In this sweet graphic novel adaptation of the classic Anne of Green Gables, the characters are updated for the 21st century.

This book is fast-paced; I read it in one sitting. Definitely a great pick for a middle grade graphic novel collection. Present-day middle schoolers will relate to Anne's adventures as translated to the modern day by Gros.

This is a graphic novel retelling of Anne of Green Gables. It's reimagined in a modern setting where Anne is fostered by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert who live in an apartment complex named Avon-lea.

The characters are a bit milder than the original story. Anne's flair for the dramatics is a bit more tamed, and Marilla's austere nature is much more softened. It still holds true to some of the original storyline including having Rachel Lynde make an appearance and Gilbert and Anne develop a comfortable friendship.

In this version, however, Anne's creativity is expressed through joining the zine club and her friendship with Diana turns into a romance. This version also has several mentions of LGBTQIA+ character coming out and characters share their preferred pronouns. The gay angle is treated as very normal and there is no hatred or judgement against the girls. Readers who want to see a portrayal of positive gay characters would appreciate this book.

This graphic novel retelling of Anne of Green Gables reimagines Anne as a foster kid. When Anne finally finds a new home where she can be herself, at first it seems like it might be too good to be true. After all, every other time her new family finds something wrong with her. What if it happens this time, too? What if Anne isn't good enough to find a new family?

While Anne is trying to adjust to her new home, she also has to sort through her feelings for her new best friend. Because they don't feel like just friendship feelings. They feel like they might be something more. The question is: will Diana feel the same way?

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) by Kathleen Gros! I'm loving branching out into middle grade graphic novels, because there are so many great ones coming out! It really is a great time to be a middle grade graphic novel reader.

This may be a retelling of Anne of Green Gables, but many of the themes and characters are updated to be relatable to middle schoolers today. Anne struggles a lot with accepting her appearance in the book, and I loved that she gained confidence throughout the story. And her foster family! At first they didn't want a teenager, but they came to love Anne. It was such a great storyline of acceptance all around.

Anne's budding feelings for Diana was probably one of my favorite aspects of the story. She's allowed to explore them without really experience any kind of negative consequences. More storylines like this in middle grade, please! So many middle schoolers struggle with similar feelings and seeing them in a book can be life-changing.

All in all, this is a great update to a classic and I can't wait for middle schoolers to read it!

The first few chapters of this had me worried since it seemed like a beat-for-beat retelling only in a contemporary setting. I was worried that the text wouldn't do enough to be its own thing, but now I think it stayed close to the source at the beginning because there are a lot of changes in the back half. I liked the changes, heck I wish there were a few more! My only complaint about this story, which seems unfair since it's a problem I had with the original, is Anne. Anne is not only annoying but judgemental and closed off. Anne Shirley is not, and will never be, one of my favorite characters (but I do kinda love her story lol) And this was a good take on her story, I liked the new inclusivity, the LGBT+ rep, the lack of some of the more melodramatic scenes from the original and the overall real feel of it. I'll probably pick up the Little Women retelling by this author!

This was a fun and enjoyable adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. Middle School readers will be able to relate to Anne as she navigates her life in her new foster home. Hand this to fans of Gros's other adaption Jo.

'Anne' is the epitome of heartwarming. I couldn't put down this 'Anne of Green Gables' retelling, where Anne is taken in from foster care, learns how to manage anger and falls in love with her best friend. Anne is imperfect, and messes up so many things, but I loved seeing the true unconditional love (and no homophobia!) from her new family and friends. There's a lot to learn from this about how to be a kind and forgiving person. Rated 4 stars instead of 5 because it was just missing that something that pulls me into a story on a more emotional level.

What an enchanting new take on Anne of Green Gables! As a huge fan of Anne, I love seeing her transported to the modern world. She got into familiar mischievous encounters and some new ones. I'd recommend this graphic novel to both everyone!

I am currently reading through the Anne of Green Gables series so when I saw this I knew I needed to read this. It is a cute modern day retelling of the story that young readers will enjoy. Anne being in Foster Care is a great voice for many kids and I liked that they turned the setting into an apartment complex. The nod to the original while still creating a new work with heart is a great balance. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the digital arc for review.

This book was beautiful. All the good vibes.

This retelling of Anne of Green Gables gets rid of all the toxic traits of the characters in the original novel (Particularly those of Marilla) and focuses more on the coming-of-age arc of Anne.

The treatment of Anne’s relationship (or lack thereof) with Gilbert was very elegant and truly allowed the reader to understand the way that both of the character’s were feeling.

By far the most beautiful part of this book was Anne’s relationship with Diana. The progression of their friendship was perfect for fans of the primary relationship in the Heartstopper graphic novels. Their love story was completely adorable, justified, and was overall just done perfectly.

I will admit that I shed a few tears toward the end as Anne began to settle into her life at the Avon-Lea.

I recommend this to anyone that enjoys graphic novels, particularly cute and fluffy graphic novels like Heartstopper by Alice Oseman.

The art was also beautiful!

I really liked the concept and the story, especially the one ending, it was very sweet and wholesome. I just had a hard time really getting into the plot, but all-in-all it was a solid cute read with a good message.

Cute, queer graphic novel retelling of a classic. It's easy to recognize the plot elements from the original. Modern-day Anne's interest in zines make for a fun introduction to the form as well as a creative way to gain insight into the character.

3.75 stars <3
i love this author’s work because she always includes such great diversity and inclusivity. i also enjoy how she includes stating pronouns like she did in her book about jo. i’ve also always wanted to see anne and diana together, so this was great <3 i’m really excited to see more from this author in this future. i think this was really wonderful and i liked it even more than her book about jo. the characterization of anne was lovely. while the artwork isn’t my favorite style (especially in terms of the way the characters are drawn), it’s very unique. i wasn’t very fond of gilbert at first, but he had his redemption !!
thank you to netgalley and harpercollins for this ARC !

On a recent road trip my partner and I were listening to an audiobook version of Anne of Green Gables (which we haven’t finished, but it’s really good—produced by Mary Kate Wiles). Every time Anne talked about Diana, I was like, omg, this is so gay. More like Anne of Green GAY-bles. @kagcomix clearly thought the same thing. This is a super cute graphic novel that has Anne as a contemporary foster child moving into an urban apartment building, the Avon-Lea, where Diana lives in the penthouse. They quickly become fast friends and sneak out to a hideaway into the woods (their urban escape).

Like in the original, Anne works on settling into her new home and school. Here, she joins a zine club and creates zines about her friendship with Diana (there are even zine instructions in the book)—and starts to realize she might like Diana as more than a friend when a boy asks Diana to the school dance. The artwork throughout the graphic novel was absolutely adorable and brought the urban setting and characters to life. I’m not as familiar with the original, but my partner, who is a diehard fan, said that the selection of vignettes from the original text worked well for the adaptation. This is a quick and charming read, and a heartwarming G-rated queer romance.

Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of)

This one didn’t *quite* work for me. I just wish that the story went deeper. There seemed to be something missing. I didn’t get a real sense of Anne’s quirkiness & spirit from this adaptation like I did from the original. I liked the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters, but felt like that the friendship to crush relationship was really under developed. And then Anne’s hate turned platonic friendship with Gilbert just seemed tacked on.

I don’t want to spoil too much, but there is another major plot point from the original that is left out. I feel like maybe if that was included, it would have provided a chance for more depth.

Having said all that, I would love to see more from this author/illustrator! There are definitely things I really liked. For example, I especially loved the Marilla character in this version.

This book is AMAZING! I think as a modern adaptation it does really well to keep to its source material but be more relevant to a more modern audience. I think that the OG Anne of green gables always had a vibe to it that resonates well with the LGBTQIA+ changes that were made in this narrative and I love that they kept her issues with anger because that is something that women, in general, are told to not be. There were some "Boys will be Boys" issues that I think were overlooked in terms of people addressing it and Anne getting the support that she was seeking when it was happening but that is a very small issue that I have with the graphic novel when there is so much more to be happy about. Overall I really enjoyed it, want it in my library, and hope that more will be made!
Story: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Worldbuilding: 4/5
Overall: 5/5
Thanks to NetGalley, Kathleen Gros, and Harper Collins Children's Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this title!

I really enjoyed this modern graphic novel adaptation of Anne of Green Gables! 4.5/5 stars, rounded up.

I received an advance copy of this book. The graphics in the book could of been better. Seemed like the sister and brother were the same character design just with outfit changes. Plot line was average and would not recommend to others

Thank you to NetGalley that provides me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

WOW this was adorable. Everything I’d want out of an Anne Shirley-Cuthbert sapphic adaptation for this grade level. I’ll definitely be wanting a copy for my classroom.

From the interactions with the Cuthbert’s to the kids at school, I felt were true to Anne’s original character. Obviously there were some valid characterization changes - not wanting to spoil! - but I loved it all the same.

As someone who is a lesbian, this made my inner child happy and this is absolutely something I would have loved to have been exposed to at this age.

Great job, great art, my only desire is more of Aunt Josephine. :)

Oh my gosh, so cute and so fun! I really loved this!! A really great story of belonging, learning how to manage your feelings, and first crushes. So great for a kid who needs to know they aren't alone!

I was fortunate enough to receive a digital ARC of this graphic novel from Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review. As someone who has been a fan of Anne of Green Gables since she was a little kid, I found it to be an enjoyable modern retelling of the story.

Anne is a child who has been shuffled from foster home to foster home and it seems that things are finally moving in the right direction when she moves in with the Cuthberts. The story is one that teaches important life lessons without being too preachy. The inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and story lines enriches the story and allows for Anne with an E to reach even wider modern day audiences.

Overall I enjoyed it. A quick read for an adult, I can see myself recommending, or even buying, a copy of this graphic novel for my nieces when it’s released in October.

I would definitely recommend this to my family, friends and students as a book that can help broaden horizons and give a sense of belonging that I missed out on since books like this weren’t readily available when I was a kid.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.