Murder by Death

Yes, this is my first time reading it.  I was book shopping back in January with my 9 year old niece and she was pressuring me to read Little Women, which isn't going to happen, and in a panic, I volunteered to read Anne of Green Gables instead.

Keeping in mind that I'm 40 years beyond the target audience for this book, omg, it's so twee.  468 pages and about 368 of them so twee and precious I almost gave up and dnf'd it.  Suffice it to say, I identified most strongly with Marilla.  But if I skimmed the gratuitous expository narrative, there was a charming story that kept me going (after a 3 month hiatus).  And as Anne grew up, the story got progressively easier to read.  That part of the story earned it the extra half star.

The reasons this book is a classic are clear, though I'm confident I wouldn't have been much more enamoured of this book when I was in its target audience; even as a child I lacked the requisite imagination to feel like Anne was a kindred spirit, and Heidi pretty much killed the orphan sub-genre for me anyway.  But I have one niece for whom this book might be a perfect fit, and I'll be holding in on my shelf for her next visit, assuming that happens before she's old enough to drive, given current border closures.  Or maybe I'll just send it to her in the post.