princeedwardisland

Repost for @TheBookHippie

MARCH #CHILDRENSCLASSICREAD2025

PDF https://archive.org/details/b1122727

https://lmmonline.org/books/magic-for-marigold/

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lauraisntwilder

The Golden Road | L. M. Montgomery

pick

I forgot to post about this sweet book, shame on me! 😉 Picking up right where The Story Girl leaves off, this volume sees the young King cousins through the winter. They create a magazine, make New Year's resolutions, get caught in a snow storm, and show distinct signs of growing up. This sequel is a little more melancholy than the first, but isn't that how it always is in winter?

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kwmg40

The Golden Road | L. M. Montgomery

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The sequel to The Story Girl, this novel has much of the charm and the light humour of the Anne books but it is also very melancholy, with the narrator Bev looking back at his childhood with his friends.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

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BarbaraJean

The Golden Road | L. M. Montgomery

LMM called The Story Girl “my own favourite among my books” and “the best piece of work I have yet done.” Of writing it, she said: “I was sorry to finish it. Never…had I laid down my pen and taken farewell of my characters with more regret…I have written it from sheer love of it.”
Her comments above about The Golden Road were quite different.
What are your feelings about each book?
Do you think the difference LMM felt is apparent in her writing?

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, Roary47, julieclair

BarbaraJean #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread Golden Road Discussion 3/3 3mo

Roary47 I think she genuinely loved these characters, and to feel rushed in writing characters I grew to love too from the attention she paid to their development I would have hated it too. These characters I grew to love more than her other books and I am sad there was not more. I think if she did have the time that she wanted she could have made more of an epilogue to finalize their stories than just predictions. 3mo

julieclair It makes me sad to think she did not enjoy writing this book. But it also amazes me that even so, she was able to create such a feeling of warmth among her characters, that radiates out to us, the readers. 3mo

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TheAromaofBooks I don't feel like The Golden Road is a weaker book than The Story Girl - to me, it picks up right where the first book left off. Like @julieclair and @Roary47 I'm amazed at how her inner turmoil and stress doesn't feel reflected in the writing, which is warm and happy. 3mo

lauraisntwilder @julieclair I completely agree! 3mo

kwmg40 Her comment about Chester suggests she was a typical overworked and tired mom. I can believe that the writing process was arduous with an infant around! 3mo

BarbaraJean @Roary47 Definitely! In some ways, I wish there had been a reunion-type scene, where they all gather at the King farm again and reminisce about the old days and we get to see where they are now and how they are as adults, both as a group and as individuals. But then again, I also like the way there are just hints so that the reader can imagine for themselves. 3mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks @julieclair I didn‘t see this as weaker than SG, either—actually, I think I like this one better because it builds on the foundation LMM had already set up with these characters in SG. The Story Girl‘s stories felt a little like filler in the first book, and “Our Magazine” does a little of that here, but all the little sarcastic side comments really bring the magazine excerpts to life and make them part of the story! 3mo

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 Yes, her journal comments really show her struggling to figure out how to continue her work while balancing it with her new life as a wife and mother! Like others have said, it‘s amazing to me how she was able to deepen these characters and their stories—in such a warm, nostalgic way—while she was having to steal moments here and there to write, feeling such pressure and “little pleasure in writing” because of it. (edited) 3mo

39 likes9 comments

BarbaraJean

The Golden Road | L. M. Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread Golden Road Discussion: 2/3

Which of the characters did you relate to the most? Who would you have most enjoyed having as a childhood friend?

What did you think of the Story Girl‘s “prophecies”—and of the way the book ends?
What would you imagine for these characters‘ futures?

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, Roary47, julieclair

julieclair I think of the “prophecies” as LMM‘s way of letting us know what happened with each of the characters, kind of like an epilogue. The ending of the book was so bittersweet, with the characters separating and moving on to the next phase of their lives. This was so reminiscent, for me, of leaving high school and everyone scattering to different colleges. 3mo

julieclair I think I would have loved to have Cecily as a childhood friend. She was so kind, and calming, and just plain good. 💙 3mo

TheAromaofBooks I agree with @julieclair that this was kind of an unofficial epilogue. I thought it was interesting that she gave us so much foreshadowing of Cecily's early death, and found myself wondering why she decided to sort of secondhand kill her off. But I loved the references that Bev makes throughout the narration of still seeing everyone later in life, receiving letters from them, etc. 3mo

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lauraisntwilder Weirdly, I think I related most to Bev, who, as narrator, has the least personality. But, he feels so strongly about them all and creates this record, so to speak, and I think I'm often the one paying attention and writing things down, rather than being the center of attention. I would have loved a friend like Cecily. 3mo

lauraisntwilder I have asked my husband for the DVDs of the Road to Avonlea TV show for Christmas. 🤞 The epilogue section made me think so much of the show, almost like it is filling in the blanks. I haven't seen it since I was the age of the Story Girl, but I loved it then. 3mo

kwmg40 I liked the narrator Bev. I sometimes wished we could have learned more about him. 3mo

BarbaraJean @julieclair @lauraisntwilder I agree about having Cecily for a friend! I loved how loyal she was to Sara Ray, (even though Sara Ray annoyed me as a character!), and how she so often played the role of peacemaker, wanting the others to be kind to each other and stop their bickering and baiting. I also loved the friendship between Bev and the Story Girl, the way they had little side jokes or shared secrets/knowledge. ⬇ 3mo

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) Their walk to the schoolhouse in the middle of the night and their “ramble” with Uncle Blair are two of my favorite parts of the book. I can see myself being part of that kind of friendship within this group, with their shared humor and appreciation of beauty. 3mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I loved that, too—Bev‘s comments showing they still kept in touch & talked about the old days! I love how he writes to the Story Girl to ask about the Awkward Man‘s story so many years down the road. @kwmg40 As the observer, Bev does kind of disappear into the narrative! Like @lauraisntwilder, I relate to that a bit as well. And the little glimpses of him that we do get make me want to know more about him as a character, too. 3mo

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