The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon

by Judith Graves Judith Graves (Contributor), Shari Green (Contributor), Judith Graves (Contributor)

Join ten of Canada’s top young adult fiction writers as they set Canada’s favourite red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, on brand new adventures. With its futuristic settings, cybernetic beings, ghosts, mysterious books and boxes, and racial and sexual diversity in its cast of characters, The ANNEthology offers serious “scope for the imagination” for all readers.

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s birth and the 30th anniversary of Acorn Press, Prince Edward Island’s longest-running traditional publishing house. What better way to celebrate these milestones than publishing a collection of stories inspired by the Island’s (and one of Canada’s) most beloved authors?

Sure to include something for everyone, this is a must-have collection for Anne of Green Gables fans.

Genres: Canada, Short Stories, Young Adult

288 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[A Bookworm Crafts · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this Annethology, ten Canadian authors present short stories inspired by Anne of Green Gables, to mark the 150th birthday of L. M. Montgomery.

Anne is, in turn, a vampire, a 20th century girl, an obese boy, a Jamaican girl, a cyborg, among other incarnations. I was amazed how, despite this variety, all the stories carry some of the essence of the original Anne. My favourite versions were Hope Dalvey's modern take on Anne's encounter with Gilbert Blythe and Shari Green's poem in verse.

Thank you to Netgalley and Acorn Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Sue Slade]

The ANNEthology- A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon, is the result of the question; Who’s YOUR Anne? Ten Young Adult Canadian fiction writers from coast to coast were challenged to “work with the characters, plots, themes and details of the original Anne of Green Gables story, but in new and innovative ways.” The ANNEthology collection is the result. Ten short stories and poems about modern Anne, in a wide variety of genres from horror, to science fiction, to LBGT+ and speculative fiction. Stories so diverse that, as one friend stated, “readers might get whiplash”.

The difficulty in reviewing an anthology is that there are ten different stories, from ten different authors. Since these stories are so diverse, it is unrealistic that the reader will like each and every single one of them. Also, it is impractical to review every story. So I decided to pick the story that most resembled MY Anne to review.

Hope Dalay’s In Search of Kindred Spirits is MY modern Anne with an “e”. The story begins right after Gilbert pulls one of Anne’s braids and calls her “carrots”. Anne retaliates by grabbing her lunch tray and hitting Gilbert on the head. This results in a food fight in the cafeteria that neither participates in. Ms. Stacy asks both to provide an accurate, detailed written account of what happened. From this point on, I spent the rest of the story smiling. My grin grew even larger upon discovering that Rachel Lynde worked in a bookmobile enabling her to travel around communities collecting the local gossip. And lastly, picture what modern-day Anne would do with a cell phone and selfie stick. Hope Dalvay successfully recreated MY perfect modern Anne.

“Kindred spirits aren't as scarce as I once thought. They're out there. You just need to keep searching until you find them.”- pg 62 In Search of Kindred Spirits by Hope Dalvay

[Mollified.Moments · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about The ANNEthology. Some stories worked for me, and others didn’t quite hit the mark. My favorite was Anne of the Silver Trail by Shari Green—it’s a beautifully written story in verse that I really enjoyed.

That said, some of the other stories felt like they strayed too far from the essence of Anne, which made them harder to connect with. If you’re a purist who can’t handle any deviation from the classic Anne of Green Gables, this might not be for you. But if you’re open to new takes, you might find something to enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC. My review is honest and voluntary.

[Renae | Renae Vs Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are an "Anne of Green Gables" purist and refuse to watch "Anne with an E" on Netflix because you can't stand the idea of any deviation, "The ANNEthology" will NOT be for you. I liked approximately half of this anthology. Some of the short stories in this collection were interesting reimaginings of the classic story with sci-fi elements and modern takes that I enjoyed. There were others that felt sacrilegious, and I wonder if L.M. Montgomery would have felt honored by the new adventures of Anne Shirley.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital arc so that I could provide an honest and voluntary review.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this was a fun read! This Young Adult anthology collects short stories by authors who wrote Anne from "Anne of Green Gables" in their own way: the characters, setting, and adventures from the original series are all there, but presented in new and imaginative ways. There’s creepy dark cannibal Anne, modern junior high teenager Anne, gender swapped Anne, dystopian Anne, haunted house Anne, and AI robot Anne, to name a few. One of my favourites was poetic Anne: a poem set in a northern mining community in the 1980s.

Some stories are sweet and some are shocking, some are serious and some are sad, but all are successful in that they contain the original spirit of the character with additional clever twists. Most authors wrote the voice exactly right, so when the twists arrived it was at times jarring or puzzling, but in such a fun way! I think the authors assume familiarity and it does help to know the original characters, setting, and stories so that the twists attain maximum impact, otherwise readers may be confused or feel like something is missing or disjointed. But I was a fan as a child, so loved both the nostalgic and interpretive elements.

As usual with short story collections, I liked some more than others, but generally thought the writing was excellent. The various writing styles all maintained the mood of the original source and added modern touches while remaining accessible for the target age group. Overall, I think this is an excellent Annethology and would recommend it for adventurous Anne fans of all ages!

Thank you to Netgalley and Acorn Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe that I have mentioned a time or two that Anne of Green Gables made me a reader. So, when I saw this anthology of ten authors who wrote their own Anne stories, I couldn't resist. Some were great, a few were good and there were also some very unusual ones that I won't soon forget. Overall, I liked the collection but will be passing it on to my local community book swap.

As is my custom, I will tell rate and review each of the ten short stories separately.

Anne and the Bloody Book by Susie Moloney 2 stars
When Anne and Diana buy from the peddler, no one can foresee the very dire consequences.
My thoughts: As the first story in the collection, it definitely captured my attention.

In Search of Kindred Spirits by Hope Dalvay 3 stars
A contemporary tale, Anne and Gilbert are sworn enemies but when Anne has a paddleboarding disaster, it's Gilbert to the rescue.
My thoughts: I did have a good chuckle over this one. Anne's story of how she got to Avonlea, the Lynde's running the local bookmobile, Marilla running a bakery, Josie Pye's familt running a fry stand etc. I felt it was perhaps one of the stronger pieces that keeps with the original source.

Carpetbagger by Paul Coccia 2.5 stars
This "Anne" is a male who travels to seek out his biological dad, Matthew Cuthebert, an entertainer at a local gay club called "The Gables."
My thoughts: It had a nice message of trying to return to your origins and find your family. I just wish it hadn't ended in a cliffhanger.

4624463 by Natasha Deen. 5 stars
A dystopian, Anne and Gilbert were almost punishef as teens for their love, now three years later they're working in an oppressive government that demands they keep their true feelings a distant memory.

My Thoughts: Katniss and Peeta, eat your hearts out. This short story was worth the read. A crown jewel of the collection. I fell for this one hard.


The Wooden Box by Deirdre Kessler 3.5 stars
The Swans- Hilda and Gordon have welcomed a child into their home-Anne. Anne is mute and has an affinity for Emily Dickinson's poetry. Before leaving the orphanage, the couple have also been gifted a wooden box that was left for Anne by her parents. But she cannot open it until she turns 18. But what is in it?

My thoughts: I liked the mystery aspect of the tale. When I saw the author's name, I was keen on reading the collection because Deirdre Kessler was in another chapter of my life -one of my English profs at UPEI. Like L.M.Montgomery, she has a great imagination.

Anne of the Silver Trail by Shari Green 1 star
Set in 1979 Prince Edward Island, Anne , Matt and Maud head to the Yukon.

My thoughts : The story was completely written in poetic format. I have read other novels and stories that use this format but I couldn't get into this one.
Unfortunately, the story never took hold.

Anne from nowhere in particular by Matthew Dawkins Not Rated
Anne is a victim of human trafficking in Jamaica

My Thoughts:I don't know what to say. An important issue for certain but it didn't fit with all of the other stories. This is not a bad thing at all. Just maybe it should have been placed differently.


Where the Dark Goes by Mere Joyce 2 stars
A ghost story where Anne, Davy and Dora explore a haunted Green Gables, try to escape the evil Blewett and get help from a ghost.
My thoughts: It was alright.

Matthew Insists on Ripped Jeansby Susan White 2.5 stars
Anne has lived in a string of foster homes and she believes that if she behaves more like the Anne in her beloved Anne of Green Gables, maybe Rosemary and Clayton will let her stay.

My thoughts: The ending was the best.


ANNe by Judith Graves 2 stars
Futuristic AI Anne is a trained killer and will protect Avonlea at all costs.

My thoughts: It was this short story that inspired the collection to even be created.


Goodreads review published 09/02/25

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne (with an e), one of my very favourite kindred spirits, has been reimagined by ten authors. Having known Anne Shirley Cuthbert for over three decades, she’s become part of my story and I was keen to see what she’s been up to in other people’s imaginations.

There are some stories where Anne is clearly the passionate, feisty girl who took up residence in my heart. At times, though, she’s not as easily recognisable. Anne is a boy. Anne is trafficked. Anne comes with a serial number.

My favourite stories were:

Anne and the Bloody Book by Susie Moloney

Anne discovers that appetite for reading can be life changing.

“What a mysterious book…”

In Search of Kindred Spirits by Hope Dalvay

Anne and Gilbert are assigned to work on an art project together.

“A kindred spirit is someone with similar interests to yours. No, it’s more than that. It’s someone you have a deep connection with. That’s why I read so many books. I’m looking for kindred spirits in the pages. Some of my best friends are book characters.”

4624463 by Natasha Deen

Anne lives in a world where you’re punished for having emotions and books are dangerous.

“Something bad is going to happen.”

Anne of the Silver Trail by Shari Green

Anne is absolutely certain she’s about to be un-adopted in this story in verse.

If we’re lucky in life, we come across
someone who challenges
the lies we tell ourselves, someone who
who sits us down and tell us
a different story.

While there wasn’t a bad story in the bunch, I found I enjoyed them more when they included at least one of my other favourite characters, like Diana, Matthew and Marilla.

What I found even more important than the cast of characters, though, was Anne herself. No matter what setting she was placed in, I wanted to be able to connect with her spirit. I needed to be able to identify parts of her personality that made me love her in the first place.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Acorn Press for the opportunity to read this anthology.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[Laurie Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

’ve been an Anne fan for as long as I can remember, devouring Anne of Green Gables over and over, making my whole family tour LM Montgomery’s house. So I will jump at a collection like this. The target audience is YA so I will say sometimes I felt a wee older than the attended, but overall this eclectic collection is fun to read and reimages Anne in so many ways- as a heavy, gay boy- as a Jamaican girl kindnapped, as a cog in a dystopian future.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I wasn't a fan of this collection. Maybe I expected something different, or maybe I didn't like the changes the writers made to Anne. Well, that's not exactly true - I'm not that much of a purist - but this book was a slog to get through despite being such a small book. Some of the stories I liked, some I just couldn't get into. But I'll admit it was a wonderful project overall to honour an amazing writer and her red-haired character.

[Olivia S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I liked this a lot more than I expected to. Like any anthology collection, some stories are better than others, but it was a well-rounded collection with a good balance of edgy, alternative takes on Anne (the first might be my favourite), and stories that were quite reminiscent of the original stories.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne Shirley's character is innocent and creative. I don't read about witchcraft or ghosts, so I can't comment on those 2 stories. The remaining stories were largely interesting, usually shocking and well written. But by and large the only resemblance to Anne was her name.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the concept behind this collection. There are some really interesting twists on Anne. Most of them I enjoyed, a couple didn't quite do it for me or didn't feel like Anne at all. Overall I liked it, though.

[Stephanie Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these are exactly what you would expect and some are the oddest stories I have ever read.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book hard to rate. Some of the stories truly embodied the soul of Anne and added fun twists but others felt tired and pedantic.

[Angie Titus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked most of the stories okay, but the book wasn't what I was expecting. I was a bit disappointed.

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many genres and so many versions of Anne. This anthology is a great idea and has given me ideas for future writing assignments.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a don't mess with my Anne kinda fan so I enjoyed some Anne Stories more than others. Not that any were bad, they were great stories just some weren't my "Anne".

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is your Anne?

This was the question put to several youth and YA writers. Their answer is this compilation of short stories.

Of all the stories, in my opinion, Hope Dalvay's "In Search of Kindred Spirits" and Susan White's "Matthew Insists on Ripped Jeans" did the best of imaging the beloved characters in to modern settings without really deviating from the spirit of LM Montgomery's original creation. In all the other stories, I had no trouble recognizing Anne's feisty, imaginative, stubborn self and the other characters who were included in the stories were also true to character. However, the settings certainly did some quantum leaps from Avonlea! Anne was alternately an android, a gay young man, a Jamaican victim of child sex trafficking, a rebel in a future world where feelings and books are forbidden and a ghost, among others.

I do think anyone who has loved the Anne stories will enjoy this anthology - just make sure you go in with all the imagination Anne herself would bring to it.

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

2024 marks the 150th anniversary of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birth (1874) and is also the 30th anniversary of Acorn Press, of Prince Edward Island’s oldest traditional publishing house.

And to celebrate both to these milestones, Acorn Press on June 11, 2024 released The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon, containing ten short tales penned by ten different authors and where Anne Shirley is featured in various and sometimes really novel guises (ordered for me immediately upon its publication by my local independent bookseller, and that yes indeed, I have for the most part quite enjoyed reading The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon).

Now since Anne Shirley (of course Ann with an "e") has been since I first read Anne of Green Gables as a young teenager one of my favourite so-called kindred spirits and also a cherished book friend, I was definitely and naturally looking forward to discovering how Anne Shirley has been reimagined by the ten featured authors of The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon (by Susan Moloney, Hope Dalvay, Paul Coccia, Natasha Deen, Deirdre Kessler, Shari Green, Matthew Dawkins, Mere Joyce, Susan White and Judith Graves) and whether their textual usage of Anne Shirley as a character in their presented stories also fits my personal visions of and for the latter.

But while I have as already mentioned quite liked and been entertained by my reading time with The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon and that in my humble opinion ALL ten stories have been adeptly penned by their respective authors and are as such also decently, are nicely readable, I must admit that my enjoyment of The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon varies from "love the thematics and the contents" to "cannot really understand and accept the thematics and the contents" (so that my star rating for The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon is three stars and cannot ever be considered as rating higher than three stars either). For while the more standard orphan or school stories of The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon have been textually delightful such as for example Hope Dalvay's junior high (middle school) themed In Search of Kindred Spirits, Susan White's Matthew Insists on Ripped Jeans and Mere Joyce's Where the Dark Goes (amongst bien sûr others), sorry, but Susan Moloney turning Anne Shirley into a vampire who devours Diana Barry in Anne and the Bloody Book, Paul Coccia making his Anne Shirley character a portly, and obese boy in Carpetbaggers (although the story itself is in fact really good), Anne being a cyborg and coming with a serial number instead of a name in Natasha Deen's 4624643 and Matthew Dawkins' Anne, from nowhere in particular having his Anne Shirley character be a Jamaican girl and the the victim of trafficking, well, in particular these four stories are not AT ALL to my tastes, do not AT ALL mean L.M. Montgomery's Anne Shirley to and for me and thus also make me not able to rate The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon higher than the already mentioned three stars (and just to point out that I still enjoyed reading Matthew Dawkins' Anne from nowhere in particular but that I just cannot conceptualise Anne Shirley as a Jamaican girl who is being trafficked and that I do stand by said feeling of reading, of narrational discomfort).

[Kelly Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am normally not a fan of short stories because there isn’t enough time for well rounded character development so the success rests solely on the author’s writing skills and so many fall short. But here the authors are presented with characters that are already developed and universally known to readers. Here we have ten stories based on the beloved Anne Shirley of Green Gables fame from the pens and imaginations of ten Canadian fiction authors. And what imaginations some of them have! Some of the authors really hit the mark when it comes to paying homage to Anne, Diana, Gilbert, Matthew, and Marilla. Susan White captures the Maritimes with brown bread, beans, and molasses cookies and knows that the cure for many a troubled heart begins by putting the kettle on. White’s Anne is a girl in foster care who pretends that she is Anne while Shari Green tells Anne’s story in beautiful verse (set in the NWT) and Hope Dalvy perfectly captures a modern day Anne and Gilbert. There is Anne from a dystopian society where emotions and books (god forbid!!) are verboten; a story that by the end has nailed all of the Green Gables characters and one that I would have really liked but for the damned misuse of pronouns. There is ghost Anne and gay, male Anne who meets his bio-dad Matthew who is the drag queen Marilla (clever!) and reprogrammed killer cyborg Anne (she kicks ass!) and a story that really drew me in despite having nothing in common with the original; a Jamaican girl abducted and sold into slavery and given the name “Anne”. Deirdre Kessler provides a poignant story of a mute Anne, interesting in that is diametrically opposed to the original Anne (lol!) And then there is Anne the vampire (?) or creature from the underworld (?) who literally eats her friend Diana. If you make it through that one believe me, it is all uphill from there! Some hits, some almost hits, and the one big miss for me. 3½ stars