Emily Starr is in many ways similar to Anne Shirley and you can tell Montgomery shaped them from the same mold. Their youthful spirits are as tough as brick walls and they never undermine their own precocities for the sake of their peers; they demand respect, yet this does not make them any less generous and faithful to their friends. However, I think Emily is perhaps the more sophisticated of the two and is faced with more interpersonal challenges. Unlike Anne who has her fair share of trusted allies, Emily struggles to maintain a sense of harmony with the ever-changeable people around her. But nevertheless, she is the kind of intrepid girl who takes no prisoners, and she never fails to show who’s boss to those who are jealous of her unparagoned talents and try to take advantage of her. Anne Shirley is perhaps the more loved and long-lasting of the two, but in my opinion I find Emily more potent and personal. ( )

A delightful read, with the sometimes bratty and sometimes funny Emily of New Moon. Not as lyrical as Anne ( of Green Gables), but close. ( )

(3.5 / 5)

When Emily's only remaining parent, the father she is very close to, dies, she is taken in by 2 aunts on her mother's side. Aunt Elizabeth doesn't really want her and only takes her because the lot fell to her. Aunt Laura is at least kind to Emily, but overall, her mother's side of the family are proud, snobby people who strongly disliked Emily's father and disdain their niece. Emily's new classmates also treat her badly because of her proud family. Emily learns to cope with her difficulties by writing to her late father, pouring out her sadness and frustrations.

After reading the Anne of Green Gables books by the same author, this book is considerably darker, sadder, even somewhat depressing. For all the times I was surprised to see how terribly some of the people of this time period acted, especially older women, in the Anne books, a few of the characters in this book made my jaw drop. There is some charm to the story, and Emily herself is quite deep and introspective. She also can be brash and quick-tempered. I liked the way she was able to get past certain injustices or clashes with other people by simply writing about them. Though she bordered on mean when she described people in her writing at times.

There are some bright spots in her life--friends she made, for instance. I think Perry was my favorite, because though he is uncouth, he is also super kind and protective of Emily, who, frankly, could use a protector. He may have taken it a step too far now and then, but that seems to describe a lot of the characters in this book. One thing I really liked was that Emily was so terribly upset over what she was told Ilse's mother had done, considering that that kind of thing seems so commonplace now. I'd love to go back to a time when it's seen as a terrible, even unlikely thing. The outcome to that story arc, though, was...bizarre, is all I can really say.

I kind of get the feeling that I might like this series more as it goes, which would be completely the opposite of the Anne series, where I started to like each book less after the first one. However, I'm not completely sure if I'll continue the series.

Extra note for the audiobook version I listened to: Overall she made the main voices distinct enough from each other, but there were times when she read the letters Emily wrote to her father where she would simply neglect to put any real emotion or inflection into parts. It could have been better. ( )

Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely --until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. Although she's sure she'll never be happy there, Emily deals with her stern aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by using her quick wit and holding her head high.

In this first volume of the celebrated Emily trilogy, Lucy Maud Montgomery draws a more realistic portrait of a young orphan girl's life on early twentieth-century Prince Edward Island. Along with Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest, Emily of New Moon insightfully portrays the beauty and anguish of growing up.

3.5*
If I had discovered this book when I first read the Anne of Green Gables series, I would probably love it even now. However, coming to it late in life I found Emily less charming than Anne (though probably closer to L.M. Montgomery herself). Jess Nahikian does a good job with the narration. ( )