Emily of New Moon Read-Along: Chapters 1-10

Hello, all!!
Today I am here with the first discussion of Amber at Seasons of Humility's Emily of New Moon Read-Along!

I have only read most of the Anne of Green Gables books (which are some of my favorites) by L. M. Montgomery, so I was really excited to join this! Go read Amber's thoughts HERE.

Oh, also I apparently thought that it was Emily of the New Moon. I don't know why, but I just typed that out everywhere. I've fixed it now.

Spoiler alert! If you haven't read Emily of New Moon read no further!!

Emily of New Moon ~ Chapters 1-10

Discussion Format: your favorite quotes, general impressions, and five questions to answer for each week's reading

Favorite Quotes:

1. "And for companions she had all the fairies of the countryside--for she could believe in them here--the fairies of the white clover and satin catkins, the little green folk of the grass, the elves of the young fir-trees, sprites of wind and wild fern and thistledown. Anything might happen there--everything might come true."

2. '"You could eat off her floor."
"I don't want to eat off the floor. I don't care if a floor is dirty as long as the tablecloth is clean."
"Well, her table clothes are clean too, I reckon."'

3. "I thought books belonged to everybody."

4. "This is one of the places where dreams grow."

All of L. M. Montgomery's descriptions are golden!


General Impressions:

I have never read about a character like Emily Byrd Starr! She loves to dream, but she is also proud, though she denies it sometimes. She isn't like me, but I feel like I can understand her (except I do think she could've been nicer to Ellen Greene).

'"Oh," cried Emily, dancing down the garret stairs, "I feel as if I were made out of star-dust."'

I love to write, so I really relate to her love of writing, though I'm not as eloquent.

"It would hurt her with its beauty until she wrote it down."

I  nearly cried when she burned her book! I was so shocked! That is just so sad to me.

My favorite character is Cousin Jimmy! He is so sweet! I feel that there is just a big misunderstanding between Aunt Elizabeth and Emily, and that it could all be worked out if they listened to each other and tried to understand. You have to love Aunt Laura because she is so nice to Emily, but I want to be able to know her more.

I love the idea of "the flash"! It is so beautiful, every time it has happened I have almost cried, even though I'm not seeing what Emily is seeing. Funnily enough, I used to be able to see "fairy paper in the air" like she does, but with me it was whenever I was looking at a ceiling. I could imagine (and it seemed so real!) that the ceiling wasn't that high and it was just floating in the air.

I don't know why, but the quote that really impacted me was:

"For the fairies dwell only in the kingdom of Happiness; having no souls they cannot enter the kingdom of Sorrow."

It is just so beautiful and sad.

Discussion Questions:

1. What did you think of Emily's life before her father passed away? What stood out to you as wonderful or sad?

I think that she didn't have a care in the world. She never had to worry or be afraid. The saddest thing to me is that we didn't get to know more about Douglas Starr! I feel like he was marvelous. The most wonderful thing that stood out to me was this thought of Emily's:

"One couldn't be afraid or bitter where love was--and love was everywhere."

2. Which of Emily's Murray relatives has made the greatest impression on you so far in either a positive or negative way? What is it that makes their character so striking?

Well, as I said above, Cousin Jimmy. He is so honest, sweet, and not strange at all to me. Every part with him so far has made me smile.

3. Are you a cat person? What did you think of Emily's choice between Saucy Sal and Mike?

I love all animals, but I'm more of a dog person. Her choice made sense to me, but I think I would have picked Mike if I was going to live in a strange place.

"'A living present is so nice,' she told Ellen, 'because it keeps on getting nicer all the time.'" 

(Talking about kittens)

4. Are you a fan of poetry like Emily? If you enjoy reading it, do you prefer blank-verse or rhyming poetry? What's your favorite poem you've read or written?

It seems like everyone in my family is a fan of poetry, but I'm not really. I would rather read a novel than poems. But, I love to listen to music and song lyrics are poetry, right?

5. What are your thoughts on Emily's school experience so far? If you could step in and make changes to the system, what might you do?

I don't see why her teacher didn't read that line of poetry again! It would have made Emily so happy. I can see how order is necessary, but the teacher shouldn't be mean.


Big thank you to Amber for hosting this!
Thanks for reading! What do you think of Emily of New Moon?

MovieCritic