Book Review: Ann of Sunflower Lane

 Ann of Sunflower Lane by Julie A. Sellers is a YA book geared toward girls in the mid-teens. This senior citizen thoroughly enjoyed the story of a young girl who ends up on a Kansas farm in 1989 when a court in Denver decrees that her grandparents should take temporary custody, Her father travels around the country with small bands, neglecting his duty as a single parent. 

Ann Alwyn goes to live with her maternal grandparents whom she has never known. Ann's mother died when she was born leaving her to be raised by an often-absent father and an older step-sister. She knows very little about her mother and even less about her grandparents. 

Ann is about to turn 16 and a Junior in high school when she comes to the farm for a short visit, or so she hopes. Her grandfather is a kind man who tries to make her comfortable. Grandma is a bit bristly and hard to please, full of rules. The biggest and hardest rule to follow is 'no boys.' 

Grandpa gives Ann a copy of Anne of Green Gables, one of her mother's books that had been saved. Ann falls in love with everything about this other Anne, the one with an 'e' and quotes the books frequently. She meets two teens on the next farm. Corrie is a year younger than Ann and also a devotee to the Anne of Green Gables books. She and Ann become 'bosom friends.' Her brother, Cameron is a year older than Ann, and she does all she can to avoid him, fearing her grandmother's wrath. 

The book follows a year in Ann's life in Kansas, where she expected to stay only a few weeks. Her father becomes more and more distant, and Ann finds that talk about her mother's marriage is discouraged. She feels desperate to learn more about her mother but also fears the truth. Over the course of the year, Ann learns the meaning of family and friendship and a way of life she'd never encountered before. 

Julie A. Sellers has woven a good story of a troubled teen whose life moves from a big city to a small farming community in Kansas. She has captured the rural Kansas area with almost poetic descriptions, as well as the people of the area. We watch Ann mature through the year as she becomes close to her grandpa and learns to understand her grandma. 

The characters are well-developed. Ann's constant references to the other Anne, the girl in Anne of Green Gables, contrast nicely to the many adages Grandma uses. Grandma is not unkind, but she is also not openly loving, and we find out why later in the book. Grandpa is the kind of grandfather every child would love. His kindly manner softens Grandma's strictness. Other characters in the farming community add to the story, as well.

Young teens today may not be familiar with the Anne of Green Gables books. Being exposed to the many references to them in this book should pique their interest. Those who have already read the Green Gables series of books will enjoy the relation of the two girls named Ann(e) in this story. This is a book that can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike. 

In her debut novel, Julie A. Sellers has penned a winner. Find the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or by googling the title to find other bookstores where you can order.