Book Title: Maud
Author: Melanie J. Fishbane
Genre: YA Fiction, Biographical Fiction
Age Group: 12-18
Part of a Series? No.
To preface, Maud is based off of author L.M. Montgomery's teen years, beginning in 1889 and ending in 1892. Maud is a work of biographical fiction, so while much of it is indeed based off of Montgomery's life, it also contains quite a bit of fictional content. L.M. Montgomery is best known for her famous Anne of Green Gables series.
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It's 1889. Maud dreams of being a self-reliant young woman, free to depend upon herself, rather than upon relatives whom she perceives do not really care for her. She is stuck living with Grandma and Grandfather Macneill in Cavendish, PEI. Her mother is dead, and her father is in Saskatchewan. Maud dreams of the day when her father will finally come for her.
When Father finally sends for Maud, she goes willingly, excited to reunite with Father, and to meet her new stepmother and stepsister.
Father and his second family aren't what Maud expected. Mrs. Montgomery is cold with her, and Maud struggles to find a reason for her stepmother's strange behaviour. She begins to suspect that perhaps the true reason that her father and Mrs. Montgomery brought her to Saskatchewan was to play Nanny to Katie, her little stepsister.
As time passes, Mrs. Montgomery becomes harder and harder to get along with, and she begins loading more responsibility on Maud's young shoulders. Maud finds herself seeking solace in the form of her close Saskatchewan friends, Laura and Will. Eventually, she accepts the fact that living with Father is not going to work out. She writes home to Cavendish, asking Grandma Macneill for permission to return home.
When permission comes, it is bittersweet. Returning home comes with goodbyes. Saying goodbye to Will is hard. She believes she loves him, but she has so many dreams yet unfulfilled, dreams she feels marriage would interfere with.
The main themes I saw in Maud were Maud's struggles with family, her struggles with choosing between marriage or her dream as a writer. Following her successes and failures as she begins submitting her writing to different publications particularly intrigues me, as I can closely relate. The romance thread, not so much.
There is a bit of light romance woven throughout the book, which should come as no surprise, since the book is based off of a real person's life. Reading about Maud's first romance back in Cavendish, and her second romance in Saskatchewan is very sweet. The author does a good job of portraying it without letting romance and love overtake the entire book. It isn't a romance-genre book, rather, it just has a bit of romance coursing through it. Romance is not the book's main point.
Other than a bit of extra kissing (& it isn't that excessive), the book is quite enjoyable in that regard.
I really enjoyed Maud, and it is a book I would read again. I really enjoyed reading about Maud's successes in her writing, as (obviously) I too love to write. I tend to enjoy books featuring girls who write just like me.
My biggest bone to pick with this book is that there aren't any more books to accompany it. I really loved reading it. Some people could conceivably feel that the book may be a bit slow in places, but overall I liked the pacing. L.M. Montgomery fans are sure to be pleased with it.