Anne (with an of course) starts out as a mistake. The elderly Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert had planned on adopting a boy to help Matthew with the chores on their Prince Edward Island farm. What are they to do with the red-haired, high-spirited girl who arrives instead? It seemed only yesterday that the skinny, freckle-faced redhead had first come to the island. Now here is Anne, teaching at the Avonlea school, 16, pretty, and all grown up. Well, not quite grown up. In fact, Anne is not very different from her restless young pupils—mischievous and spirited as ever and headed for hilarious predicaments with a cranky new neighbor, a hungry Jersey cow, a parrot with an embarrassing vocabulary, and a truly dreadful mistake! New adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and frivolous new pal Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises . . . including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson.