Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables

by Ivy Noelle Weir, Myisha Haynes (Illustrator)

Anne of Green Gables with a twist: in this follow-up to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and The Secret Garden on 81st Street, this full-color graphic novel moves Anne Shirley to modern-day West Philadelphia, where where she finds new friends, new rivals, and a new family.

When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert decide to foster a teenage girl for the first time, their lives are changed forever. Their redheaded foster daughter, Anne Shirley, is in search of an exciting life and has decided that West Philly is where she's going to find it. Armed with a big personality and unstoppable creativity, Anne takes her new home by storm as she joins the robotics club, makes new friends in Diana and Gilbert, experiences first love, and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. But as Anne starts to get comfortable, she discovers one thing she wasn't looking for: a family.

This title will be simultaneously available in paperback.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Retellings, Fiction, Comics, Contemporary, Childrens

245 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2022

About the author

Ivy Noelle Weir is a writer of comics and prose. She is the co-creator of the Dwayne McDuffie Award-winning graphic novel Archival Quality (Oni Press), the upcoming The Secret Garden on 81st Street (Little, Brown for Young Readers), and her writing has appeared in anthologies such as Princeless: Girls Rock (Action Lab Entertainment) and Dead Beats (A Wave Blue World). She lives in the greater Boston area with her husband and their two tiny, weird dogs.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's wonderful what you're doing, but I would never have taken a girl...With a girl, there's going to be drama.

Matthew and Marilla have fostered plenty of children and are ready to open their home to one more...However, as Rachel Lynde pointed out, all of their previous fosters had been boys.

But surely, fostering a girl couldn't be all that different from a boy...right? Well, Marilla is going to find out - and fast!

"So you can start calling me Cordelia now if you want to. I think Cordelia is probably better for my personal brand.

Ohhh boy. (Or should it be "ohhh girl"?).

At any rate, Marilla and Matthew are in for an adventure - and maybe (just native) Anne Shirley has found her forever family, and plenty of dear friends in her new school.

Well, except for one particular classmate:

"Who is that?"
"That's Gilbert Blythe. He's probably the smartest person in our grade..."
"He is my nemesis now."

This was a nice retelling of Anne of Green Gables. I feel like it had a lot of potential but fell a bit short.

The author kept most of the major events and changed the smaller details which kind of worked for me.

However, I do think that by keeping so many of the major arcs the same, the book did border a beat-for-beat recreation - which is an okay decision but it didn't make this version feel particularly memorable to me.

In this one, Anne is more into robotics than dramatics and she is ready for an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest instead than dreaming of puffed sleeves.

I feel like the book lacked the signature whimsy of Anne which was a bummer for me.

And while she has a couple of moments of being awed by the house and surrounding area, she ultimately feels much more practical of a main character - which is fine...but not Anne, if you know what I mean.

The author did keep some of her core traits - like how she is still eager to prove herself academically, how she hates Gilbert and wants a home but again, not as much whimsy as I would have liked.

I did enjoy the dynamic between her and Matthew & Marilla. Watching the found family coming together was a delight.

I enjoyed her friendship with Diana but I'm not sure if I was a fan of the Diana-Anne angle.

I could get behind Anne being queer, but I feel like the relationship between Gilbert and herself was such a core moment.

I love the push-pull of enemies to friends, that I would have expected the author to have made Gilbert a female character to balance out Anne's temper. .

Ultimately, this wasn't the worst interpretation of Anne but it also wasn't the best. (Check out Kindred Dragons if you want proper Anne whimsy)

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who considers herself somewhat of an Anne adaptation connoisseur, from the Philly burbs I was SO excited to read this adaptation. However, I am sorely disappointed. It feels like the author read the Anne of Green Gables Wikipedia, picked an American city and called it a day.

SPOILERS BELOW



Gilbert saving Anne after her and the Avonlea school girls are playing on boathouse row? No....Anne and Diana accidentally drinking spiked water ice? No... Ms. Stacey taking them to the art mueseum?
A Cheesestake? Wawa? An Eagles or Sixer's Jersey anywhere in sight? Even one use of Jawn? Nope Niltch Nada. The BEST we get is an offand comment about Matthew working as an English professor at Temple (which is in North Philly, and not in West Philly like Drexel or even Penn, but I digress)


Red Hair ? No mention of such a distinguishing anne feature. Making Anne CODE? The character that recites Tennyson and has a wild imagination is now sitting with a laptop coding. I'm all for creativity in different aspects but it seems completely out of character and rather a desperate attempt for Anne to seem modern and feminist (both of which can be accomplished with Anne actually in character *cough cough Anne with an E*)

The Puff sleeved dress .. which this incredibly whimsical character describes as her 'highest ideal of earthly bliss' is now.... an ugly sweater for a winter pageant. Her messing up her hair which is supposed to be a learning experience about her focus on the material world and image is now.. magically fixed within a day and everony LOVES it.

And I NEVER thought I would be so ungrateful for Anne/Diana ... but Gilbert trying to set up Anne and Diana feels sacrilegious. I'm not going to get all Anne-philosophizing on here but there are some amazing pieces on Anne/Diana and Anne and female romance in general, but this just felt like she heard about it and decided to throw the two characters together.

Minnie - May sprains her ankle. Sorry, but that is hardly the verge of death act that actually makes the Barry's come around to Anne. No storywriting club, no romantic Ruby Gillis, and barely a cameo from Rachel Lynde.

There are so many fun ways to play with Anne and the characters of Avonlea (was Avonela even mentioned once? Was it even the name of their street? )

Instead of anything that makes Anne we spend the second half of this novel at a robotics competition (also-side note: Gilbert wouldn't code either, he is a doctor ?) that amounts to him 'giving' her his scholarship which allows her to go to Queen Academy. And in a final caup de tau of it is when Anne she says to give up the portion of her money that would go to tuition (which Philly magnet schools do not charge tuition) to Matthew's medical bills after a heart attack. The entire point of Anne offering to stay in Avonlea is to care for an aging Marilla, not money. Its about family and love!!

Sorry if this is harsh - no hard feelings just so much lost opportunity

[aarya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming reimagining of one of my favorite books. My complaint: as a Philly resident, I really wish the graphic novel had more nods/references to the setting. I was excited to see West Philly and other parts of the city come to life, but that rarely occurred.

Read via library.

[Reyhaneh.r · Rating 2 out of 5]

『هو النور』
چه می‌شد اگر آن شرلی در قرن ۲۱ متولد می‌شد؟ ایده‌ی جالبی به نظر میاد. البته اگر نویسنده‌ای که کتاب را بازآفرینی می‌کند، کتاب را درست خوانده باشد!
این کتابِ کمیک‌وار بازآفرینی‌ای امروزی و مدرن از جلد اول آن شرلی است.
من مشتاقانه هرگونه اقتباس، بازآفرینی و... از آن شرلی را با آغوش باز می‌پذیرم اما این بازآفرینی زیاده‌روی بود!

مدرنیته
می‌دانم این شاید ایراد بی‌جایی به نظر بیاید چون به هر حال داستان قرار است در قرن ۲۱ اتفاق بیفتد اما خودمانیم، "آن شرلی" با آن حرف‌های قلمبه سلبمه برای سن خودش جالب، تحسین‌برانگیز و رویایی بود.
حال این حس لطیف با تبدیل چیزهایی مانند "Kindred spirit" به "BFF" از بین می‌رود. تبادل نامه به تبادل اکانت اینستا تبدیل می‌شود.

آن شرلیِ این قصه اصلا آن شرلی نبود.
تقریبا اکثر اتفاقات مهم کتاب را با ایده‌های نوآورانه و امروزی در بر گرفته بود اما آیا امروزی شدن به این معناست که آن شرلیِ قصه‌ی ما از شخصی که عاشق ادبیات بود و می‌خواست نویسنده شود، تبدیل به یک برنامه‌نویس و در مسابقات رباتیک شرکت کند؟!!!
برنامه نویسی و مسابقات رباتیک خوب و مفید است اما بهتر بود نویسنده کلا داستان جدیدی می‌نوشت و اسم شخصیت اصلی را تغییر می‌داد.
یعنی نویسنده شدن امروزی و مدرن نیست؟

اقتباس و بازآفرینی هم حدی دارد.
به نظر من حداقل کاری که شخص برای بازآفرینی باید انجام دهد، این است که حداقل چندین کتاب از نویسنده‌ی مدنظر را با دقت بخواند.
در واقع به نظرم باید دفترخاطرات نویسنده هم خوانده شود اما خب با همان چندین کتاب هم می‌شود به تفکرات نویسنده پی‌برد.

آیا در اقتباس و بازآفرینی نباید تفکرات، نظرات و در کل شخصیت و شیوه‌ی فکریِ نویسنده اصلی را در نظر گرفت؟
حفظ روحیه‌ و فضای داستان، حفظ شخصیت پردازی کاراکترها و... پیش‌کش، کاش حداقل تغییراتی اضافه نکنند که کلا با تفکرات نویسنده اصلی مغایرت دارد.

تصویرگری
تصاویر کتاب اصلا احساسات صادقانه، بی‌ریا و زیبای آن شرلی را برای من منتقل نمی‌کرد. با نگاه کردن به تصاویر انگار فقط یک بچه‌ی غرغرو و اخمالو می‌دیدم.
برای مثال تصویرگری‌ها و اقتباس‌های دیگر را تصور کنید. شاید از نظر ظاهری تفاوت بسیار داشته باشند اما اکثر آن‌ها حس زندگی و جادوی مونتگمری را در حد توان‌شان به خواننده یا بیننده منتقل می‌کنند. اصلا بحث ظاهر آن شرلی مطرح نیست. بحث منتقل کردن آن حس سرشار از زندگیِ کارهای مونتگمری است.

من بازآفرینی‌های خلاصه شده را دوست دارم چون آنقدر کتاب برای خواندن وجود دارد که گاهی وقت نمی‌کنیم به بازخوانی روی بیاوریم. یادآوریِ برخی اتفاقات کتاب برایم دوست‌داشتنی بود اما تصویرگری و تغییر بی‌مورد و بی‌جای شخصیت‌‌ها و داستان تجربه‌ی جالبی را برایم رقم نزد.

_چهارشنبه ۱ اسفند ۱۴۰۳

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well and also necessarily, before I actually post a review for Ivy Noelle Weir's 2022 graphic novel (and contemporary) retelling of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables I feel that I must say the following about some of the rather weirdly negative (and sometimes even a bit ranting and raving) comments regarding the latter I have encountered in a number of positive and glowing reviews of Anne of West Philly (mostly concerning the supposed unacceptable datedness, ethnic non diversity and the rural Prince Edward Island setting of Anne of Green Gables).

But honestly, L.M. Montgomery penned Anne of Green Gables at the beginning of the 20th century, and while for 1908, Montgomery's text should (in my opinion) be considered in many ways as quite modern, forward thinking and also with a budding sense of feminism and of taking children (including girls) and their desires, their wants and needs seriously, in 1908, a story set in Prince Edward Island would generally and realistically speaking NOT be including many if any depictions of ethnic multiplicity and would also and authentically be showing a very rural and small town White Anglo Saxon Protestant attitude (and this would likely even be the case in PEI cities like Charlottetown and Summerside, so it would be even more prevalent for a small town such as the fictitious but based on reality Avonlea). And yes, I really do have to wonder with a lot of personal negativity, frustration and major annoyance, why so many positive and appreciative reviews of Anne of West Philly also then seem to feel the need to be trash talking both Anne of Green Gables as a novel and L.M. Montgomery as an author. Because this certainly tends to feel ridiculously nasty, opinionatedly problematic for no reason whatsoever (and that for me and sadly so, at first, it also made me rather badly and negatively disposed to Anne of West Philly and to Ivy Noelle Weir without even having read the book, and that I therefore do leave the important and also the required caveat for interested readers of Anne of West Philly to NOT bother reading any online reviews before your perusal, to just read Anne of West Philly cold turkey so to speak and to see whether you think that Ivy Noelle Weir has successfully penned a contemporary, modern day retelling of Anne of Green Gables).

And yes, for me (both emotionally and also intellectually), my general textual feeling regarding Anne of West Philly is that Anne of West Philly is most definitely a nicely decent and often even quite delightful modern retelling of Anne of Green Gables (although at first, Ivy Noelle Weir's current-day Anne Shirley feels just a bit too brash for me to consider as a true kindred spirit, but that by the end of Anne of West Philly, I do definitely like and appreciate Anne on a personal and emotional level). For having an ethnically diverse and urban setting for Anne of West Philly (and with Anne Shirley clearly being shown both textually and even more so illustratively as African American and the Cuthberts as Latino), this definitely makes sense for 2022, and that I also absolutely appreciate Ivy Noelle Weir sticking close enough to L.M. Montgomery's original text for me to consider Anne of West Philly as basically being a nicely reflected contemporary mirror image of Anne of Green Gables. But furthermore, considering that I have always been rather peeved at L.M. Montgomery basically killing off Matthew Cuthbert at the end of Anne of Green Gables, I really do totally and utterly love love love how the author, how Ivy Noelle Weir has her Matthew Cuthbert character in Anne of West Philly also end up with suffering a heat attack like in Anne of Green Gables but that he, that our modern day Matthew survives and that Anne Shirley then uses her tuition and scholarship money to help out the Cuthberts with the heavy-duty (American style) medical expenses incurred.

However and the above having been said, I still cannot say that my reading experience with Anne of West Philly has in any way been even remotely as rewarding and as magical as Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery's fiction in general has always been and continues to be, and that for me, the combination of Ivy Noelle's text and Myisha Raynes' artwork (and Anne of West Philly as a graphic novel) can and will always be no higher than three stars (and that I will also continuously and always choose Anne of Green Gables over Anne of West Philly).

For one, even though illustrator Myisha Haynes' artwork for Anne of West Philly generally and decently successfully mirrors Ivy Noelle Weir's featured text, I do have to question why in particular the Diana Barry character of Anne of West Philly is more often than not depicted by Haynes as clad quite majorly revealingly (and that I personally do find said scenario a trifle problematic since textually Diana never behaves sluttily and in an overly sexually provocative manner in Anne of West Philly), and not to mention that I also find especially Anne Shirley's often grimacing and distorted looking facial features for Anne of West Philly rather aesthetically unappealing and sometimes even bordering on the grotesque (and I do wish that Myshia Raynes would tune down the visual exaggeration a bit and make her images for Anne of West Philly a bit less one dimensional and cartoon like).

And for two, textually speaking (and as a total and utter Anne of Green Gables fan), yes, I do have a number of personal issues with changes and omissions made by the author, by Ivy Noelle Weir in Anne of West Philly (and these are also not changes and abridgements I am able to simply ignore and forget about). I mean, the sweet and laugh out loud humour of in Anne of Green Gables L.M. Montgomery having Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert being sent a girl from an orphanage when they in fact are expecting a boy, this is totally MIA in Anne of West Philly since Matthew and Marilla are both experienced foster parents and have deliberately chosen a girl, and indeed, I also miss the shy and sometimes downright awkward Matthew Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables as the much more outgoing and with strong opinions Matthew Cuthbert the teacher of Anne of West Philly is for me just not how I would ever expect Matthew to be depicted like, even in a modern, a current retelling of Anne of West Philly. And finally (but for me truly frustratingly and beggaring belief), why does in Anne of West PhillyIvy Noelle Weir make Diana Barry get drunk and physically ill from liquor filled chocolates instead of something a bit more similar to the raspberry cordial of Anne of Green Gables, and why, even though in Anne of Green Gables Anne Shirley clearly is a poet, a budding creative writer and with her favourite subject being English literature at school, why does Anne of West Philly display all these STEM contents and scenarios (like coding, robotics and the like)? For yes, one reason that Anne of Green Gables is such a personal favourite for me is that L.M. Montgomery's heavily into the humanities Anne Shirley really tugs at me and makes me feel like Anne and I have quite similar cultural and literary tastes and interests (and no, Ivy Noelle Weir's Anne of West Philly and her contemporary Anne Shirley being so much into and intrigued by robotics and the like, this just does not work all that well for me with regard to making Weir's Anne a true and complete kindred spirit).

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I continue my reading expedition through the main Anne franchise I’ve come to adore, I’m really starting to enjoy the similar feel but fresh take I get when I fit in one of the retellings as a breather in between and now I think I might just need to try and read every Anne Shirley reimagining because the more I dive into the more I love them all and the main inverse Montgomery wrote as a whole to begin with.while this book can’t replace the original, I feel like it’s modern spin and placement in Philadelphia was perfect for breathing new life and while still following the majority of the main storyline this excels at hitting all the main points. While alcoholic chocolate felt kind of lame compared to the original and marilla and Mathew’s sibling relationship felt a bit different than normal as well but Diana and all the green gables classic side cast fit in nearly perfect, I even enjoyed Gilbert in this one, and it was super nerdy, up my alley, and bad*ss to have Anne excel and get into coding and robotics because that creativity really feels like it fits our Shirley and it might’ve been my favorite personal addition/change.

[Fatma Al Zahraa Yehia · Rating 3 out of 5]

معالجة عصرية للرواية المحبوبة "آن في المرتفعات الخضراء" والتي أخذت زمن القصة الأصل-في أوائل القرن العشرين-إلى الزمن الحالي، ومن القرية الكندية الصغيرة المحافظة إلى المدينة الأمريكية المنفتحة على ثقافات وأفكار مختلفة.
بالطبع لا يُعلى على القصة الأصلية التي قرأتها منذ زمن طويل وأعتبرتها من أجمل ما قرأت من أدب الأطفال. وتلك لا يمنع استمتاعي بالقصة "المُعدلة" والتي قُدمت في شكل قصة مصورة "كوميك" مما أعطى أبعادا أكثر تفصيلا وإمتاعا للحكاية.

وكحال كل معالجة عصرية للقصص الكلاسكية، كان هناك الكثير من الاختلافات بين القصة الأصيلة وتلك العمل. وكقارئة لا تتقبل التغيير، تعاملت مع تلك التغييرات وكأنني أقرأ عملا جديدا ومختلفا، لأن لكل "نص" روح وحالة خاصة يصعب نقلها أو تمريرها من خلال الأعمال المأخوذة عنها.

تقبلت-على مضض-تلك التغييرات واستمتعت بالحكاية الحديثة برغم أنني أحسست في بعض الأحيان بافتعال في روح الحكاية أو الشخصيات، أو المباشرة والخطابية، ولكن في نهاية القصة حدث ما توقعت منه وخشيته :)
حضرت روح "الصوابية السياسية" اللي بقت قدر ومكتوب علينا في معظم الأعمال المقدمة للمراهقين بل والأطفال. بقدرة قادر غيرت المؤلفة خط الصداقة الجميلة بين "آن وديانا" والتي كانت واحدة من أجمل ما أحببنا في القصة، إلى بذور مشاعر "رومانسية" من "آن لديانا".

هو واضح الموضوع بقى "تقليب رزق"، وحوار الصوابية السياسية ده بقى "جواز مرور" أي مؤلف لعالم النشر والكتب لأي عُمر أو سن.

كفاية بجد الموضوع بقى تلزيق قوي والله

[Alesha H · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author should have read all the Anne books. I got the feeling only the first 1 was read or the movie was watched. Anne was missing a lot of her storytelling, drama, sense of wonder and awe. The alley is the only scene with this. I missed the scarring herself silly with her imagination. I was also angry that the relationship with Diana couldn’t just be a close female friendship. It is clear, especially in the later books how much Anne loves Gilbert. The enemies to loves trope is a big part of the charm of the book. If the author wanted to incorporate at LGBTQ element, Gilbert could have been a girl. Or it could have been someone else in the story.

A lot of the events feel forced, like the scene with Aunt Josephine. It wasn’t really important for the story the way it was told. It was just added because it was in the original but it took away anything that made it important, developed the character or advanced the plot.

Also, Anne comes off as whiny. She doesn’t do chores well because she gets distracted by books or day dreams in the originals, here, she is just being a spoiled kid. Matilda says something like “only boring people get bored.” The true Anne was never bored. She had her imagination. That is part of her charm. The author didn’t seem to have a true grasp of the character.

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish this had put more of its own spin on the beloved classic and dug deeper emotionally.

While I would probably be annoyed with a TV or movie adaptation of Anne of Green Gables that didn’t include the hallmark moments of the original, I don’t feel like a re-telling needs to be as faithful as an adaptation, I would have happily thrown away some of these scenes (like the cordial incident that in this new iteration wasn’t particularly believable) in exchange for scenes that develop the characters a little more, give more insight into Marilla’s sometimes harsh personality and Anne’s occasionally bratty behavior and show more of the nuances of who they are, for instance in the original, there’s solid reasoning behind why Marilla wanted a boy to work their farm, here however, I wasn’t clear on why she’d have apprehension over fostering a girl rather than a boy.

With the exception of a couple changes this pretty much follows Anne of Green Gables beat for beat which made for a book that at times felt as though little creativity had been put into it and to me the only point of a re-telling is to take the story and characters to different places.

Technically this took Anne from 1800’s PEI to modern day Philly, but almost no time is spent on the setting, in giving you a sense of this Anne’s community. Same goes for Anne’s race and her culture, obviously no book and no character should entirely be about the color of someone’s skin because every human being is more than that, but if you’re recasting Anne of Green Gables with a present-day black girl then shouldn’t the story take some time to acknowledge that she is a black girl, to show that her life experiences likely differed greatly from the original Anne’s, to address that she’s a unique combination of a black girl with red hair, etc.? It seemed like a squandered opportunity to center this on a black girl in West Philly yet not particularly explore those new aspects of this otherwise extremely familiar story.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Canadians are already mad at the U.S. because of Trump wanting to annex them, so I hope they don't find out that three years ago we quietly stole Anne Shirley from Prince Edward Island and moved her to Philadelphia.

This retelling also makes her BIPOC and gives her an interest in STEM and the school robotics club as it tweaks and updates the original story in numerous ways. It does manage to stay truer to the characters' personalities than the other modern updating I read recently, Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of), which softened everyone, but Matthew Cuthbert is still too outgoing for my tastes in this version.

The art is nice and the story holds to the spirit of the original novel while making for a good middle-school graphic novel all on its own, even for people who might not be familiar with the original book.

My favorite graphic novel adaptation of Anne Shirley's life though still remains Manga Classics: Anne of Green Gables by Crystal Chan and Kuma Chan.

[Guylou (Two Dogs and a Book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANNE OF WEST PHILLY is a charming and delightful graphic novel adaptation of L.M. Montgomery's classic novel Anne of Green Gables. Ivy Noelle Weir's writing is engaging and captures the spirit of the original while giving it a fresh and modern twist. Myisha Haynes' illustrations are colorful, expressive, and bring the characters to life in a delightful way.

The story follows the red-headed orphan Anne Shirley as she is taken in by the Cuthberts in modern-day West Philadelphia. Anne's big personality and creativity quickly make her popular among her peers, but she also faces challenges in adapting to her new home and family. As Anne navigates new friendships and experiences first love, she also learns the true meaning of family.

In a nutshell, ANNE OF WEST PHILLY is a heartwarming and enjoyable graphic novel that is perfect for both fans of the original novel and newcomers to the story.

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[Amanda M (On The Middle Shelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to absolutely love this one. I really love Anne of Green Gables and I have enjoyed this author's other adaptation, but unfortunately this one wasn't as big of a hit for me. I felt like it was missing the joy and whimsy of Anne. You get a little bit of it in the beginning, but I really wanted to see it throughout the entire book. That being said, I did like the way they adapted some of the original story points into a modern day setting. And I do think kids will enjoy this story.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of this modern retelling of Anne of Green Gables as a graphic novel, and although I enjoyed the illustrations it didn't quite have the same charm as the original.

[Hannah]

Meh. Feels like it's trying a bit too hard.

[Oyinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for my ARC!!!

Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables by Ivy Noelle Weir
Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel

This was a fun and easy-to-read MG graphic novel. I read this in one sitting and I loved it so much. From the art style to the plot/story and from the characters to the themes explored, this was a great read.

Featuring a young black girl as the main character, I like that this book did not center on Anne’s trauma. While she has had a tough life before the start of the book (going through a couple of foster homes), this book starts on a fresh note for Anne. I like that a non-traditional family structure was featured in this book as well. This book was filled with awesome characters that loved and supported Anne.

She made friends, there was a bit of romance, and she gained a new family. I love the STEM aspect of the book so much! Anne is such a smart cookie and she got the chance to shine by joining Robotics Club. This book had heavy themes, sure, but it was ultimately lighthearted and heavy on the Black Girl Joy, which I loved.

The illustrations were great and I loved the movement of time through the seasons and the various iterations of Anne’s hair.

I really enjoyed this book and I’d def recommend it.

3.5 stars

[Aud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets the full 5 stars because it's the best GN adaptation of this book I've seen yet. The fact that it's flawlessly converted into the modern day just makes it even better. I love how Anne's passion is for coding and creating art and stories with computers - that doesn't feel like a stretch from her original passion for writing - and her dramatic emoting is never tuned down even a little bit from the original. The art conveys her feelings perfectly: the facial expressions, body language, and color pallet perfectly complement and augment the storytelling. Really, this is just about perfect, and I love the traditional novel, so I'm not easy to please about this.

I also love how modern technology slightly modifies one part of the story in a believable way that I'm not going to spell out due to spoilers. But it's a great change, and one that makes sense in this context.

A great way to introduce the next generation of kids to Anne, or just to let them experience her in a new context. I hope this one flies off the shelf.

One Spoiler Below







Anne's changed relationship to Gilbert is the only thing I'm a little *meh* about. I thought they made a great couple and complemented each other really well. If it's just because the creators wanted Anne to be into girls, then they should have gender-swapped Gilbert. I never felt that kind of chemistry between Anne and Diana, and girls should be allowed to have best friends to whom they are totally platonically devoted in books, because that is a dynamic that exists in real life. This isn't a huge part of the plot, but it's there, and I wanted to mention it somewhere.

[Erika Jost · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really baffling. The characters were less real and less developed than in the original, the conflicts contrived, the sense of place nonexistent, the stakes lowered across the board. The adults were all well-meaning and generally correct, all their edges sanded down, which is like the least compelling thing you can do to a book aimed at kids who are just beginning to understand the limitations of adults. This is a particularly offensive shortcoming in an AoGG adaptation, because the original really shines in showing how all these imperfect personalities chafe against each other to create the drama of life, and some people you win over but some people are just Pyes and there’s nothing you can do about it. The revelation of Anne’s crush on Diana felt unearned and kind of cynical, which is kind of how I would describe this whole project.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book. Weir took an imaginative, delightful-but-flawed character and turned her into a dull, unimaginative, obnoxious whiner. Anne never would have complained about chores and she NEVER would have had to turn to the internet to come up with an apology. She would use her OWN imagination, not someone else's ideas. Also, Gilbert didn't call her carrots, and she didn't break a tablet over his head instead of a slate - she slapped him. (That's when I quit.) Marilla came off as a selfish jerk instead of a loveable curmudgeon. Matthew was okay, but not shy enough for me.

No.

[Reading with Yolandas Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

I loved this book.
A graphic Novel is such a great read if your in a reading slump to my opinion because you have the colorful pages and the great drawing and with it being a short book ( or some of them)
Anne in the book was such a fire cracker to be a foster child to me. She was just running on double AA batteries all the time.
I loved her spirit with making the best out of every house she was fostered at and how she did not know a stranger and y'all she just had so much confidence about herself that it was so inspiring.
For this book to be graphic novel the POV's of Anne Matthew and Matthews sister was the best; I felt so connected to Anne and Matthew the most because of what Matthew was going through. Such a cute book.

[Kaci Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 10 year old stayed up super late to finish this and immediately brought it to me to read too. Any book she loves that much, I’m excited to read also. It’s a modern version of Anne of Green Gables and cute for any kid who has read the original, the graphic novel adaption of original or seen the movie.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel I must begin with this: many of my favorite books are middle-grade novels that I still enjoy as an adult. Ella Enchanted is still one of my favorite books of all time. Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy series never fails to warm my heart. Just this year, I read and enjoyed the heck out of Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I’m not just a 20-something sourpuss who hates happiness; middle grade can be great! Unfortunately, this wasn’t.

I heard about Anne of West Philly on one of my favorite book-related podcasts. I adore Anne of Green Gables in all of its possible forms: the books, the 1980s Sullivan TV series, the 2010s Anne With an E (controversially, I know). I thought this would be a fun way to pass the time over Thanksgiving weekend, and in some ways, it was.

Let me start with what I liked. The art is lovely, colorful and fun without being sickly sweet. The illustrator, Myisha Haynes, is Black (the author, Ivy Noelle Weir, is not, but I’ll get to that in a second), and since Anne is a redheaded Black girl in this version, I loved seeing accurate details like her hair wrap for sleeping and the half-short, half-long haircut she ends up with. I also loved the color in Matthew and Marilla’s Victorian neighborhood and the fact that the “White Way of Delight” is a beautifully painted alleyway.

I also appreciate that this Anne loves coding and is good at it. It’s a good modern analog to her intimidating braininess in the original, since today we expect young girls to like writing and romance but not STEM subjects. West Philly Anne is both good at STEM and a creative book lover; I could definitely see this version of Anne going on to design video games with complex storytelling and beautiful, romantic visuals.

Now, what I didn’t like can be summed up in 3 major ways:

The story has almost no transitions.

We jump from scene to scene WAY too quickly, with almost no visual or textual clues. Anne has a problem and it’s immediately resolved on the next page. Marilla thinks one thing and then another and we don’t see her mind change. I don’t know how well I’d have been able to follow the story if I hadn’t been so familiar with the original.

The efforts to follow the original story often don’t make sense in a modern context.

Almost all the original names are maintained, but who names a kid “Gilbert” these days? Who’s named a kid “Marilla” in the last 100 years? When I learned that Anne’s cool young teacher STILL had the old-lady first name of “Muriel” in this book, I almost put it down; it was that unbelievable. There were several events that seemed to only be in the book because they were in the original, and the translation to modern scenarios (Diana and Anne eating chocolate liqueurs instead of accidentally drinking alcohol, for example) felt off.

The updates the story did get were often ineffective, and opportunities for subversive, creative updates were passed by.

This book is called "Anne of West Philly," but I barely saw Philadelphia at all here, and that’s especially disappointing given that the original AoGG describes its setting with such love and care that it’s basically a character in the book.

It would have been nice as well to see a little more about Anne’s experience as a Black girl (especially a natural redhead). The author is white, so I can see how she might not have wanted to step on any toes, but I question why she made Anne Black in the first place if she wasn’t prepared to discuss it. (Her meet-cute with Gilbert could have tied in with this: why not have him tease her for dyeing her hair, only for him to learn that Black girls can have naturally red hair? Teaching moment for him and would explain why she remains so mad at him.)

I also felt icky about the way Anne’s romantic life was handled: it is INCREDIBLY subtly implied that she actually has a crush on Diana, not Gilbert. Like, early-Disney-movie, LeFou-sighing-about-Gaston subtle. I’m not queer myself, so it��s possible I’m missing a little subtext, but I've seen this complaint from other reviewers as well. Anne didn’t seem romantically into Diana at all for most of the book, and she blushed when Gilbert called her smart … and then at the end of the book she implies she’s into Diana and not Gilbert? And never tells her and the relationship doesn’t go any further?

I want to clarify now that I do not have any issues with a queer Anne, or an Anne that has a crush on her female best friend. This could have been a great storyline if done well, but it almost feels shoehorned in. Young queer readers deserve more than that. There are so many better ways queerness could have been incorporated: Gilbert being a girl, for example. Or Anne being genuinely conflicted about her feelings for BOTH Diana and Gilbert and not knowing what to do. Or Diana’s mom separating Diana and Anne because she’s homophobic and sees they have feelings for each other (this isn't why she does it here; it's actually the chocolate liqueur thing, which is ridiculous). This author seems to have wanted to please both the Gilbert/Anne shippers and the Anne/Diana shippers, and honestly, she made a disappointing showing on both fronts. It's 2022; queer rep has no need to be so subtle that half the audience will miss it, especially this book's young target audience.

I feel bad writing such a long rant-ish review for this book. It clearly wasn't trying to hurt anyone, and I could see some young readers enjoying it. Here's what my main issue boils down to, though: I don't know who this book's target audience even is. Kids who don't know the AoGG story would probably be confused by the story jumping around and the weird attempts to remain true to AoGG, and kids who do will probably compare it unfavorably to the original. Great idea, some fun updates, but in the end, full of plot and character holes that ruin the reading experience.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this retelling of Anne of Green Gables. The artwork was wonderful and I loved all the characters especially Anne’s enthusiasm. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel.

[sana ୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Janinas.Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich bin ein riesengroßer "Anne of Green Gables" Fan!! Deshalb habe ich mich unfassbar gefreut, als ich diese Grapic Novel entdeckt habe! Eine moderne Adaption? Yes, please!!
Die Geschichte ist eine 1 zu 1 Kopie des Originals, allerdings mit einigen modernen Aspekten. So kommt Anne zum Beispiel als Pflegekind zu dem Geschwisterpaar Mathew und Marilla. Die Familie lebt in West Philly und nicht mitten auf dem Land. Auch die bereits bekannten anderen Charaktere, wie Gilbert, Diana usw. kommen in dieser Geschichte vor. Besonders gefallen hat mir die Diverstität der Geschichte und das Art Work! Jedoch muss ich leider sagen, dass mich die Grapic Novel nicht so sehr begeistern konnte wie das Original. Die Gefühle sind für mich nicht so herübergekommen und auch Anne hat irgendwie einen Teil ihres Charmes einbüssen müssen. Trotzdem ist es ein toller Zusatz und auf jeden Fall lesenswert.

[Gina Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find my review here as part of my bookstagram tour stop for this book :)

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, interesting. The art is lovely here—Anne reimagined in Philadelphia, where she is in the foster care system. Marilla and Matthew are still siblings, but this time they're siblings with a long record of fostering boys...but never before a girl.

The events of the book are translated to contemporary society, though it's clear which event in Anne of Green Gables translates to Anne of West Philly. I have mixed feelings about this: some of the events are really well modernised (I love that Anne, making her false sorry-about-the-brooch apology, looks up YouTuber apologies and makes a 'I'm so sorry I let you guys down' video), and generally speaking in adaptations I'd prefer that the adaptation plays fast and loose with the original if it better fits the new setting or context.

But I think a lot of the story is lost here. The events are there, but there's an extent to which I think the graphic novelisation trusts the reader to be familiar with Anne of Green Gables and to impose some of her personality and history on the Anne here. It's like...the scenes land, technically, but they're glancing blows rather than solid hits; they don't really build Anne's character or drive the story forward. (And: Anne falling for Diana? This is great, obviously, but it's all but invisible here, such that I only realised that was a thing from reading other reviews and then had to go back and look for it.)

Let's talk about the ending—spoiler tag here for a reason: In the original Anne of Green Gables, Matthew dies near the end. It's a pivotal moment for the book: it pushes Anne to grow up, and frankly, it's heart-wrenching for readers. And as Anne of West Philly raced on, and Matthew felt the occasional twinge in his chest, I wondered: would Matthew die here, too?

He doesn't. He has a heart attack, Anne calls 911, and by the end of the book he's expected to make a good recovery. And I'm not sure what to do with that. On the one hand, the pacing of the graphic novel would have to be completely different for Matthew to die—we'd need quite a lot more after the fact, because in the context of Anne being a contemporary foster kid who has finally found some stability, I imagine that would turn her world on its head again even more than usual. But that could also have been a place to see Anne's connection with Marilla solidify—for Anne to really trust that Marilla, and not just Matthew, wants her. It also could have been a place to explore in more depth the way stability is different for someone who has never really had it before.

The thing is...those could also have been done without Matthew dying. Not in the same way, maybe (and it's not that I'm necessarily arguing for Matthew's death here; even L.M. Montgomery said later that his was a character death she regretted...though grieving a character's death is not the same as it not being the right choice for the story, and frankly I think a major reason she regretted it is that she went on to write so many more books about Anne). But there's a huge missed opportunity here to take a closer look at foster care and trauma—even if treading lightly to maintain the more cheerful feel of the book. I have to wonder how much of the undercurrent I'd be missing (or, conversely, how much more I might enjoy this) if I hadn't read the original.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really genuine retelling! Moving Anne to the modern era works really well here. I think the fact that it's a graphic retelling honestly takes away from the story - you lose a lot of the attention to detail that makes Anne feel so special. Also as a maritimer I am obligated to complain about the setting. It really doesn't add anything in the story to take it out of Canada. Overall it was very sweet and felt like Anne simplified.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very disappointing book. I love Anne of Green Gables, it's a special book to me, but this feels like a very badly written version of that.

First of all, this scene was so annoying to me.
Anne steps into an alleyway, and says this:
"I think I'll call it the... Flowered Pathway. No, no, the White Way of Delight. No, I've got it! The outdoor art gallery, because that's really what it is."
Anne would not settle on such a basic name!!! Especially the Anne of the first book, she's very romantic and imaginative, she would come up with a much better name for it. In fact, I could probably come up with a better, more imaginative name in two seconds!

Secondly, Matthew doesn't even die??? To me, that was one of the biggest and most emotional parts in the book! I'm pretty sure it even made me cry, and I rarely cry while reading books. So I was reading the scene where Matthew has a heart attack, and I was preparing to feel the grief of losing one of the best characters in the books, but he turns out to be a-ok. He is completely fine, and is back to the house ON THE NEXT PAGE.

Also, the Anne-Diana romance that I somehow missed while reading that scene the first time?? What??? I genuinely thought Anne was lying when she said she liked someone else, but nope! It turns out she likes Diana (although to my knowledge it never explicitly says this in the graphic novel)

I just reread the scene after the robotics competition (Why is she into robotics?? You could have made her in a book club, or a writing club, or even an art club. All of those would have fit her character more in my opinion. Anyways) and no, she never explicitly says she likes Diana, and it's (in my opinion) barely implied. I missed it on my first readthrough. Gilbert x Anne was something I was kinda excited for before starting this book, because in the Anne of green gables books it's a very interesting part of the plot. But in this there's barely any romance!! Between any of the characters. Sure, change Anne's love interest to Diana if you want, but at least give us like a confession, or even an admission of love from Anne in her own thoughts.

In conclusion, I feel like this was an ok concept, but mediocre execution. I'm still a little bit in shock that they let Matthew live. As I said before, that was such a massive part of the first book for me, and not having it in this was a little bit of a letdown. It was not a book I would read again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me note that I love and adore L. M. Montgomery's original Anne, as well as Megan Follows's Anne from 1985. They are tops. And I am happy now to add this Anne of West Philly to the list as the third best Anne (over other adaptations I've seen/read) because: (1) yes, that is still Anne in there! and (2) this is a fantastic version which takes the ol' pre-WWI Anne's Canadian circumstances and translates her spirit into a modern American teen's situation. No, we do not see an exact repeat of a slate broken over G's head, nor is there any peddlar selling faulty products, nor does Matthew's heart attack resolve in the same way, but it's REALISTIC for our modern Anne and peoples to be living (and dying. or not.) differently, and I found it very SATISFYING to find our Anne in these newer times, still plugging along with ferocity and the desire for belonging and the love of her bosom friend(s) (which, predictably, is *not* language used in this version). I also appreciated the update on teacher M. Stacey.

[John Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Making Anne one of the most annoying and unlikeable characters imaginable was a mistake imo