There are two main concerns we want to highlight up front.
Gilbert, the boy who many will expect Anne to eventually fall for had this not been a “modern retelling”, admits he has always “liked” her. She says, sorry, she likes someone else. The problem in this story is that nearly any reader will realize she is talking about the only other main character, a girl named Diana. Later Anne is shown standing next to Gilbert waiting for Diana to finish a play, it is Anne who has flowers for her. There are several suggestive scenes where Diana is hanging on Anne’s arm. This doesn’t go much further, but culminates with Gilbert asking her, “have you, yanno, told her yet?”.
Anna and Diana mistakenly eat chocolates from her house that have alcohol in them. Her friend’s mom doesn’t believe it was an accident (it was) and forbids Diana from seeing Anna anymore. The real concern comes in the response. Diana catches Anna and sneaks to talk with her. She tells her to only text between 8-9pm and that she will delete the texts after she receives them.
Note that our copy of this book advertises for another “modern retelling”, “Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy”, which we previously reviewed and labeled as an Avoid for Christian parents.
Other items to be aware of:
At the start a neighbor, upon hearing that the family will adopt a teenage girl says, “Hormones! Boy craziness! Crying! It’s going to be a nightmare. I wouldn’t go back to eighth grade if you paid me” (an ugly view of both fostering and being a teenager).
Anne says of Victorian homes “They’re the type of place where a good witch could be tending a secret garden”.
Anne comments she wants to look like an “Instagram model”. She says she would need a whole new wardrobe.
We should also point out that Anne is very impulsive and has a temper, causing her to show some very negative behavior. She apologies for some and is certainly a work in progress, but it is good to know it is there. Examples: Anne loses her temper with a rather rude adult and tells her to shut up (she apologizes, but it is pointed out that it likely wasn’t really sincere). She is incredibly rude to Gilbert, who makes several attempts to be kind to her. At one point she says she will do something “if I’m not in jail for literally murdering Gilbert”.
A new friend is said to read “romance” stories and says she likes when they are “absolutely tragic”.
The book cuts to a conversation already in progress and we hear someone say “I can’t believe you did that” to which the reply comes “But she dared me”.
Diana calls her grandmother “so cranky”.
A boy is called “really annoying”.
The following references are made: Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”, X-Files