Buchan, J: Mr. Standfast

Jane lives in Toronto with her mother and her grandmother. In her grandmothers eyes Jane is awkward and simply not "right". She feels like she don't belong there. After so many years thinking her dad is dead, she finds out that he is alive and that he wants to see her in summer. First of all she is not able to think that she would like P. E. Island or even her dad, but of course this is not how it turns out. She constantly fell in love with this beautiful place and her loving, caring dad and the nice people around there and finally she is able to call this place her home. But what about her mother in Toronto? How can she live on with a life parted in the summers in P. E. Island and the winters in Toronto? This book is full of charming and beautiful descriptions of the island. Jane is a little girl you can relate to, because she is just so lovable. But she is not just nice, she is as well a bit sassy and cheeky and she grows a lot throughout the story. A little heroine bravely facing her challenges - doing the household for her father and finding a new home to give to examples. Jane is not just a dreamer, she is a maker. She's cooking, planting her garden, makes her house a lovely place - for us girls having the favour of growing up in the 21st century this seems old fashioned and not really feminist, but of course this book was written in a different time. And it just sounds so charming how Jane likes to do those things! The author finds such beautiful words to describe her joy of cleaning, cooking and planting it makes fun to read it, even if you are a feminist. Janes character development is great, she slowly grows to her true self. And this is what makes her average. She's just a normal girl, nothing special, but she could make her life a better one and herself a stronger girl than before. If she could, we can do, too. „After all, it does not take much to make a child happy." p. 51 The writing of L. M. Montgomery is very beautiful. A dreamy story and a lovely and sweet book, the feel good kind of a book that leave you in a good mood. Of course it's a childrens book, so you shouldn't expect exciting page turners, but if you love silent stories with a lot between-the-lines then you will enjoy this book! A lovely fairytale story about a little girl finding the home of her dreams. A story about friendship and family, dreams and plans and as well more sad things like divorce and rejection. A silent story about a girl finding her way and growing up.