Rilla of Ingleside: Anne of Green Gables Series #8

I enjoyed this book, and the continuation of the Anne of Green Gables series. It's been fascinating to go along with Anne on her journey and to see her story leave off while beginning those of her children. It's also interesting to see a (sort of) first hand account of what it was like to witness the events leading up to and during the first world war, and the hopes that those who survived the war had for their futures (some of which would ultimately be shattered). I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about those events from a young adult perspective.

I love this series. I'm disappointed with what is considered good quality. I purchased this hoping that minimal wear would mean minimal. Instead I would consider this to be only acceptable. The back cover is ripping off as is part of the spine.

In this eighth and final volume of the "Anne" series, readers come of age right along with Rilla, the youngest of Anne and Gilbert's six children. Nearly fifteen, Rilla longs to be grown. She wants to pin her hair and to dress like a woman, to attend dances and catch the boys' eyes -- primarily that of Kenneth Ford, longtime family friend, who's begun to feel rather special to Rilla.

Yet on the very evening of her first dance, Rilla learns of World War I, and the eagerness of the local boys to join the fight. Although she can't possibly know or even begin to understand at that moment, the effect of the war upon the Blythe family and Rilla's teenage years will be so complete as to all but end her childhood that same night.

Rilla's oldest brother Jem immediately volunteers to head for England, with pacifist Walter and finally youngest brother Shirley following. Their childhood friends Carl and Jerry Meredith, Rilla's beloved Kenneth, and countless others in Glen St. Mary also join the fight. In the meantime, it's those remaining at home that may possibly have the hardest struggles, as they fervently attempt to aid the Red Cross, and just plain hope and pray for their loved ones, facing the enemy in unknown country.

Unexpectedly, Rilla picks up the largest contribution toward the war effort -- a newborn boy. With his mother dead in childbirth and his father overseas, the baby is to be placed in an orphanage. Yet tiny Jims is medically fragile, and even Rilla's doctor father is dubious about his odds in an institution. Thus Rilla begs to keep Jims in the Blythe home, at least until they can get word to his father and see what he plans to do.

Yet a soft heart doesn't help prepare a teenager for the realities of caring for a newborn. Unaccustomed to much work of any kind, Rilla is in for a shock when she discovers just how demanding baby Jims can be. She is annoyed by his noise, his mess, and simply the way that she is tied down by his ever-present needs. Rilla wishes for her mother or Susan to take over his care, though she is the one who insisted upon keeping the baby, and she knows that everyone else had suggested she simply give him to the orphanage. So, it's up to her to keep soldiering on.

As the war years pass, they are full of heartbreak, hope and sacrifice. As Jims grows from baby to toddler to little boy, Rilla is amazed at how much she begins to love him, and a new problem arises. Once counting the days til his soldier father could reclaim him, Rilla now begins to dread the day that she must give up "her" Jims. And the little boy, in turn, is well accustomed to living among the Blythes, the only family he has ever known.

Rilla truly comes of age in this novel, slowly but surely giving up frivolous childish concerns as the war forces her to become a woman. She learns to care for others, both physically and emotionally, and fears for the future of her brothers, friends, and most of all, her beloved Ken. Will she ever see him again? And if she does, will he love her as she once hoped he might?

While this book, just like "Rainbow Valley," may be a bit disappointing to longtime "Anne" fans who hope to learn more about the plucky protagonist as an adult -- Anne's appearances are rare and small, as this story is truly Rilla's -- the book is a fine ending to the saga. Young Rilla is everything that one might hope for a daughter of Anne's, as she is not perfect, yet struggles to find truth and meaning in life just as her mother before her.

"Rilla of Ingleside" is the eighth novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series, and quite different from its predecessors. Those readers familiar with the First World War, and with the war dead monuments it left behind in many British and Canadian towns, can appreciate the environment that Montgomery vividly recreates. The hurricane of war will profoundly affect Anne and Gilbert Blythe and their six children, and their friends and neighbors in Glen St. Mary, Prince Edward Island.

At the center of the story is Rilla, the youngest daughter of Anne and Gilbert, and at 15 years old, just experiencing her first romance on the opening night of the war. The male children of the Blythe's and their neighbors the Meredith's and the Ford's are quickly pulled away into the military, leaving behind mothers, sisters, sweethearts and even a loyal dog to suffer over every bad headline of a long and costly war. The women will do their own quietly heroic best to keep up the homefront. Rilla in particular will have to grow up quickly, taking on the responsibility of raising an abandoned war baby while leading the local junior Red Cross Chapter. She will be called upon to comfort a brother accused of cowardice and a mother who loses a son. At the end of the novel, she and the reader will wait to learn whether a promise made to a departing soldier will be finally redeemed.

Montgomery manages to capture the ebb and flow of the war while skillfully weaving in her familiar story elements of humor, tragedy, heroism, and even whimsy. Very few readers will be left unmoved by the last letter of a Blythe son, in the chapter "And So, Good Night." "Rilla of Ingleside" is very highly recommended to fans of Lucy Maud Montgomery and her "Anne of Green Gables" novels.

"Rilla of Ingleside" is the moving eighth novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series. The onset of the First World War overtakes the happy family of Anne and Gilbert Blythe in the peaceful Prince Edward Island community of Glen St. Mary. Anne's sons and the sons of the neighboring Meredith family are all too soon off to war with the Canadian Army.

Left behind to cope are the women of the Ingleside household: Anne Blythe, maid of all work Susan Baker, boarding schoolmarm Gertrude Oliver, and Anne's fifteen-year old daughter Rilla. They must keep up the homefront while suffering through difficult war news and the long intervals between letters from Europe.

The story centers on Rilla, who finds romance on the last night of peace with Kenneth Ford, to whom she makes an adult promise as he ships off to war. Rilla, the least ambitious of the talented Blythe children, suddenly finds the grit to care for an abandoned war-baby and to lead the local Junior Red Cross chapter. She will console a favorite brother accused of cowardice and the silently suffering girl he leaves behind. She will arrange the quick wartime marriage of two friends. And she will find the strength to stand with a beloved mother about to experience her greatest tragedy.

By turns whimsical, tragic, humorous, and heroic, "Rilla of Ingleside" is some of the very best of Montgomery's honest, life-confirming prose. Few readers will be unmoved by the last letter of a Blythe son in the chapter "And So, Good Night" or by the ending, as Rilla waits to learn her fate with the man to whom she believes she is engaged.

"Rilla of Ingleside" is very highly recommended to fans of the "Anne of Green Gables" series.

"Rilla of Ingleside" is the eighth novel in Lucy Maud Montgomery's superb "Anne of Green Gables" series, and quite different from its predecessors. Those readers familiar with the First World War, and with the war dead monuments it left behind in many British and Canadian towns, can appreciate the environment that Montgomery vividly recreates. The hurricane of war will profoundly affect Anne and Gilbert Blythe and their six children, and their friends and neighbors in Glen St. Mary, Prince Edward Island.

At the center of the story is Rilla, the youngest daughter of Anne and Gilbert, and at 15 years old, just experiencing her first romance on the opening night of the war. The male children of the Blythe's and their neighbors the Meredith's and the Ford's are quickly pulled away into the military, leaving behind mothers, sisters, sweethearts and even a loyal dog to suffer over every bad headline of a long and costly war. The women will do their own quietly heroic best to keep up the homefront. Rilla in particular will have to grow up quickly, taking on the responsibility of raising an abandoned war baby while leading the local junior Red Cross Chapter. She will be called upon to comfort a brother accused of cowardice and a mother who loses a son. At the end of the novel, she and the reader will wait to learn whether a promise made to a departing soldier will be finally redeemed.

Montgomery manages to capture the ebb and flow of the war while skillfully weaving in her familiar story elements of humor, tragedy, heroism, and even whimsy. Very few readers will be left unmoved by the last letter of a Blythe son, in the chapter "And So, Good Night." "Rilla of Ingleside" is very highly recommended to fans of Lucy Maud Montgomery and her "Anne of Green Gables" novels.

It is certainly hard to begin reading "Rilla of Ingleside," knowing it is the eighth and final book in the Anne of Green Gables series. When it was written in 1921 it was actually the sixth book that L.M. Montgomery wrote in the series. Years later she would add "Anne of Windy Poplars" as the "fourth" book and "Anne of Ingleside" as the sixth, pushing this one to eighth place. The title character is Rilla, born Bertha Marilla Blythe (named for Anne's mother and the old maid who adopted the red-headed orphan), the youngest of Anne and Gilbert's daughters. The novel is set about a decade after Montgomery's previous Anne novel, "Rainbow Valley," which was more about the four children of the new widowed minister John Meredith, who become good friends with the Blythe kids. Most of the novel is set during World War I, which is one of the most interesting aspects of the story for me.

As the novel begins Rilla is almost fifteen years old, with bright hazel eyes and a dazzling smile. Rilla is still looking forward to her first romance and for her the most important thing in the world is going to her very first dance at the Four Winds lighthouse and getting her first kiss from Kenneth Ford. But the story takes a dramatic turn as the shadow of the World War reaches all the way to Ingleside. Her brothers, her friends and her beau go over the ocean to fight in France and Rilla brings home an orphaned newborn in a soup tureen and organizes the Junior Red Cross. Everything takes on new meaning when there is a war going on, waiting to hear from the battlefields of France and Susan wondering when America is finally going to get involved so the Allies can win and the boys can finally come home. American involvement in that war was pretty brief, so what I found fascinating is to see that war from the Canadian perspective, as it drags on year after year.

Young men get killed in a war and that tragedy touches the Blythe family. Then more bad news comes from France, bringing home the nightmare even more. Yet Montgomery creates the possibility of hope in the figure of a faithful dog, waiting at the train station for his master to return. Rilla is not the only one waiting for someone to come home: Una Meredith and Mary Vance are waiting as well. "Rilla of Ingleside" was published in 1921, which means that L. M. Montgomery provided a contemporaneous account of the war as seen from the home front. We learn of what is happening second-hand as we see the impact of the war on the mothers, sisters and girls who were left behind to worry about Paris being shelled by the Germans along with the fate of the Empire and their loved ones. This gives "Rilla" an emotional depth unmatched in Montgomery's work, and also sets up the tragic aspects of the story. While this might be a bit sobering for younger readers, by the time they get to this final novel I believe they will be well prepared. There are certainly comic aspects to the story, but this an emotional tale that provides a satisfying conclusion to the story of Anne Shirley and her family.

It is certainly hard to begin reading "Rilla of Ingleside," knowing it is the eighth and final book in the Anne of Green Gables series. When it was written in 1921 it was actually the sixth book that L.M. Montgomery wrote in the series. Years later she would add "Anne of Windy Poplars" as the "fourth" book and "Anne of Ingleside" as the sixth, pushing this one to eighth place. The title character is Rilla, born Bertha Marilla Blythe (named for Anne's mother and the old maid who adopted the red-headed orphan), the youngest of Anne and Gilbert's daughters. The novel is set about a decade after Montgomery's previous Anne novel, "Rainbow Valley," which was more about the four children of the new widowed minister John Meredith, who become good friends with the Blythe kids. Most of the novel is set during World War I, which is one of the most interesting aspects of the story for me.

As the novel begins Rilla is almost fifteen years old, with bright hazel eyes and a dazzling smile. Rilla is still looking forward to her first romance and for her the most important thing in the world is going to her very first dance at the Four Winds lighthouse and getting her first kiss from Kenneth Ford. But the story takes a dramatic turn as the shadow of the World War reaches all the way to Ingleside. Her brothers, her friends and her beau go over the ocean to fight in France and Rilla brings home an orphaned newborn in a soup tureen and organizes the Junior Red Cross. Everything takes on new meaning when there is a war going on, waiting to hear from the battlefields of France and Susan wondering when America is finally going to get involved so the Allies can win and the boys can finally come home. American involvement in that war was pretty brief, so what I found fascinating is to see that war from the Canadian perspective, as it drags on year after year.

Young men get killed in a war and that tragedy touches the Blythe family. Then more bad news comes from France, bringing home the nightmare even more. Yet Montgomery creates the possibility of hope in the figure of a faithful dog, waiting at the train station for his master to return. Rilla is not the only one waiting for someone to come home: Una Meredith and Mary Vance are waiting as well. "Rilla of Ingleside" was published in 1921, which means that L. M. Montgomery provided a contemporaneous account of the war as seen from the home front. We learn of what is happening second-hand as we see the impact of the war on the mothers, sisters and girls who were left behind to worry about Paris being shelled by the Germans along with the fate of the Empire and their loved ones. This gives "Rilla" an emotional depth unmatched in Montgomery's work, and also sets up the tragic aspects of the story. While this might be a bit sobering for younger readers, by the time they get to this final novel I believe they will be well prepared. There are certainly comic aspects to the story, but this an emotional tale that provides a satisfying conclusion to the story of Anne Shirley and her family.

When I hadn't read 'Rilla of Ingleside',I thought this book was just same as other Anne books,funny ,interesting and amusing.But this book turned out to be completely different from what I had expected.The other 'Anne' novels may sound more like books for children.But 'Rilla of Ingleside' is absolutely no book for children .This is where the glamour of the book is.You can find laughter in every paragraph,every sentence ,every word in other 'Anne' books,but you can hardly find any in 'Rilla of Ingleside'.Most of the part is so sad,so gloomy because there is war.I am not so sentimental,actually I have a heart hard as nail.But when I knew Walter died I was really broken-hearted.You may think I am silly to lament over something that is not real.But,I am sure,for other books,I wouldn't have such feeling.It is only Anne,whom I always love.I felt as if I were one of them.I have never been so absorbed in a book and I am certain I will never find a book I like so much.I just couldn't stop reading until I finished.I think 'Rilla of Ingleside' is a book that you can seek courage when you are down and out.It leaves so much to think and I know I shall be missing it terribly as I have already finished all the 'Anne' books.Once again I am reminded time really flies fast.I still remember Anne clearly as a stubborn,lively,filial girl in Green Gables, a good teacher in Avonlea,a student in Redmond,a doctor's wife in her little house of dreams and now she is almost fifty.Today, we are so happy and well off.But if you read 'Rilla of Ingleside', you can experience the bitterness of war,though not in body but in spirit at least and become more optimistic.One more to say,when I was asked the best book I had ever read before reading 'Rilla',I would say 'Anne of Green Gables' without hesistation, but now,I would absolutely say 'Rilla of Ingleside' without doubt!!!

What a wonderful way to close the series by focusing on the Blythe family fully (been a while since they did so) and showing how each of them handles the news of WWI. Rilla (Bertha Marilla Blythe) is the youngest born to the Blythes and is nearly 15. She is so much of a child still and wants to be seen as a woman. However, the war might make a woman out of her and change her more than she realizes, as well as her family as a whole. This was a darling book and I really give it 4.5 stars, but there are no half ratings on the store. It was probably my second favorite book of the series (the first being the most favorite).

'Rilla of Ingleside' is, for all intents and purposes, a war story (one entire chapter is the heroine's journal entries over the events occuring in the war) and the character development that takes place within Rilla Blythe as she goes from a vain, unambitious fifteen year old to a responsible, sensible nineteen year old in the years that encompass World War One. It is obviously a darker novel than all previous novels of L. M. Montgomery based around the Blythe family, and I consider it more of a 'spinoff' from her previous books than a continuation despite what the cover of the book says, calling it 'Anne of Green Gables Novel #8'. In fact, if a new-comer to Montgomery's novels were to read this and then her previous books they would find the tone and content so different one might suspect a different author. There is no light-hearted mischief-making here, no long poetic passages describing the beauty of the countryside expect in a bittersweet sense, and hardly any introductions of new, quirky characters (in fact any old, quirky characters are in short supply!)
The novel is centred entirely around the war, and of Rilla's experiences through it, and in this context it is a well written war story - the divided feelings of glorious battle and will to fight for one's country and the dread of facing the horrors of war, and the neverending frustration and helplessness of the women left at home. When tragedy strikes the Blythe family one feels it has painfully as they do, and the four-year vigil of Dog Monday at the train station for his master's return is incredibly poignant. But taking up most of Rilla's time is her sweet (but rather uneventful when compared with the courtship of Anne and Gilbert) romance with Kenneth Ford and her 'adoption' of infant 'Jims' from the Anderson house who she brings home in a soup tureen and who forces her into premature adulthood. However, I would warn one not to get too interested in this 'baby plot' as it is handled rather badly. For a long amount of time she doesn't even *like* the baby, the relationship is never fully explored, and the departure of Jims into his father's care is related to us in hindsight. The baby exists only as a rather needless plot point and even Rilla's growth as a person is only partly due to Jim's presence. However, Montgomery succeeds in creating a powerful war drama, and one that leaves a bittersweet taste in your mouth, especially with the knowledge that it is only a matter of years before World War Two rolls around.
As an 'Anne of Green Gables' story, it doesn't quite work, and fans reading this book as the end and climax of the saga may be sorely disappointed. Rilla, Walter and Susan take the spotlight in this novel, and Anne is reduced to a secondary - perhaps even a minor character. She is always refered to as 'Mrs Blythe' or 'Mrs Doctor, dear' and none of her experiences or feelings are expressed to the reader. Many characters are ommitted entirely, leaving one wondering how they managed during the war (such as Owen and Leslie, Diana, and the hundreds of other characters that Anne (and we) came to know and love in the previous books). Even Nan, Shirley, Faith, Carl, Jerry, Di and Una are barely mentioned, making one wonder why Montgomery bothered setting up their characters and personalities in 'Rainbow Valley' if she was simply going to ignore them in the last book. Furthermore, if 'Rilla of Ingleside' is read as the last novel in the series, it suddenly makes all the other books seem unbearably sad. When one reads of Anne and Gilbert's youth, or the childhoods of their children, one is always aware of the shadow looming over them, not just of the war, but of the inescapable truth that the children must grow up, and beloved Anne must grow elderly.
Take my advice and try to detach yourself from all the previous books in the series when reading 'Rilla', and think to yourselves that Anne's story ended happily in 'Anne of Ingleside'. 'Rainbow Valley' and 'Rilla's drastic tone and plot tangents from the previous novels make this easy to do so.

I have just finished reading this fabulous book and only wish that there was a sequel to it. All through the Anne series, Anne is portrayed as a romantic, kindred spirit, dreamy girl this was good characterization she should have been shown more in this book. Rilla was a vain and shallow girl of 15- almost, in the beginning after she found "Jims" she started acting more respnisible, realistic, and loving to her family. One of my favorite characters was Walter, and when he went to war, it almost made me cry because when anyone goes to war, you don't know if they will come back. There is much more I could say to tell you why you should read this book and also more events that happened in this story, but, i feel that you get the picture of it. Please, sit down one afternoon as I have done and read Rilla of Ingleside.

What a wonderful way to close the series by focusing on the Blythe family fully (been a while since they did so) and showing how each of them handles the news of WWI. Rilla (Bertha Marilla Blythe) is the youngest born to the Blythes and is nearly 15. She is so much of a child still and wants to be seen as a woman. However, the war might make a woman out of her and change her more than she realizes, as well as her family as a whole. This was a darling book and I really give it 4.5 stars, but there are no half ratings on the store. It was probably my second favorite book of the series (the first being the most favorite).

'Rilla of Ingleside' is, for all intents and purposes, a war story (one entire chapter is the heroine's journal entries over the events occuring in the war) and the character development that takes place within Rilla Blythe as she goes from a vain, unambitious fifteen year old to a responsible, sensible nineteen year old in the years that encompass World War One. It is obviously a darker novel than all previous novels of L. M. Montgomery based around the Blythe family, and I consider it more of a 'spinoff' from her previous books than a continuation despite what the cover of the book says, calling it 'Anne of Green Gables Novel #8'. In fact, if a new-comer to Montgomery's novels were to read this and then her previous books they would find the tone and content so different one might suspect a different author. There is no light-hearted mischief-making here, no long poetic passages describing the beauty of the countryside expect in a bittersweet sense, and hardly any introductions of new, quirky characters (in fact any old, quirky characters are in short supply!)
The novel is centred entirely around the war, and of Rilla's experiences through it, and in this context it is a well written war story - the divided feelings of glorious battle and will to fight for one's country and the dread of facing the horrors of war, and the neverending frustration and helplessness of the women left at home. When tragedy strikes the Blythe family one feels it has painfully as they do, and the four-year vigil of Dog Monday at the train station for his master's return is incredibly poignant. But taking up most of Rilla's time is her sweet (but rather uneventful when compared with the courtship of Anne and Gilbert) romance with Kenneth Ford and her 'adoption' of infant 'Jims' from the Anderson house who she brings home in a soup tureen and who forces her into premature adulthood. However, I would warn one not to get too interested in this 'baby plot' as it is handled rather badly. For a long amount of time she doesn't even *like* the baby, the relationship is never fully explored, and the departure of Jims into his father's care is related to us in hindsight. The baby exists only as a rather needless plot point and even Rilla's growth as a person is only partly due to Jim's presence. However, Montgomery succeeds in creating a powerful war drama, and one that leaves a bittersweet taste in your mouth, especially with the knowledge that it is only a matter of years before World War Two rolls around.
As an 'Anne of Green Gables' story, it doesn't quite work, and fans reading this book as the end and climax of the saga may be sorely disappointed. Rilla, Walter and Susan take the spotlight in this novel, and Anne is reduced to a secondary - perhaps even a minor character. She is always refered to as 'Mrs Blythe' or 'Mrs Doctor, dear' and none of her experiences or feelings are expressed to the reader. Many characters are ommitted entirely, leaving one wondering how they managed during the war (such as Owen and Leslie, Diana, and the hundreds of other characters that Anne (and we) came to know and love in the previous books). Even Nan, Shirley, Faith, Carl, Jerry, Di and Una are barely mentioned, making one wonder why Montgomery bothered setting up their characters and personalities in 'Rainbow Valley' if she was simply going to ignore them in the last book. Furthermore, if 'Rilla of Ingleside' is read as the last novel in the series, it suddenly makes all the other books seem unbearably sad. When one reads of Anne and Gilbert's youth, or the childhoods of their children, one is always aware of the shadow looming over them, not just of the war, but of the inescapable truth that the children must grow up, and beloved Anne must grow elderly.
Take my advice and try to detach yourself from all the previous books in the series when reading 'Rilla', and think to yourselves that Anne's story ended happily in 'Anne of Ingleside'. 'Rainbow Valley' and 'Rilla's drastic tone and plot tangents from the previous novels make this easy to do so.

I have just finished reading this fabulous book and only wish that there was a sequel to it. All through the Anne series, Anne is portrayed as a romantic, kindred spirit, dreamy girl this was good characterization she should have been shown more in this book. Rilla was a vain and shallow girl of 15- almost, in the beginning after she found "Jims" she started acting more respnisible, realistic, and loving to her family. One of my favorite characters was Walter, and when he went to war, it almost made me cry because when anyone goes to war, you don't know if they will come back. There is much more I could say to tell you why you should read this book and also more events that happened in this story, but, i feel that you get the picture of it. Please, sit down one afternoon as I have done and read Rilla of Ingleside.

Personally, I think there are mostly only advantages to reading this particular book. Firstly, throghout the entire series, apart from 'Rainbow Valley' and this book, the main character is always our beloved Anne Shirley and we now have a completely different view with Rilla, Anne's daughter as the main character which I find quite interesting, though I miss Anne. Either way, I think this book has everything a good book should have: sufficient humor, an amazing storyline and beautiful vocabulary. My favourite thing about this book was its setting. I loved how the World War affected Rilla in so many ways yet she was not physically fighting in it. I think it's a worthy ending to the wonderful series. I am 14 years old, but encourage anyone at all to read this series.

"We give more than them. They only give themselves. We give them." So said Rilla Blythe once, and pretty much sums up all the suffering that the womenfolk left behind at home to 'work and wait' for their men at the front undergo.

RoI is featured around pretty young Rilla Blythe, as flippant and fun-loving as fourteen-year-olds can be. The novel starts out innocently enough; Rilla and her siblings attend a lighthouse dance, and handsome Ken Ford is infatuated with Rilla. Nobody cares about what's happening outside Prince Edward Island..or indeed, even in the next town. But in the midst of the enjoyment, World War I is looming up, and very soon boys are in khaki and on their way to the bloody battlefields in France. Inner strength is tried and hearts are wrung during the four long years that follow as the women watch friends, husbands, lovers and brothers put their lives on stake for the 'ashes of their fathers and the temples of their gods'.

Sadly, Rilla of I. has been overlooked by many when considering all the wonderful war books written. Maybe because of the title, which sounds very chick-flickish. If it had been called 'All Quiet on the Canadian front', perhaps more notice would've been taken of it. RoI is a clear, realistically insightful, thought-provoking work on what the people on the homefront go through during a war. All the anxieties over a telegram, taking up jobs that only men handled before, saying goodbye to the men leaving...

LMM has beautifully portrayed how the initial excitement and complacency over the war simmed down to stoic endurance through the four years. Yet, in the midst of all this emotion, there is still the trademark LMM humour. Rilla reflecting that Fred Arnold's nose would be unbearable 'across the breakfast table'. Mr. Pryor being nicknamed 'Whiskers on a Moon' because of his fat face. Rilla bringing home an orphaned war baby in a soup tureen. There is never a dull moment in RoI.

The only nitpick I have with this novel is that there is so little of the Merediths and characters like Jem, Nan and Di Blythe whom I grew to love during 'Rainbow Valley'. But it is such a powerful, moving book that it merits every bit of the five-star rating. This is L.M. Montgomery at her best.

Unlike the previous 2 - 3 books in the Anne series, this is a book I've really enjoyed. It tells the story of Anne's youngest daughter, Rilla, and her experiences during WW1.
I've enjoyedrealizing how Rilla takes after her mother in her point of view on life - her love of romance, her stubborness, her imagination, her ability to describe situations through her writing, and most of all - the way she always gets herself into unexpected situations - wearing 2 different shoes when trying to look her best, or ending up raising a war baby... It's amazing to see her grow up in this book.
My only disappoinment in this book was Anne - I enver imagined her being the hysterical fainting type...

L.M. Montgomery captures the hopes, dreams, ideals, fancies and self-absorption of teenagers in the spirited, funny, dreamy Rilla. How she is suddenly forced to grow up - "soul growth" Rilla calls it - is realistically depicted. It's not all done at once. Sometimes it's funny (wearing mismatched shoes to call on Irene), sometimes it's hard (watching brothers, friends and sweethearts go to war), and sometimes it's horribly painful (Walter's death). And Montgomery keeps it all interesting for the reader. My only fault is that Nan and Di - especially Di - are never developed as characters.

I like the series and finally have finished reading all of them. But it's not easy, for there're many parts of these books very boring, esp. when there are parts talking about nothing but non-related things like ppl's gossips in the sorry. But I do admit Anne does give us strength. And Montegomery is an expert about children psychology. She just wrote out what we children think, very familiar and touching. Here, I want to ask a question. What's the meaning of "Ingleside"? Though I know it's the name of the house, but why choosing this name?
Also, the ending of Rilla of Ingleside doesn't seem like an ending...

This, along with "Anne of Green Gables", is my favourite Anne book. Rilla is a great character, quite unlike Anne and quite recognizable as a teenager, even if the historic setting is very different from today. As well as developing the characters of Rilla and her family and friends so strongly, this book provides a real insight into life for those left at home during the war. I cried and cried when Walter died, and over Dog Monday. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it is the last in the series.

Rilla of Ingleside is without contest the best book I've ever read. LM Montgomery's talents include being able to describe emotions so vividly that the reader *feels* it. In this case, she shows us how Rilla, a frivolous, vain girl, transforms, through many hardships, into a patient, kind, humourous young woman. Also woven in are little details about the war that you will never find in a history textbook - mostly how the people back home felt about it.
Although she isn't one of the main characters, Faith Meredith is one of my favourites. She is brave enough to go off as a nurse, and stays strong even when her finacee is captured by the Germans. I'd love to actually BE Faith.
Another of the best characters are Susan and her cousin Sophia. Susan is so optimistic and Sophia is so pessimistic that their clashes are just plain funny.
Gertrude Oliver is the most intriguing. Her dreams tell the future and she has lots of superstitions.
The most lovable of the characters is Jims. He is a really sweet little baby and his role in Kenneth Ford's farewell call is cute.
From all points of view, Rilla of Ingleside is an engaging novel, a must-read for LM Montgomery fans, historical romance freaks, and WWI nuts alike. Also for those who enjoy a good story.

This book is one of the most beautiful ever written. It's especially powerful if you've read the whole series. I often tell people that one of the reasons I love this book so much is because by book 8, you know these characters so well that L.M. Montgomery doesn't have to explain things to you. She just mentions a simple event and it's heart-breakingly beautiful (for those of you who know this story, I'm thinking about Walter bringing her flowers in place of Jem...). I cry buckets every time I read it, but also leave the book feeling a little better about the world.

Instead of laughter and joy "Rilla of Ingleside" is marked with fear and sorrow. Though even in the last "Anne of Green Gables" series hope is amid them.
Every chapter has kind of its own story. Even though this might not appeal to some people this is very exciting.
In my opinion the only disturbing part is the rear flap text of my edition (an older edition). A passage of the book "Rilla has developed in a wonderful fashion these past four years. She used to be such an irresponsible young creature. She has changed into a capable, womanly girl and she is such a comfort to me." (p. 258, l. 34-37) would have been much more suitable.
The greatest pain which creeps into ones soul is the loss of one of my favorite characters in a most dreadful way. Especially in this book this character grows into ones heart. But in spite of all of this, this part enhances the value of the book and makes it to one of my favorites.

Rilla Of Ingelside was a terrific book.My words can not even describe how great this book was.At first I did not even want to read the book, then after I started reading it I could not put the book down.I ended up reading it in one day.I have never cried over a book before, but I cried over this one.When Anne's son died I could not stop crying.It was as if I could feel the characters pain and agony.This is a wonderful book and I would reccomend it for all ages.

I felt compelled to write something, especially after reading all the customer reviews.

For the time of history about which it was written, Rilla of Ingleside is a lovely period piece of literature.

All novels written in ages gone by tend to have some characteristics of appearing dated, and historically innacurate. "Uncle Tom's Cabin", for instance, the American Civil War era novel, appears grotesquely racist to our 21st century sensibilities. At the time, however, it was explosively anti-slavery and instrumental in turning people against slavery in the US.

For those who struggled with Rilla, finding it "trite" and "full of propaganda", might I suggest that novels such as this are not for you? L.M. Montgomery was not so fortunate as to have the insight of the future, which we have, about the events taking place in her world.

As for Rilla of Ingleside, it is engagingly bittersweet, typically romantic but well-written, L.M. Montgomery. Any LMM lovers will enjoy it as it is: a long goodbye to Anne.

In Rilla of Ingleside, you will meet Rilla, the last of Anne and Gilbert's children. She starts out as a self girl but grows into a caring young woman during War World 1. You will laugh through tears reading this book. Susan is always a source of laughter and you will enjoy seeing Rilla grow up. Anne will always be my favorite, but Rilla would come in second along with Valancy from The Blue Castle. This book, like the other Anne books, holds all LMM's magic.

Rila of Ingleside is,in my opinion, a wonderful book. It tells the tale of a young girl named Rilla, not quite fifteen and wanting to be a woman. She is still waiting for her first dance and her first kiss. The war starts and her beloved Ingleside is no longer the same. During this experience she gains maturity and a deeper relationship with her mother.
The reason for the four stars is because I think that there were too many facts and names and dates in the book for my liking. I think that the author could have excluded a few facts about the war that she decided to put in...
Other than that, though, I think that Rilla of Ingleside is a good book with wonderfully refreshing morals, which are so absent from a lot of books written today.

This is definitely my favorite in the series, BUT it is also VERY DIFFERENT from the other books, which I also recommend. This book is a fascinating account of one young lady's experience in Canada during World War I. I learned more about the war from this book than I have from all the history books I've read, combined. It really brings a human touch to history. It's sad and funny and very true to life.

I thought this was a fantastic end to the series. It definitely takes on a much more serious tone than previous novels due to the time period and subject matter. But I think that's what makes this seem as if the series had 'grown up.' It also shows what happened to the women who got left behind while a lot of men went off to war, which I find so interesting. It's definitely a tear jerker, much more than previous novels, but really worth the read.
In reading the other reviews, I have to admit that I'd really like to have known what happens to some of our other favorite characters. But it's nice to see Anne's family one last time.

While I love all the "Anne of Green Gables" books, this one by far moved me the most. The development of all the characters really pulls in the reader. I couldn't put the book down, and every time I re-read it, it still keeps me going the same way.