Jane of Lantern Hill

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Summary: Jane of Lantern Hill
Review: I first read Jane of Lantern Hill as an adult and loved it. I found that even as an adult I identified with Jane and her struggles to really belong somewhere. As I read the author's descriptions of Prince Edward Island through Jane's eyes and the depth of her response to it, tears spilled over, for Lucy wasn't writing about Jane: she was writing about me as a former Californian, and now resident in Ireland by choice. Lucy M. Montgomery must have experienced that same sense of place; she knew Prince Edward Island as her "spirit's home." Kathleen Norris has written of this concept in her non-fiction book, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. As entertaining as Lucy's story is, as Jane copes with her domineering grandmother, her intimidated mother, and a father she never knew, I think Jane's discovery of who she was and the role that "place" played in her own emotional development has far more impact on the reader than the engaging story of Jane's family. I filled pages in my journal with quotations from this book. This book could be a catalyst in helping readers discover who they really are and where they are most at home.

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Summary: Gives me a warm, squishy feeling
Review: I picked up this book because I had seen bits and pieces of the movie. I don't remember much about the movie anymore, but the book is great! Jane is one of the rare, thoroughly likable characters out there. The thousands of minute details are what make this book. You can read it many times over and the quirks of the Island people make it story come to life. The action is idealized, with a kind of back-in-the-good-ole-days feel, but everyone needs a little of that once in a while. I would like to live in Jane's world. Reading this book is like treating yourself to something wholesome but delicious. The parent-child relationship achieves a sense of real love as few books do. This book lets you grow up with Jane, and it is triumphant and laced with genuine life-lessons. Her despair and pain are real and touching without being over-dramatic. I can't help wondering if this was one of the first children's books written about divorce. Young people will like this book, and it won't do adults any harm, either.

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Summary: A beautiful book of reconsiliation and love.
Review: Jane Stuart and her beautiful mother live under the thumb of her grandmother in Toronto. Jane feels she is not good at anything, especially school. Her grandmother and cousin Phyillis rub it in all the time. Jane's father doesn't reside at the house, and Jane believes that he's dead. But no, one day a girl from school tells her different. He's a poor writer living in a shack on Prince Edward Island. One rainy April day a letter arrives in the mail. Her father wants Jane to come spend the summer with him. Jane hates her father because he must have done something awful for her mother to have left him. But she goes to the island and finds a new life. Her father loves her, she finds she has talents, and she is not constantly under someone's thumb. And she wonders: why did her parents split up?I feel that this book is among L. M. Montgomery's best. It's a story of reconsiliation and a story where a trampled person can rise again. I really love it

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Summary: Saving the Best for Last
Review: This was L.M. Montgomery's very last book that she's ever written during her lifetime. I own all of Montgomery's books, and after reading them over and over again, I have to say that this book is the best of her writings (right after the Anne of Green Gables series, of course...). I highly recommend this book, and encourage you to read it, for it shows what kind of inner strength and courage one can possess. Additionally, I recommend all of Montgomery's books to read, for being an avid fan, her books can teach us many lessons that we ourselves can apply during our lifetime.

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Summary: Jane of Lantern Hill, the most wonderfull book in the world
Review: When I first read this book I just loved it, and since then I have read it hundreds of times. It's a book full of fun (but also sad parts for a change). If you liked the Anne of Green Gables novels including Anne, I'm sure you'll like this one that featurs on Jane Stuart.