Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read
Review: I read this book and I thought it was a great book! I really like the Anne of Green Gables series, but this has got to be one of my favorite books! You should read it, and you will really enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Ho-hum
Review: I should have trusted the mediocre reviews of this book. L.M. Montgomery's books are usually full of vibrant characters, action, and life. Kilmeny of the Orchard was flat, boring, and unbelievable. The only character who HAD a character was the villain. Bottom line - don't waste your time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: Kilmeny of the Orchard
Review: I think that this novel was perhaps a little too short...and the plot was rather singular, boy meets girl, falls in love with her, tries to win her, there are obstacles, etc. One of the things I usually love about LM Montgomery's books are the many plot threads, but this book was a disappointment in that respect. In short, this book does not stand out in any way. If you want good LM Montgomery, read the Emily or Anne series. Or if you have, then maybe buy this book to add to your collection. It does have that gorgeous LMM descriptive tilt to it, but plot-wise it is nothing special. I think that when LMM writes single novels, she is not able to create fully rounded characters like she is in her series. The Anne and Emily series are my absolute favourites, but I really did not think that this book lived up to LMM's standards.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I'm a big fan of Montgomery and have read all of her books, even the short stories. I love her special style of writing! However, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the others. The plot is too simple, the hero and heroine too perfect to be true. Although this book is not all that bad(no book of Montgomery is!), I recommend you read the better of Montgomery's works, like Jane of Lantern Hill or Rilla of Ingleside.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so great
Review: I've read the majority of LMM's books, and have liked to loved most of them. This is the only one that I've really found to be a disappointment. I agree with many of the other reviewers; the characters were flat, the ending was too predictable, and the book itself was overly sugary. It wasn't a horrid book, because LMM is too good of an author to write a horrid book, but it definitely wasn't good. I would steer away from this one if I were you (and I agree with one of the other reviewers; if you're looking for some good LMM, try "The Blue Castle").
Rating:
Summary: A charming, old-fashioned love story
Review: If you like sweet, gentle stories, this could be the book for you. Kilmeny of the Orchard is more like a long short story or novela than Montgomery's other works - there isn't any real deviation from the main plotline of the romance, or a great deal of character fleshing-out, and it may be a little too melodramatic for some. Her usual humour comes through in some passages, though - poking a little fun at the small-town people. The story is entirely from the point of view of Eric, who is dabbling in a little small-town teaching, so the character of Kilmeny is not fully explored (unlike Anne and her other female protagonists). Kilmeny is seen through the eyes of a besmitten youth, and may seem rather too good to be true. Also, some people may be offended by turn of the century attitudes. What must be remembered is that this book was written for another time, when political correctness had not yet been invented. Italians were firey-tempered; a hired boy, even one raised by your family, is not the sort for a well-bred lass to consider; children born out of wedlock were a shame and a black mark on the family; and, disabilities made the sufferer a cripple or a defective. The small-town people of the story are very traditional, too, and also quite superstitious. I found Eric to be rather more like a young girl's fantasy hero rather than any man that I've met, but he was quite likeable. (A young person's Mr Darcy?) Overall, the story is light, fun, and very sweet. If you aren't in the mood for heavy realism, it is a pleasant change.
Rating:
Summary: Fans of Anne, Emily, Valancy, Pat, Jane, and Marigold beware
Review: Kilmeny of the Orchard is my absolute LEAST favorite LM Montgomery novel. It has the usual wonderfully descriptive nature passages that we expect from the PEI author, but that's where the similarities to her other novels end. Her heroine is a beautiful, violin-playing cardboard cut-out. She is actually waiting to be rescued instead of actively searching for her destiny. Her earnest young suitor is also conceited and condescending. As for the ending, it is wildly dramatic, and would be laughable if Montgomery were any less of a writer. In short, the book is beautifully written, but has no substance. I felt as if I were reading a gothic novel that had somehow found itself unfolding in Canada, and it made me wish Montgomery had taken Mr. Harrison's advice to Anne: "Write what you KNOW"
Rating:
Summary: and 1/2 stars for the book, but 5 stars for the language
Review: KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD is one of Lucy Maud Montgomery's lesser known works. This novel is about a rich man (Eric), just graduated from college, who goes to Lindsay, PEI, to be a substitute teacher for a good friend who has become ill. While there, he falls in love with a violinist who is deaf (Kilmeny) and furthermore stained at birth. I will leave the plot at that. Other reviewers have given more detailed versions which are helpful, but if you are going to read the book, I don't want to tell you too much of the plot because I am afraid I will spoil it for you if I tell you anymore of it. The reason why I gave the book only 2 1/2 stars isn't so much because of the plot itself (although a much used plotline by many writers, Montgomery does manage to make it feel like new) but because of the characters themselves. Eric is described as perfect, perfect, perfect. Kilmeny, despite or even because of her deafness and stained birth, is perfect, perfect, perfect. Everyone in town who sees Eric approves of him because OF HIS LOOKS ALONE. When Eric falls in love with Kilmeny, his main reason--and the only reason mentioned of his wanting to make her his wife--is BECAUSE OF HER LOOKS. There is even a line in the novel where it goes something like "Eric lied on ther ground so that he could he hear her play...
And to also be able to look at her." (That is almost exactly the sentence.)
Now, I know we as a society do base many of our views of people somewhat on their looks, but it does get carried away in this novel, and I am NOT trying to take away from Montgomery's talent as a writer by saying that. But I can't finish this review leaving anyone with a bad impression of the novel, and it is not for nothing that Lucy Maud Montgomery is considered one of the all-time classic writers.
The language in this novel is exquisite! It is amazing to read her descriptions of fields and orchards and characters and their personalities. I have read many of Montgomery's novels and so am familiar with her use of descriptive language, and never have I seen it better than in this novel. Even though I don't considered this the best of her novels, I do consider it the best in terms of how she uses language. You will feel as though you have lived in Lindsay, and have known its citizens, by the time you finish this. In short, don't avoid this novel. The beautiful language as well as the fact that Lucy Maud Montgomery is the author of this novel makes it well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Classic
Review: Montgomery's wonderful skill in writing really shows in Kilmeny of the Orchard. She truley captures the innocence of a young woman untouched by the dangers and fears of the world. Eric Marshall, a young man born to wealth who has just graduated from college, arrives in out-of-the-way Lindsay, a town on P.E.I. He is substituting as a teacher for his friend who has taken ill. Along the way he meets beautiful Kilmeny, a young woman who cannot speak. Eric falls in love with Kilmeny, but will Kilmeny return his love? Kilmeny of the Orchard is a touching story that one will treasure in his or her heart. In rating it I give it a 5/5.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Classic
Review: Montgomery's wonderful skill in writing really shows in Kilmeny of the Orchard. She truley captures the innocence of a young woman untouched by the dangers and fears of the world. Eric Marshall, a young man born to wealth who has just graduated from college, arrives in out-of-the-way Lindsay, a town on P.E.I. He is substituting as a teacher for his friend who has taken ill. Along the way he meets beautiful Kilmeny, a young woman who cannot speak. Eric falls in love with Kilmeny, but will Kilmeny return his love? Kilmeny of the Orchard is a touching story that one will treasure in his or her heart. In rating it I give it a 5/5.
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