The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My Rating: 4.5

An 1850 novel that was considered a masterpiece for it's time. Set in 17th century Massachusetts, Hester has a daughter through an affair. She is condemned as a sinner by the town and forced to wear a scarlet letter A. As her daughter grows she feels the stigma put upon her mother. Her mother, tries to live within the community that will not have her while trying to repent for her sins.

This wasn't a great read but, in hindsight, it grew on me. I couldn't figure out how Hester had no resentment - towards the town or the man who fathered the child. Towards the end of the novel, you discover who the father is (although there were clues along the way) and you see reason she never said anything - she loved him.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

My Rating: 4.9

This heartwarming story has beckoned generations of readers into the special world of Green Gables, an old-fashioned farm outside a town called Avonlea. Anne Shirley, an eleven-year-old orphan, has arrived in this verdant corner of Prince Edward Island only to discover that the Cuthberts—elderly Matthew and his stern sister, Marilla—want to adopt a boy, not a feisty redheaded girl. But before they can send her back, Anne—who simply must have more scope for her imagination and a real home—wins them over completely. A much-loved classic that explores all the vulnerability, expectations, and dreams of a child growing up, Anne of Green Gables is also a wonderful portrait of a time, a place, a family… and, most of all, love.

A lot of these characters went from being irritating to very endearing. By the end, I loved Marilla almost as much as Matthew and I was definitely in love with Anne. I can see why this is a classic and one that I think every girl/woman should read.