Marilla of Green Gables

Abandoning this one for many reasons. I'd normally say I'll try again, but the issues I had with it won't change so...

I wanted to give this a fair shake, usually 50 pages for me, but I couldn't - I only got a few chapters in.

Marilla feels wrong. Matthew feels wrong. Things may change over the course of the story, sure, but if I'm reading about Marilla, and Matthew to a lesser extent, that's what I want. Granted, I only picked this up because of the connection to AoGG, but maybe this should've just been its own story. I can't help comparing the two since it's supposed to be related, and this just doesn't hit the mark.

The tone is all wrong. It's like McCoy is trying to be LMM in some parts but failing, and it's just distracting. And in other parts it doesn't even try. In one scene we have young Marilla screeching because of a twin and then that twin acting like a cheap rate Rachel Lynde. Just... not good.

Also, 1830s gowns aren't bustle gowns. Talking about a nipped in waist and a bustle in back just makes me think the author didn't do research. Anne would've worn bustles, grown women in Marilla's childhood... not so much.

Maybe fan fiction isn't my thing. I don't know. I'm glad I just got this from the library and didn't buy it like I'd originally intended.

How brave Sarah McCoy is, to take on beloved characters and to attempt to create a convincing story about them! Congratulations to her for success.

I imagine most Green Gables readers fall into two camps: people who felt happy she was trying this, and those who were worried. Let me reassure you, if you fall into the second camp: McCoy has shaped Marilla into something completely new and completely believable.

I won't say too much about the plot; that's for you to enjoy. I'll just say that this book is the story of Marilla as a girl, with the joys and struggles of youth that made her into the adult Marilla we love so much.

Quite a difficult task, but McCoy has done well.