer (Exposed and Infiltrate: Retribution Series with Orca Book Publishers) as well as a screenwriter and illustrator. A firm believer that fiction can be action-packed, snarky, and yet hit the right emotional notes, Judith writes stories with attitude. She lives in Summerside, Prince Edward Island with her husband and fur-babies. A Tale of Two Kitties is her debut picture book.

Robin Sutherland can’t remember a time when she wasn’t working with words: reading them, studying them, and teaching others how to use them. She holds a Ph.D. in literature and a certificate in Technical Writing, and has worked variously as a university instructor, a writing centre coordinator, and a freelance writer and editor. Also a creative writer, she has published some of her short fiction in Zygote, Room of One’s Own, and The Broken City, and has recently completed a collection of stories based on her years as a lifeguard in the Toronto suburbs.

Publisher: Acorn Press (May 17, 2024)
Paperback 5″ x 7.5″ | 288 pages
ISBN: 9781773661537

Naomi MacKinnon

Website

Naomi MacKinnon is a mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, pet-lover, reader, walker, camper, and Nova Scotian. Naomi has contributed several guest reviews over the years to The Miramichi Reader. Her book review blog is Consumed By Ink.