Ana of California Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Ana of California by Andi Teran

Release Date: June 30, 2015
Publisher: Penguin Books
Rated: YA/Adult 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository ● B&N ● Kobo 
Goodreads ● Website

A modern take on the classic coming-of-age novel, inspired by Anne of Green Gables.

In the grand tradition of Anne of Green Gables, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and The Three Weissmanns of Westport, Andi Teran’s captivating debut novel offers a contemporary twist on a beloved classic. Fifteen-year-old orphan Ana Cortez has just blown her last chance with a foster family. It’s a group home next—unless she agrees to leave East Los Angeles for a farm trainee program in Northern California.

When she first arrives, Ana can’t tell a tomato plant from a blackberry bush, and Emmett Garber is skeptical that this slight city girl can be any help on his farm. His sister Abbie, however, thinks Ana might be just what they need. Ana comes to love Garber Farm, and even Emmett has to admit that her hard work is an asset. But when she inadvertently stirs up trouble in town, Ana is afraid she might have ruined her last chance at finding a place to belong.

When I found out that Ana of California was based on L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, I knew I HAD to sign up for the blog tour. Anne of Green Gables and the rest of the books in the series are some of my favourite books that I read when I was younger. I loved reading about Anne’s adventures as she grew up, that all starts at Green Gables. I even went to Prince Edward Island, where the book is set, when I lived in Canada, and visited the house that inspired Green Gables. It was closed though at the time, but my mom and I kinda just went past the ticket booth just to get a glimpse of the house. I loved visiting PEI–it was such a magical place and I could totally envision the setting mentioned in the series as my family and I drove around the area. Anyway, that being said, I was also a little afraid going into Ana of California because Anne of Green Gables is such a treasured classic (for me as well as plenty of others) and sometimes retellings can go wrong. I was so happy that this wasn’t the case. I enjoyed Ana of California immensely, and loved the parts of the book inspired by the original classic as well as Teran’s own spin to the story.

I haven’t read Anne of Green Gables in a long time, but I don’t think much is mentioned about Anne Shirley’s past. What I liked about Ana of California is that Ana does have a past, which is slowly unveiled as the book goes on. It was a slight mystery to begin with but of course, learning about it later on in the book also supports the idea that Ana opens up to these people in Hadley. I also liked the diversity featured in this book–Mexican heritage, Native American heritage, a character who’s a lesbian–the characters in this book come from all walks of life. In this book we also get to see a bit more of Abbie’s story, which was pretty interesting. I think that’s why this book, despite having a fifteen/sixteen-year-old protagonist, was marketed as an Adult book–although it’s very clearly a YA book despite the label. I just wish we got to see more from Emmett’s point of view, but there’s also a bit of mystery to his character that is revealed towards the end of the book.

As I mentioned before, I haven’t read the classic in a while, but some things that did pop up in Teran’s reimagining reminded me of Anne Shirley’s story. For instance, the hair incident? That’s truly a part of the original story that I can’t forget! So glad that it was included in this one–I was hoping it would be when I started it. There’s also the argument Anne has with Mrs. Rachel Lynde, who spurs this hatred from Anne because she calls her ugly, in Anne of Green Gables. Ana has a similar spat with a similar woman, and seeing the parallels between the two situations, in this novel and in the classic, made me nostalgic. All the references to Montgomery’s book just made me want to re-read the series even more!

Ana of California was a real treat: I savoured this book from start to finish. From the beautiful descriptions of the farm to Ana’s wonderful musings to the intertextual allusions to various rock songs, Andi Teran’s fantastic debut has rekindled my love for Anne of Green Gables, making me fall in love with Ana’s story as well. Can’t wait to read more from this author–hopefully, it’ll be another delightful reimagining.

If you like this, try...

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery ● Goodreads
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli ● Goodreads
• For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund ● Goodreads

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ANDI TERAN

Andi Teran is a writer and performer originally from the deserts of West Texas. She has written about fashion, film, and culture for Vanity Fair, MTV, New York, and Monocle, as well as written and performed for various New York stages. She lives in Los Angeles. Ana of California is her first novel.

Website ● Goodreads ● Twitter ● Facebook ● Instagram

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Giveaway time!

Enter to win...

(1) of (5) finished copies of ANA OF CALIFORNIA by Andi Teran!

US ONLY

Enter via the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click on the button above to follow the rest of the tour!

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Thank you so much to FFBC Blog Tours for having me along!