Emily of New Moon: Read-Along: Final Discussion

Today is the final discussion of EMILY OF NEW MOON. I've enjoyed this sweet story so much and I've enjoyed discussing it with Amber on her blog Seasons Of Humility. Amber was our hostess with the mostest and did a great job of coming up with questions for the chapters each week and I also loved her observations about what we had read. I always have such a good time reading books with her. So today we are discussing chapters 25-31. If you've read the book join in. If you haven't read the book then I encourage you to do so! If you are a fan of the Anne of Green Gables series then I think you'll enjoy this 3 book series as well. Of course nothing could top Anne, but Emily now has a place in my heart as well and I look forward to reading the other two books.

OBSERVATIONS:

Oh Aunt Nancy and Caroline are something else with their talking about people and over-sharing too much. BUT, I'm glad that we finally heard the story of what everyone thought happened to Ilse's mother. Ack! Such tragedy and scandal!

And then when Emily falls over the cliff and Dean rescues her...why? Why is that girl always looking in places she shouldn't? First the well and now the edge of the cliff! Ack! So scary! Glad that Dean was there to save the day. But that whole relationship kind of creeped me out in spots, and I'll discuss that in the questions portion.

A new teacher! Hallelujah! While his methods may seem unorthodox at least he didn't ridicule or terrorize the students like Miss Brownell did. And I loved how he gave Emily the truth of her writings as well as encouraged her just a little. And the way he laughed at her description of him! ha!

And whew, Aunt Elizabeth! Should never have read Emily's writings, that kind of bit her in the butt when she read the not-so-nice parts about herself. Ack! It kind of made me sad though that that was the end of Emily writing to her father.

I thought it was interesting Emily getting sick and having the dream or the instinct or the premonition of what actually happened to Ilse's mother. I loved how it all turned out for Ilse's father to begin making up for the way he had treated Ilse. ha!

Oh so much more happened in these chapters! I enjoyed the whole book and have already started on Emily Climbs. I hope it is just as good!

FAVORITE QUOTES:

"Great-aunt Nancy and Caroline Priest were wont to colour their grey days with the remembered crimsons of old, long-past delights and merry-makings, but they went further than this and talked over any number of old family histories before Emily with a total disregard of her youth. Loves, births, deaths, scandals, tragedies-anything that came into their old heads. Nor did they spare details. Aunt Nancy revelled in details. She forgot nothing, and sins and weaknesses that death had covered and time shown mercy to were ruthlessly dragged out and dissected by this ghoulish old lady."
Oh my! Have you ever done that? Or known someone to do that? Forget that little "pitchers have big ears" I have to remind myself of that all the time with the grandkids. They always want to hear what the grown-ups are saying! 

"Gossip lies nine times and tells a half truth the tenth."
Oh if we could all just remember this instead of taking gossip as gospel!

"And I can pray in my mind--I'm sure God can hear thoughts as well as words. It is nice to think He can hear me if nobody else can."
What a scary predicament for Emily to be in, but very wise to remember that she can pray in her mind. 

"She liked to know the big dog was there. She was not so learned in lore of dogs as in lore of cats. But he looked very human and trusty watching her with great kindly eyes. A grey kitten was an adorable thing--but a grey kitten would not have sat there and encouraged her. "I believe," thought Emily, "that a dog is better than a cat when you're in trouble."
Amen! Dogs are loyal and cats are fickle!

"With nine out of ten people Emily was secretive and reserved, but Dean Priest was sealed of her tribe and she divined it instantly. He had a right to the inner sanctuary and she yielded it unquestionable. She talked to him freely."
Anne would have called him a "kindred spirit"

"Go home, Emily. I'm tired of you. I like you very well--you're not stupid and you're passably pretty and you've behaved exceedingly well--tell Elizabeth you do the Murrays credit--but I'm tired of you. Go home."
Bwahahaha! Oh my goodness! Have you ever wanted to tell company this? Of course nowadays I don't think people stay as long as they did back in Emily's time, but I'm sure I would have been ready to leave and if I were Aunt Nancy I'd definitely be saying GO HOME! ha! 

"but most of them came to it after they got used to never being used to anything." This cracked me up because some didn't like the change that Mr. Carpenter the new teacher brought!

"Emily went softly, and tried to mingle serpent's wisdom and dove's harmlessness in practical proportions, but their points of view were so different that there were bound to be clashes; they did not speak the same language, so there was bound to be misunderstanding."
This was after Elizabeth found and read all of Emily's letters. I liked that they made up and that Emily and Elizabeth had a sort of truce. 

1. What did you think of Emily's first meeting with Dean Priest (and the near-death experience that brought it about)?Ok, Dean...well if it were nowadays I'd be questioning a little girl spending so much time with an older man. Sounds kind of creepy to me. Especially when he kind of makes references to them getting together when she is older. Ewwww! And I can say that because my husband is almost 8 years older than I am, so I married an older man! BUT, I think that Dean is much much older than Emily and that is just too much! I like that they are kindred spirits, but I don't see a romantic future for them...at least on Emily's part. 

2. How would you feel about having Mr. Carpenter as a teacher? Do you agree with his teaching methods and how he critiques Emily's works?I probably would have had a hard time with Mr. Carpenter's teaching methods because I don't like change. Especially as a child I didn't like it. So it would have been hard never knowing what to expect from the teacher. As an adult I think it was great and hilarious! I loved the way he critiqued Emily's work. ha! Someone has to tell you the brutal truth sometime in your life. Ack! 

3. Were you surprised by the truth about what happened to Ilse's mother? How did this chapter ("When the Curtain Lifted") make you feel?A little far-fetched for me, but hey, it made for a good ending to that story!

4. Which scene in this book was the most adorable (or romantic) to you?I guess I'm not seeing too much romance or adorableness in the story. It is good, but Emily is too young for romance. I imagine that either Teddy or Perry or even Dean is going to end up with a broken heart before Emily settles on one or none of them. 

5. What was your favorite part of Emily's story? What are you hopes or predictions for what will happen to her in the rest of the series?I think Perry's parts cracked me up the most. Endearing parts featured Emily's writings to her father. I hope that Emily keeps writing and I hope that she does end up being able to go to school beyond the little school she's going to now. 

Well, there's the end of EMILY OF NEW MOON. I enjoyed it very much. I'll be continuing on with Emily's story in EMILY CLIMBS. If you've never participated in a read-along I hope that you will sometime! It is so fun to read the same book and discuss what you read. 

Verity by Lisa T. Bergren

Seeing the success that her sister Keturah had on the island of Nevis, Verity decides that she too would like to run her own business. Instead of going into the sugar cane business Verity opts to open her own shop in town. Knowing that the men and women of Nevis think that the sisters are too bold and shouldn't be doing what only men should, Verity sets out to win them over with her superior products.

Traveling to the colonies Verity has a twofold plan. She wants to find the best products for her new shop, and she wants to find out what happened to her beloved sea captain Duncan McKintrick. Finding Duncan's brother Ian in jail Verity learns of Duncan's fate. Heartbroken she agrees to have Ian carry all of her goods back to Nevis.

When an old enemy attempts to put Verity out of business she and Ian escape back to the colonies. There they find that the British are clamping down on the rebels and that rumors of war are abounding.

I loved Verity's story! I actually love the Banning sisters! They are strong females that have captured the hearts of strong men that allow them to be themselves in an age when women should be just pretty ornaments on a man's arm. VERITY is filled with beautiful settings, danger, and intrigue, all set on the cusp of the American Revolution. I loved Ian's character as well. He is a man of honor bent on finding the man that killed his brother. The scenes of slavery in KETURAH were a bit harder to take than the ones in VERITY, but there is a scene that was horrifying and graphic. One of the things that make the Banning plantation and the Bannings themselves different is their treatment of their workers. Most of them are free and paid wages or working towards emancipation. That idea causes the other plantation owners consternation. A great book and  I'm now looking forward to reading the last Banning sister's story, I think we already have an idea of who Selah falls in love with!

Emily Of New Moon: Read-Along: Discussion 3

This is the 3rd discussion Chapters 18-24. Head over to our host Amber's blog at Seasons Of Humility and read her thoughts for the week. 

Favorite Quotes:

"He eats tender little Protestants sometimes, but he never meddles with leprechauns."This cracked me up about Father Cassidy's cat! 

"I'm in a scrape and I've been in it all summer. You see-Emily was very sober-I am a poetess. Holy Mike! That is serious. I don't know if I can do much for you. How long have you been that way?"It cracks me up how he played along with Emily yet also made fun of her tongue in cheek. 

"Dispensation is a hard word to work into a poem, said Emily. Undoubtedly. But young ladies who will write epic poems and who will lay the scenes thereof amid times and manners av hundreds av years ago, and will choose heroines of a religion quite unknown to them, must expect to run up against a few snags." 

"Besides the bush wasn't going to be cut down. The bringer of good news is forgiven much."

"The other day in history class Miss Brownell read that Sir Walter Raleigh had to lie in the Tower for fourteen years. Perry said, 'Wouldn't they let him get up sometimes?'Okay, this was a legitimate question...bwahahahaha! I love Perry's sense of humor!

"A certain thing happened at New Moon because Teddy Kent paid Ilse Burnley a compliment one day and Emily Starr didn't altogether like it. Empires have been overturned for the same reason."Uh oh, many a war has started over a woman I gather? 

"You can never be a real poet if you haven't made at least one poem about spring."haha, seems to be truth here.

"It has been romantic but not comfortable." When Perry's aunt proposes to Emily...eep! Poor Emily! But I love how Perry handles it even better. Although he was rude to his aunt.

"They are very sarcastic to each other. But I think they are a good bit like Ilse and me-they fight quite frequently but love each other very hard between times."I think it would be nicer if they got along better. It makes for some funny lines, but they are rather harsh on each other.

My Thoughts:

There was some humorous dialogue in these chapters. I laughed out loud at Father Cassidy's antics. Perry as always made me laugh. He probably deserved getting into trouble for his question to Miss Brownell, but she deserves it! ha! Poor Emily doesn't know what the green-eyed monster is yet, but she had a taste of it when Teddy complimented Ilse. I loved how Emily sent the picture that SHE wanted sent to Aunt Nancy. Ack! But it got her an invite to Wyther Grange, and I rather like Aunt Nancy even though she is eccentric. Looking forward to reading the last chapters of the book!

Questons:

1. What are your impressions of Father Cassidy? What do you like or not like about how he interacts with Emily?I enjoyed Father Cassidy. Loved how he was ready to pretend with Emily even if it was done in a teasing manner. I loved that he didn't take himself to seriously and that also he was willing to help Emily save the New Moon trees from Lofty John by going to Father Cassidy. 

2. If you could pick a line from these chapters that resonates with you the most—that makes you think, That's me!—what line would it be and why?I don't think anything stood out to me like this. 

3. How did you feel about the Murray Christmas gathering described in chapter 20? How is it different from or similar to some of your own family Christmases (from childhood or more recently)?The Murray's are a bunch of cranky old mean people and I really am not a fan of any of them. If my gatherings were like that I would never want to get together with my family again. They were horrid to Emily and I am so glad that Elizabeth finally took up for her!

4. What was something fashionable when you were younger that you really wanted, like Emily's desire for bangs? Have your tastes changed since then?Well, I always wanted a satin jacket but my family couldn't afford satin jackets for us. Everyone at school had one. That was a fashion thing, but when I was in elementary school I always wanted the 64 box of crayola crayons. Another thing that just wasn't on the "needs to have" list. But man I wanted those crayons! So as an adult not too long ago I went out and bought me a box! So disappointing! I seriously think they use different materials now to make crayons because they were so waxy that hardly any color stuck to the paper. Plus lots of debris stuck to the page if I pressed too hard. Sigh...

5. If you were invited to visit Wyther Grange for a while, would you want to go? What might you think of the place and its occupants?I think that if you have an imagination like Emily you can be anywhere and be happy. As far as me, I think that big of a place would scare me. And Aunt Nancy and Caroline are definitely odd ducks. I doubt that I would want to stay there.

See you next week for the conclusion of the book!

Emily Of New Moon: Read-Along: Discussion 2

Discussion 2 covers chapters 11-17. Jump on over to Amber's blog Seasons Of Humility to read you post and join in on the discussion. You can also comment here.

My Thoughts:

I'm enjoying reading Emily's story, but have to say that I don't like her character as much as I like Anne in Anne of Green Gables. There are similarities with both characters though. Both have vivid imaginations and both love to write.

We get to see more of a friendship between Ilse and Emily in these chapters. Ilse is quite the little spit-fire even though her anger runs hot and furious she gets over it rather quickly. Emily is more of a slow burn kind of girl so they are a bit like water and oil in their personalities. I think Ilse's moods would give me whiplash, but those types of people you tend to know where you stand with them!

I want to reach through the pages to that teacher Miss Brownell and shake her. She's an awful person. And then for Aunt Elizabeth to take her side just infuriated me!

Teddy and Perry...uh oh, are we going to have a love triangle here? I hope not, but I do love both of them!

The author's theology is off, but I do love Emily's exploration of faith and how she tries to help Ilse believe in God even though Ilse's father didn't.

Looking forward to continuing along in the story and see how Emily grows. I'm definitely going to have to get the other books and read them as well.

Quotes I Enjoyed:

--No, I ain't afraid of anything except the devil, said Ilse.

  I thought you didn't believe in the devil either -Rhoda said you didn't.

  Oh, there's a devil all right, Father says. It's only God he doesn't believe in. And if there is a devil       and no God to keep him in order, is it any wonder I'm scare of him?I loved Ilse's reasoning here! 

--And you won't be ashamed of me because my clothes are always queer and because I don't believe in God?

  No. But if you knew Father's God you'd believe in Him.

  I wouldn't. Besides, there's only one God if there is any at all.I loved that even though she says she didn't believe in God she at least believed there was only ONE God.

--I think God is a very interesting subject, and I'm going to pray for you, Ilse, that you can believe in Father's God.

  Don't you dast! shouted Ilse, who for some mysterious reason did not like the idea. I won't be prayed for! This just made me laugh!

--Emily, sitting on a big stone with her knees crossed, her eyes black and her cheeks crimson, interjected little sarcastic retorts that infuriated  Ilse still further. Ilse was crimson, too, and her eyes were pools of scintillating, tawny fire. They were both so pretty in their fury that it was almost a pity they couldn't have been angry all the time. This just cracked me up! 

--puling, snivelling chit

--I'm glad to be rid of you-you proud, stuck-up, conceited, top-lofty biped.

--insignificant serpent

--If I couldn't write better poetry than you, I'd hang myself, she derided. I'll lend you a dime to buy a rope, said Emily.

Oh my word! When Emily suffers Ilse's wrath it kills me the names that Ilse can come up with. And the last one where Emily offers to lend Ilse a dime to buy her rope...ack! Their whole fight was humorous to me even though it tore Emily apart. 

--We fight about once a week but we make up right away and Ilse says things would be dull if there was never a row. I would like it better without rows but you can never tell what will make Ilse mad. She never gets mad twice over the same thing. She calls me dreadful names. Yesterday she called me a lousy lizard and a toothless viper. But somehow I didn't mind it much because I new I wasn't lousy or toothless and she knew it too. I don't call her names because that is unladylike but I smile and that makes Ilse far madder than if I skowled and stamped as she does, and that is why I do it. bwahahahaha! You go Emily! 

--but there is a certain odd kink in human nature by reason of which the flavour of the apples belonging to somebody else is always vastly superior to our own--as the crafty serpent of Eden very well knew. The grass if always greener on the other side of the fence?

--Poor little neglected Ilse, who found in Emily's companionship what she had hungered for all her short life and who was, even now, being led by love into something of her rightful heritage. I love that Ilse is being loved by someone. I love that Emily in her way can show this to Ilse.

--Emily coolly lifted up one of the planks, knelt on the others and peered down. Oh. My. Gosh! This scared me to death! I had visions of Emily falling into that well! A horrible scene!

Discussion Questions:

1. If you could have Ilse, Teddy, or Perry as your friend, which one do you think you would get along with the best? Which one do you think would help you grow the most? Oh I'd probably get along best with Emily, but Perry totally cracks me up! I loved the whole scene where he was listening to Miss Brownell and Aunt Elizabeth told him to come down from the loft area and he had no clothes on! Bwahahahaha! 

2. What did you think of Emily's response when Lofty John suggests she's eaten poison? How might you have reacted similarly or differently? That would have been an awful joke for an adult to play on a child! I would have acted the same way I imagine. How scary for her! Poor thing!

3. Which scene did you find the most humorous in these chapters? What part particularly made you laugh or smile? The scene with Perry in the loft and then the scene with Ilse and Emily fighting. Both made me laugh.

4. Imagine yourself as a student in the classroom when Miss Brownell is reading Emily's poetry—or in the house when Miss Brownell comes to speak with Aunt Elizabeth. How would you feel, and what might you do to come to Emily's aid during or after the incident?Sadly I would probably comfort after the fact, but during I would never have been able to step forward and confront either Miss Brownell or Aunt Elizabeth. And during the whole scene with Miss Brownell reading the poetry I probably would have had my head on the desk because I can't stand to see someone made fun of or ridiculed. 

5. If you lived at New Moon, which season would be your favorite to experience?New Moon seems like a lovely place to grow up and I imagine that all of the seasons have their own beauty and advantages. 

Well, that is it for this discussion. Have you read EMILY OF NEW MOON? Feel free to comment here, head over to Amber's blog and check out her post, and post your own thoughts on the book. 

 

Emily Of New Moon: Read-Along: Discussion 1

Today we are discussing Chapters 1-10. For all of the information on the read-along hop on over to Amber's blog SEASONS OF HUMILITY and check out her post and thoughts on these chapters.

Favorite Quotes:

"Emily didn't know she was being pitied and didn't know what lonsomeness meant."
Emily's life was so carefree and I love that she didn't know these things at first.

"And always when the flash came to her Emily felt that life was a wonderful, mysterious thing of persistent beauty."
I love "the flash" a burst of insight, or flight of fancy, or inspiration. 

"I just made up my mind that I'd do what was right and drop a hint to prepare you."
Oh how I despised Ellen for doing this to poor Emily! There always seems to be that "someone" that feels it their duty to crush little spirits. Such a shame. While this wasn't a favorite quote of course, it was something that stood out to me that I wanted to remember.

"The first time your husband calls you "Mother" the romance of life is over."
Truer words were never spoken! I loved Emily's father telling her the story of how she got her name and this quote cracked me up a bit. No way would I consent to being called "Mother" by my husband either so I cheered Emily's mother for standing up to that!

"Perhaps they felt some compunction--for, after all, none of them were ogres and all were human, more or less.
bwahahahaha! I wonder! They were an odious group of relatives for sure!

"Aunt Elizabeth was one of those people who never do understand anything unless it is told them in plain language and hammered into their heads. And then they understand it only with their brains and not with their hearts."
Ack! So true!

"Children can be the most cruel creatures alive. They have the herd instinct of prejudice against any outsider, and they are merciless in its indulgence."
Unfortunately I don't think that children have a monopoly on this! Adults can be just as cruel.

"Why is it that the nicest things never are helthy, Father?"
Emily speaks truth here! 

"It was not for Rhoda she mourned--it was for the friendship that had been so dear to her. Rhoda had been dear and sweet on the surface at least, and Emily had found intense happiness in their companionship. Now it was gone and she could never, never love or trust anybody again. There lay the sting."
Oh so sad to put so much into a friendship and find out that the friend was not deserving of such love and loyalty. 

Thoughts:

The Murray's were horrible people! I'm at least glad that the "lot" drawn was for Emily to go to New Moon. At least there she has Aunt Laura to give her some amount of affection, even if it is on the sly.

I loved when Emily was once again able to write out her feelings and thoughts and fancy's. It is a great outlet for her bottled up emotions.

The whole school scene was just awful. Kids are cruel, and that teacher has GOT to go! Slapping a child?! Awful woman!

The biggest thing that stood out in these chapters for me was Elizabeth wanting to cut off Emily's hair. What?! Why?! I think the woman has a screw loose!! Yay for Emily standing up to her! But the last chapter left us hanging and Elizabeth gets even I'm sure. Ack!

I thought I had read EMILY OF NEW MOON before, but I am finding I am not remembering any of it so I guess I haven't. It does remind me a bit of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, but still has a charm of its own.

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 loved how carefree Emily was and the closeness that she shared with her father. I loved that he encouraged her writing and her imagination. 

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?

Of course the New Moon people stand out. Cousin Jimmy is an odd duck, but at least he cares for Emily. Aunt Laura has her quiet way and manages to show Emily love and care. I'm hoping that Aunt Elizabeth will soften like Marilla did in ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, for she is pretty formidable and has odd ideas about bringing children up. 

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

We are animal-less in our retirement age, but as our girls were growing up we had dogs and we had cats and gerbils and fish and hamsters. So I guess you could say that I like all kinds of animals. I hated the fact that Emily had to choose between the two cats. But I liked how she reasoned it out and took Saucy Sal because she knew that Ellen wouldn't treat her very well. Pretty smart kid!

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?

I'm a rhymer! ha! I don't get poetry. So no, I am not a fan of poetry and I always hated those sections in all of my Language Arts studies when we would get to them. So, the answer is no, I do not like poetry.

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?

Get rid of that teacher! Awful woman! Yay for Ilse! I cracked up at this quote,

"Clear out, all of you, and leave the New Moon girl alone after this," she said. "If I hear of any more meddling and sneaking I'll slit your throats, and rip out your hearts and tear your eyes out. Yes, and I'll cut off your ears and wear them pinned on my dress!"

Everyone needs a champion in their life like Ilse was for Emily! I hope they become friends! 

Have you read EMILY OF NEW MOON? Join in on the discussion if you have! I'd love to hear what you think of the story. 

Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart

I read this book many years ago. When I was a teen and young adult. I love Gothic romances and this was a perfect fit. My original copy is still on my bookshelf:

I love the cover so much better than the e-version that I read this time around. It speaks to the story so much better!

I have to say that I unfortunately do not remember there being so much cursing and cigarette smoking when I read this in my younger years. As primarily a Christian fiction reader and reviewer picking up a book that was once a favorite and finding so much of both was kind of disappointing. But as I thought about it I think it fit perfectly with the times it was written in. Smoking didn't have the taboo or warnings that it does now. The cursing was limited and fairly mild, but still there, and still rather like a slap in the face when I came across it. Not because I'm easily offended, but because I was not expecting it and it came across so harshly, as I think the author intended.

I read everything I could devour from Mary Stewart and Phyllis A. Whitney when I was a young adult. I loved the gothic/dark tales that they wove. Like I said, this one was my favorite and I have kept it for years.

About the Book:

Charity is on holiday in France when she stumbles into the middle of drama that has taken place long before she has come on the scene. Charity meets young David at their hotel. There is something about the boy and his dog that draws Charity. When Charity learns that David's father has supposedly murdered someone but gotten away with it she feels even more sorry for David. The stage is set, now enter the villain! Richard Byron, David's father, is now trying to find David. When Charity is approached by Richard she refuses to tell him where he can find David. Charity leads Richard on a mighty chase which totally frustrates Richard. Why did someone kill his best friend and is now after Richard? And what will Richard do when he finally catches up to Charity?

Lot's of intrigue and suspense and a bit of romance(which was way rushed and a bit far-fetched, but still entertaining). Still a story that I enjoyed reading even though it had elements that were offensive.