Sonderbooks Book Review of Emily's Quest

Reviewed March 29, 2005.
First published in 1927. 228 pages.
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2005 (#1, Young Adult and Children's Classics)

Every time I reread Emily’s Quest, I wonder why I ever called any other book my favorite.

Okay, there’s a little bit of sentimentality and a bit of melodrama, but there are few books in the world that move me more than this book written by L. M. Montgomery at the height of her powers. It explores genuine love, jealousy, friendship, pride, and following a dream. In this book we see that true love makes you a better person, while selfish love makes the object of the love less. We see that friendship can endure even heartache, and we see that following a dream can get you through days of heartbreak.

The Emily series contain what are probably L. M. Montgomery’s most autobiographical books. For Emily has a passion to be a writer. Just like her creator, she begins with short stories and submits them faithfully and gets more and more published. She continues to write and gets more and more success, despite living with people who don’t understand her ambition. When Emily goes over the reviews of her first book, I’m sure that L. M. Montgomery was expressing her frustration with reviews of her own early books.

When I first read this book, I thought that Emily’s large number of suitors was a bit far-fetched. Then I read L. M. Montgomery’s journals and discovered that she had even more suitors than Emily before she finally chose one and got married.

Anyone who enjoys the Anne books at all should read the Emily series. L. M. Montgomery had grown in her abilities as a writer, and Emily’s Quest reflects that. This is the perfect book to read for writers like me who wonder if they will ever achieve success. It motivates us, like Emily, to keep climbing the Alpine Path.

Reviews of other L. M. Montgomery books:
The Blue Castle
Kilmeny of the Orchard
The Story Girl
The Golden Road
Magic for Marigold
Chronicles of Avonlea
Further Chronicles of Avonlea
The Alpine Path
The Watchman and Other Poems

The Emily Series:
Emily of New Moon
Emily Climbs

The Anne Series:
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside
The Road to Yesterday

Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson
Marilla of Green Gables, by Sarah McCoy
The Annotated Anne of Green Gables
The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables, by Catherine Reid
House of Dreams, by Liz Rosenberg

List in Publication Order

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

******Emily's Quest*

by L. M. Montgomery