Book Info
Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables by Ivy Noelle Weir
Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Publishing Date: March 1, 2022
Book Review
This was a fun and easy-to-read MG graphic novel. I read this in one sitting and I loved it so much. From the art style to the plot/story and from the characters to the themes explored, this was a great read.
Featuring a young black girl as the main character, I like that this book did not center on Anne’s trauma. While she has had a tough life before the start of the book (going through a couple of foster homes), this book starts on a fresh note for Anne. I like that a non-traditional family structure was featured in this book as well. This book was filled with awesome characters that loved and supported Anne.
She made friends, there was a bit of romance, and she gained a new family. I love the STEM aspect of the book so much! Anne is such a smart cookie and she got the chance to shine by joining Robotics Club. This book had heavy themes, sure, but it was ultimately lighthearted and heavy on the Black Girl Joy, which I loved.
The illustrations were great and I loved the movement of time through the seasons and the various iterations of Anne’s hair.
I really enjoyed this book and I’d def recommend it.
Synopsis
Anne of Green Gables with a twist: in this follow-up to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and The Secret Garden on 81st Street, this full-color graphic novel moves Anne Shirley to modern-day West Philadelphia, where she finds new friends, new rivals, and a new family.
When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert decide to foster a teenage girl for the first time, their lives are changed forever. Their redheaded foster daughter, Anne Shirley, is in search of an exciting life and has decided that West Philly is where she’s going to find it. Armed with a big personality and unstoppable creativity, Anne takes her new home by storm as she joins the robotics club, makes new friends in Diana and Gilbert, experiences first love, and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. But as Anne starts to get comfortable, she discovers one thing she wasn’t looking for: a family.
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About the Author
Ivy Noelle Weir is a writer of comics and prose. She is the co-creator of the Dwayne McDuffie Award-winning graphic novel Archival Quality (Oni Press), the upcoming The Secret Garden on 81st Street (Little, Brown for Young Readers), and her writing has appeared in anthologies such as Princeless: Girls Rock (Action Lab Entertainment) and Dead Beats (A Wave Blue World). She lives in the greater Boston area with her husband and their two tiny, weird dogs.
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