Dan in Green Gables: A Modern Reimagining of Anne of Green Gables by Rey Terciero and Claudia Aguirre
Publisher Summary: In this modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, effervescent extrovert Dan Stewart-Álvarez is surprised to find home and community in rural Tennessee.
Despite a life on the road with his free-spirited mother, fifteen-year-old Dan Stewart-Álvarez has always wanted to settle down. He just didn’t think it’d be like this: with his mother abandoning him in rural Tennessee with two strangers—his gentle grandmother and conservative, rough-around-the-edges grandfather. Here, he is forced to adjust to working the farm, entering high school, and hardest yet—reckoning with his queerness in a severe Southern Baptist community.
But even as Dan grows closer to his mawmaw, befriends fellow outsiders at school, and tries to make a new life for himself in Green Gables, he has to discover whether he can contend with intolerance and adapt to change without losing himself in the process.
From award-winning author Rey Terciero and Eisner Award nominee and illustrator Claudia Aguirre comes a new retelling of Anne of Green Gables about unconventional families, queer identity, and finding the meaning of home in the most unlikely of places.
My Thoughts: I’m generally a big fan of retellings because I love seeing my old friends in a new light and through another person’s imaginings. With Dan, fans of the original Anne get to see characters that are similar while also being refreshingly unique. We get moments to reflect on experiencing Anne and her story in our past. If someone doesn’t know the source material, the book still works and may even inspire readers to start reading or watching Anne of Green Gables so it is a win for all.
As with the Anne of so many years ago, Dan has a big personality that’s the technicolor contrast to the somewhat bland environment that he is thrust into abruptly. The balancing act of being himself and yet trying to fit into this new place is one of the big challenges. The other more difficult challenges have to do with the relationships between family and friends. There are many past injuries within characters that have significant effects on the emotions of the current days. And there are all kinds of present day interactions that are harmful too. The author gives a warning to readers that there are instances of bullying, physical assault, and homophobia” and that they should “make sure to take care of yourself first.” Readers are warned that these things are in the book, but are also reminded that many of these things happened to the author.
Though there are hard things experienced in the book, there are also joyful and loving moments too. Readers see that change can be hard, but are reminded that change is possible. Things that are awful won’t necessarily continue to be that way. It’s a hopeful book that shows pain, but also healing.
And when I say show, obviously the words do this, but the illustrations carry a lot of the load. Claudia Aguirre does some phenomenal work with the emotions. The faces and actions convey so much and add to the drama of it all. The expressions are excellent, but I also appreciated the use of color. There are a lot of yellows and oranges in contrast to the blues and greens. I don’t know if that was the intent, but it felt like the lighter brighter shades were a bit like the Dolly Parton lyrics and references reminding us of hope and better days to come in the midst of the down times.
Recommendation: Get it now. This will be a book that people of many different identities can relate to. It’s a bit of an emotional storm, but there are rainbow moments to be found in more ways than one.
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Pages: 252
Availability: On shelves now
Review copy: Final copy via publisher