A very funny and light-hearted read, but watch out for a bit of weak morality.
Plot
When an older couple decides to adopt a boy to help with the farming, they don't expect to get a wild, red-headed girl instead. Still, there is no sending Anne back to the orphanage now that she's decided to stay, and she must now learn to fit in with the town of Avonlea.
Morality
There is no stark 'good' and 'evil' in the story, but there is a natural presupposition of the nature of right and wrong. When Marilla will not believe Anne about the whereabouts of a certain brooch when the girl is telling the truth, Anne lies instead in order to appease Marilla; however, she is found out and reprimanded, though Marilla takes much of the blame upon herself for having disbelieved Anne in the first place.
Anne has a violent temper and is prone to doing rash things - like yelling at an older woman for calling her hair "carrot coloured". Marilla wants her to apologize, but Anne only does so for fear of being sent back to the orphanage. Later, she holds a long-standing grudge against a boy for calling her "Carrots" (Anne is extremely bitter about her red hair) and refuses to forgive even when he begs her to do so.
Many of these events are what brings out Anne's most grievous sin - pride - and help her to overcome it. Later, she can even laugh at the times when she flew into a rage when someone mentioned the shade of her hair.
Spiritual Content
There are references to God and church, but the story isn't based on a Christian foundation and Anne occasionally says irreverent things about God. Many of her prayers have requests like "Let me be beautiful when I grow up" tacked on to them. However, some of her irreverence might be put down to her lack of knowledge of God, as she does improve spiritually in later books.
Violence
Anne breaks her school slate over a boy's head at one point; later she breaks her ankle while attempting to walk the ridgepole of a roof.
Drug and Alcohol Content
One character accidently gets drunk, and there are references to wine throughout the story.
Sexual Content
None.
Crude or Profane Language or Content
Mrs. Lynde, who lives next door to Matthew and Marilla, is fond of exclaiming, "Lord!" and "Oh Lor."
Conclusion
The story is very well-written and developed, and also clean. The style is good and gripping, and able to bring the reader into the story itself with ease.
There are, however, some irreverant references to God that the reader may find offensive, as well as some weak morality.
This review is brought to you by Jeanne.
