Some of my favorite books growing up were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Anne of Green Gables<\/a><\/em> series by Lucy M. Montgomery<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Little House<\/a><\/em> series by Laura Ingalls Wilder <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Little Women<\/a><\/em> by Louisa May Alcott. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I loved reading about girls growing up in other time periods and learning about what life was like for them. These books are the kind you can read as a kid and enjoy, and when you\u2019re an adult they\u2019re still enjoyable. That\u2019s a mark of really good writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMarilla of Green Gables: A Surprising Prequel <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few years ago, my cousin bought me the book, Marilla of Green Gables: A Novel <\/a><\/em>by Sarah McCoy. I was a bit leery<\/strong>. Anne of Green Gables<\/em> was published in 1908, and Marilla of Green Gables<\/em> was published in 2018. I wondered if Sarah McCoy could do Marilla justice 110 years after the character was introduced. Would she try to imitate Lucy Maude Montgomery\u2019s style, or stick to her own? Would the writing feel connected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was pleasantly surprised \u2013 I really enjoyed Marilla of Green Gables: A Novel. <\/em>One of the things I vividly remember from the Anne books is Marilla\u2019s use of the word Fiddlesticks!\u201d, and it was interesting to see young Marilla use that phrase. The reader is also shown the beginning of Marilla and Rachel Lynde\u2019s friendship, as well as the backstory on her relationship with John Blythe. Sarah McCoy did a really good job connecting her prequel to the Anne series. I liked reading about Marilla\u2019s beginnings, and how that shaped the woman we meet in Mongomery\u2019s books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Retellings from the Mother’s Point of View<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarah Miller is another author who has written \u201cretellings\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Caroline: Little House, Revisited<\/a><\/em> – Laura Ingalls Wilder\u2019s mother\u2019s story.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Marmee: A Novel<\/a><\/em> – Little Women from the March family matriarch\u2019s viewpoint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
These character retellings bring a fresh voice to well-known events:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Caroline\u2019s fears about moving west and keeping order while living in a covered wagon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Marmee\u2019s experience while her husband was away during the Civil War, and her friendship with Mrs. Hummel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Both women\u2019s narratives highlight strength, resilience, and the quiet leadership that shaped their daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My Takeaway<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m still very loyal to the original books and series, but this was a fun variation on books close to my heart and deepen my appreciation for the characters I already loved..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What prequel, retelling, or alternate POV story have you read that stayed true to the original while bringing something new?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is a literary trend I’ve noticed lately – modern authors writing prequels to classic books or retellings from another character\u2019s point of view. The most famous one that comes to mind is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) by Gregory Maguire to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,32],"tags":[33,40,34,35,38,39,41,42,36,37],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classics","category-prequels-retellings","tag-anne-of-green-gables","tag-caroline","tag-little-house-on-the-prairie","tag-little-women","tag-marilla","tag-marmee","tag-prequel","tag-retelling","tag-sarah-mccoy","tag-sarah-miller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":492,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions\/492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Marmee: A Novel<\/a><\/em> – Little Women from the March family matriarch\u2019s viewpoint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Little House<\/a><\/em> series by Laura Ingalls Wilder <\/li>\n\n\n\n