2 stars--
I tried. I actually tried to like this poorly written, overrated "classic", but to be honest...I HATED EVERY PAGE. Anne of Green Gables made me want to scream and punch a pillow. By page 100, I was half-dead with boredom, and my eyes hurt from rolling them so much. Okay, I know what you're probably thinking: "But this book is a CLASSIC. Why don't YOU try to write a novel before criticizing the work of L.M. Montgomery?" Well, guess what? I'm allowed to have an opinion! But what exactly made me hate Anne of Green Gables so much?
THE CHARACTERS. I strongly disliked EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER in this book, especially Anne Shirley. Anne is too talkative, dumb, annoying, superficial, insensitive...the list goes on. She has a "big imagination", which is just her excuse for acting like someone who drinks too much caffeine for breakfast. And did I mention her really, really short temper? I mean, she held a grudge for YEARS on this guy in her class named Gilbert, because he--gasp!--called her "carrots", making fun of her red hair.
OMG, he called her "carrots"? That's SUCH a horrible thing to say! It's DEFINITELY a good reason to stop talking to him, even though he repeatedly apologized and even SAVED ANNE FROM DROWNING ONE TIME! Yeah, Gilbert's the bad guy here. (In case you couldn't tell, I'm being very sarcastic). Also, Anne is super insensitive. She always impulsively says and does whatever she wants to say and do, without realizing that she might be hurting people's feelings. She has a big imagination...and a big mouth.
The other characters in the book were not much better than Anne. Her best friend Diana doesn't seem to have a personality--she's one of those characters who exists solely because she's pretty. She just does whatever Anne does. Anne's friend Ruby is superficial and boy-crazy, and her other friend Jane is boring. Gilbert's alright, I guess--but his crush on Anne is SO OBVIOUS. Marilla and Mathew, Anne's adoptive parents, are the only characters I don't completely hate, as they undergo some character development.
I might have actually liked Anne of Green Gables if it weren't for the characters. The world-building and plot are okay, and storyline is interesting. This would've been a good book if the characters were more relatable, realistic, and developed.
I know I'm expressing an unpopular opinion, but this is how I truly feel about Anne of Green Gables.