formulaic but enjoyable, if you like predictable, heartwarming LMM stories (clearly, i do).

You read one story, you've read them all...and yet I read all of them and thought they were kinda sweet

Gentle read that is great to fall to sleep by.

I loved the stories in this book.

Darling short stories all centered around lost souls young and old who find love and family.

Every tale is uplifting; some a bit didactic, and all feature orphans of one type or another dealing with the search for a loving family--even if all that means is one person who loves in an ideal way. All of these stories pre-date the Anne of Green Gables series.

Perfectly lovely! You can see the makings of Anne, Diana, Miss Violet, Charlotta the 4th, and many others in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables Series!

I was really looking forward to this book but it was kind of a let down. Almost all the stories had the exact same plot (long lost relative). The stories themselves were good and if they were stand alone or scattered throughout other books it would have been fine. But one book full of stories with the exact same plot was just too much.

This probably doesn't deserve 5 stars but to hell with it, I'm going there. Montgomery's short stories are bland like the crackers you have to subsist on while deathly ill, but they get you through the tough times. I love them because you can really see a working writer in them. She reuses the same tropes and setups over and over and I bet her audience at the time lapped it up. It's inspiring, really. I read this at the worst time of my life in years and it really took a load off. Love you LMM <3

I originally purchased this book in Prince Edward Island while on vacation in 1990 (age 9!) and immediately lost myself in these short stories of kismet and happenstance! A personal favorite is 'a shirtwaist for Penelope' , but, it is extremely hard to pick one! Get this book to sate your inner awkward preteen angst ("nobody loves me" days) or get it for an 8-14 year old bookworm!

Charlotte’s Quest: story about a little girl sent to live with her relations after her Father decides he wants to spend a couple of year’s mountain climbing. Charlotte is not happy in this house because it is so alive; loud, active and crowded. By no means a bad house, just too much for Charlotte, who likes quiet and solitude. Charlotte takes a day to go find a Mom for herself.

Marcella’s Reward: Marcella is such a sweet older sister who is very concerned about her younger sister’s illness. In a miracle of all miracles, she is introduced to an old friend of her Mothers and earns a place for herself and her sister in this lady’s heart and home.

An Invitation Given on Impulse: Well ain’t Ruth a lucky little lady. Yeah to the big brother who is nice enough and willing to take care of his deceased step-sister’s daughter. The chance of all these circumstances happening to create this result is highly unlikely in real life, but a fun little rah-rah moment.

I read 3 or 4 more stories in this book, they were ok, but not interesting enough to keep me reading. I returned this book to the library without finishing. The stories were cute, but most were the same.

I loved these stories as a child--even more than the other books by this author. I think if I went back and read it now that I would probably cringe at the cheesiness.