I’m always a little scared when I read another Anne of Green Gables book. The ones I’ve read are all so good and Anne is growing up and what if this book is the one that loses is magic?

Luckily, my fears have proven unfounded so far.

In Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne is the new principal of Summerside. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get off to an easy start, as one of the biggest and most prominent families in town are upset that Anne ‘stole’ the job away from their favoured candidate. But Anne being Anne, manages to find a way to win them over and call off the feud. And then she can happily immerse herself in the lives of the people around her.

Despite the fact that this book has mostly new characters, I enjoyed it very much. Everyone in Summerside is unique without going into caricature. I particularly enjoyed any story with Rebecca Dew, the formidable housekeeper, and/or sweet little Elizabeth in it.

Apart from the characters, one new thing in the book is its narrative form. Much of the book is told through letters from Anne to Gilbert. It helps that Anne is the one writing them, so they retain much of her charm. In a way, it’s not very different from the previous Anne novels: the voice is largely the same, it’s just more letters.

The only thing I wasn’t too fond of was the absence of Gilbert. After all that he and Anne have been through, it’s a bit weird to see so little of him. Yes, the letters are addressed to him, but that’s about it. It would have been a lot more interesting if we got to see some of his letters to her – Anne definitely talks about receiving several long letters from him and it would have been nice to read some of them. Perhaps L.M. Montgomery wanted to focus on new characters, but Gilbert was one of the constants in the previous books and I was looking forward to reading more of his and Anne’s adventures.

Speaking of characters in other books, Diana has only one brief appearance. Apparently, she has had a baby, but it doesn’t seem like Anne is the godmother (or if it is, it was so briefly mentioned that I missed it). Given that Diana is her best friend forevermore, it’s a bit sad to see so little of her either.

Overall, I’m still enjoying the Anne of Green Gables series. It’s pretty amazing to see Anne grow up, and to see how she’s comfortable with herself (and her hair and her freckles) now, but I have a feeling it’s going to take some time before I muster up the courage to read what happens next. Although I have been assured that Anne’s House of Dreams is fantastic.