this book has my entire heart

I always find Pat of Silver Bush a little hard to get into at first. The first few chapters miss that sparkle L.M. Montgomery manages to put into all her books, but is well worth finishing because the further into the story you get the better it becomes until you are left wanting more at the end.
Pat is a true home-body. She is absolutely devoted to her home and to her family and lives in fear of change. But change can not be stopped and as it begins to invade Pat's little world, she learns that it is not always a bad thing. People come and go in Pat's life and she learns the value of true friends, the meaning of loss and experiences her first brushes with romance.
Jingle is my favourite character - a strong, determined yet vulnerable boy who you can not help but pity and admire at the same time.
The end has left me excited to start its sequel :)

3.5 stars
This is a tough book for me to review. It is filled with lovely characters, moving scenes, poetic moments, and an artistic atmosphere. However, I always struggle to know what this book "is." A coming-of-age tale should never "be" about someone coming of age, and this is one almost that. Pat of Silver Bush is delightful, but missing that silver thread that makes Montgomery's girl-character-driven novels compelling. And yet, it is a book in which I want to dwell on the details. Moreover, there is something compelling--and I would even suggest courageous--about the ending.

Of course, I would be delighted to hear that I have misunderstood the book altogether. Some smart readers put it among Montgomery's best.

At the beginning of the book, Pat is a gullible seven-year-old who loathes change, loves nature and her house (Silver Bush), and whose only ambition is to stay in her house forever with her brother Sid and make cheeses.
Needless to say, that would make for a very boring book. Despite Pat's resistance, change comes, and she learns to abide with it. There can be good changes, such as the arrival of new friends Jingle and Bets, and there can be bad change, such as her brother Joe leaving to be a sailor. But she copes with it and grows stronger. It's really something to see Pat grow and change into a solid, likeable character.
But in this book there's a bit of space wasted. Though Judy Plum's stories are entertaining, reading through the transcripted brogue when it's not absolutely necessary becomes a little tedious.

Patricia Gardiner loves everything about her family home, Silver Bush, and longs to just stay there forever with her family, unchanging. But changes do come, some good, some bad.

I've read this book more times than I can count (as is true of most of Montgomery's oeuvre) -- it's not my very favorite, but it's toward the top of the list. Silver Bush is practically a character in its own right, and I can picture every dear, delightful corner of it. Plus, I have a bit of a literary crush on Pat's friend Jingle.

For all my love of the entire Anne series, I had tried Pat of Silver Bush before and just not been able to get into it. Like all of Montgomery's books, it can be a little slow, and the characters can be frustrating. So I was proud of myself for giving Pat another chance, because she shines when you get to know her!

An overarching theme (like..really overarching) is how much Pat LOVES Silver Bush. Like, that is perhaps her defining characteristic, which was unusual next to the nuanced inhabitants of Green Gables and Idlewild. But, life is just as beautiful and little family stories sparkle just as much in Silver Bush as they do across Prince Edward Island, so I enjoyed the story. Montgomery writes a beautiful world, and it is always peaceful and lovely to visit.

As an LM admirer, I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Typically I fly through her books, but this one took me a few weeks to trudge through, wanting to skip several chapters for the sheer monotony. There was finally an uptick in the novel about 75% of the way through, but all before then personally fell flat for me.

I know Judy was supposed to be a beloved character, a Susan of Ingleside so to speak, but I’ll admit I quickly tired of trying to depict her Irish accent and eventually outgrew her superstitions.

As a person often resistant to change myself, I could find Pat relatable to an extent, however lack of change as a whole doesn’t make for an interesting character, or novel for that matter. Wrong as it may be, as a reader I’m vicariously wanting to see the protagonist make the changes I’m too fearful to make myself. Her love for Silver Bush seemed more possessive and controlling than Emily’s for New Moon or Anne’s House of Dreams. I initially thought her obsession was a hint of foreshadowing, and perhaps it is for the sequel, but this current ending didn’t give Pat any true comprehension on acceptance of uncertainty.

Overall, I’m grateful that this was not my first introduction to LM, as I think Anne and Emily’s coming of ages seem entirely more magical, passionate, and interesting. However, due to my die hard commitment to LM, I plan to read the sequel, hopeful it’s redemptive.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love L.M. Montgomery but this book is a real turd. It's about Pat, who lives at Silver Bush and here's the plot: Pat is a girl who has a real hard-on for Silver Bush. THAT'S IT. Also, her best friend dies. The book is almost 100% all of the things I always skimmed in L.M. Montgomery's other books:

1. Loving descriptions of the landscape and the heroine complaining about how she hates change.
2. An old person telling stories about the neighbours in a difficult to read dialect.

Give it a pass.

Pat is my favorite LM heroine and these are my new favorite LM books. Pat loves everything about her home Silver Bush from her family, house, chicken coop, to each tree and cat on the place. As Judy the Irish voice of wisdom and humor in the books says, Pat had the gift of loving. Her intense love for so much of what other people didn't even notice brought her a lot of joy and also exquisite pain; yet I think Pat was happier than other people and other people were revitalized by associating with her. She cried when a tree fell in a storm and had to be cut up for firewood and I think that tree was happier during its existence because it knew it had been loved individually and doesn't God know and love every single creation His hands have made? Pat and Judy expand our understanding of the the gifts of the Spirit and make the usual list of talents a little more "diversified."

The other wonderful thing about this duo is the author's honest portrayal of the painful growth we must experience if we hope to produce good fruit. Occasionally, we must swallow some awfully bitter pills, but if we've got good sense we'll follow LM's example and wash it down with sea-washed, pince scented, maritime scenery. Five stars and my fervent endorsement especially if you like funny sayings and crying buckets over people who never lived but on the page.
- Sarah McIlrath

Judy is a phenomenal character but Pat is so annoying

Now, it wasn’t a particularly bad book, it just wasn’t a great book. There was nothing fascinating or truly exciting about it. Most of the book described how much Pat, the main character, hates change. I’m sorry to break it to you, but change is a part of life. This girl needs to get over it. I disliked most of the characters simply because they were not well-described, so I couldn’t really get to know them. The storyline was dull, although there were a few rather odd and seemingly random happenings that took me by surprise, although not necessarily in a good way. That said, I have never been a huge L.M. Montgomery fan...although I have only ever read “Anne of Green Gables” and “Anne of Avonlea” by her.

I believe Anne and Pat are kindred spirits. While Anne will always be my favorite, Pat’s story was such a fun read. I instantly fell in love with Pat, Judy, “Jingle”, and all of their dear animals. Silver Bush is such a dear old place with so many beautiful spots to visit. The book focuses mainly on Pat and her adventures so you don’t get much about her family or their day to day life. This really didn’t bother me and I enjoyed Pat’s life being the center of the story. True to Montgomery’s form, your heart strings are pulled when Pat looses someone dear to her. If you have not discovered this story yet I would definitely recommend it.