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Guest Review: ANNE OF A DIFFERENT ISLAND by Virginia Kantra
- Sophia Rose
- 16 hours ago
- 4 min read
ABOUT THE BOOK
A woman learns to be the heroine of her own life in this heartfelt novel inspired by Anne of Green Gables by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra. She believed life could follow a plotline—until the story she was living unraveled. Anne Gallagher has always lived by the book. Anne of Green Gables, that is. Growing up on Mackinac Island, she saw herself as her namesake: the same impulsive charm, the same fiery imagination, even the same red hair (dyed, but still). She followed in Anne Shirley’s fictional footsteps, chasing dreams of teaching and writing, and falling for her very own storybook hero.
But when a string of real-life plot twists—a failing romance, a fight with the administration, and the sudden death of her beloved father—pulls her back to the island she once couldn’t wait to leave, Anne is forced to face a truth no story ever prepared her for. Sometimes, life doesn’t follow a script.
Back in the house she grew up in, Anne must confront her past and the people she left behind, including Joe Miller, the boy who once called her “The Pest.” It’s time to figure out what she wants and rewrite her story to create her own happy ending. Not the book version. The real one.
OPENING LINES
“Name?” The barista's marker poised above cup. “Anne. With an e,” I added. I waited for the answering glimmer that would identify the girl at the airport coffee shop as a kindred spirit.
GUEST REVIEW by SOPHIA ROSE
After delighting in Virginia Kantra’s take on Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, I was all a-gasp when she released a tribute to Anne of Green Gables and set on the divinest place in Michigan, Mackinac Island.
Anne of Another Island is full of the wonder and precocity of the original Anne but is firmly settled in a ‘real life’ women’s fiction world, where a woman must figure out what she really wants, while also learning to look at her past without the Anne of Green Gables-tinted glasses on. Told with dual timelines and dual-point-of-view narration, one is totally immersed in the wonderful, emotional world of Anne Gallagher and her Mackinac Island.
The death of Anne Gallagher’s dad is the catalyst she needs to really look hard at where she’s at in life -just going through the motions while working in a Chicago high school where she gets no support or fulfillment, dating a pediatric oncologist, and having to always come second and always change to fit his world. She left her island home after high school and never went back, so she has only her childhood memories. Coming home was hard, and she had some tough moments as her notions about her mother, island life, and especially Joe had to be completely upheaved before she could start on a new, happier path.
Vividly depicted, Mackinac Island is like a main character in its own right. The Anne of Green Gables tribute is strong, though I appreciated the author’s ability to balance it with contemporary issues and modern characters. Joe was a divorced specialty carpenter, grieving his friend and former mentor (Anne’s dad), and had the wary, emotional scars to prove it. I loved seeing Anne reunite with her best friend and spend that time with her Marilla-like mother, who may be a kindred spirit, after all.
Anne of Another Island is classified as Contemporary Romance, but I felt that it fit more
of a Women’s Fiction because the central element in the book is Anne accepting herself, dealing with her past, and forming reunion relationships in the present that include a romance. Definitely for all the Anne-girls out there, but also for the women’s fic and contemporary romance fans who would enjoy an island girl coming home story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra is the author of over thirty novels about strong women, messy families, and the search for a place to call home. Her stories have earned numerous awards, including two Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Awards and two National Readers’ Choice Awards. Her novels, Meg & Jo and Beth & Amy (inspired by the classic Little Women) received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and the American Library Association’s Booklist and praise from People Magazine. Her most recent release, The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale, was featured by Once Upon a Bookclub, BookTrib book club, and the Friends and Fiction Official Book Club. Married to her college sweetheart, Virginia lives in North Carolina.
She loves to hear from readers! Interested in having her visit your group or book club? Contact her through her website. Connect via Facebook and Instagram. And for more news, book recommendations, sneak peeks, and the occasional recipe, subscribe to her newsletter.
ABOUT SOPHIA ROSE, Guest reviewer
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener, which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER
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