Posted: May 2, 2025
Author: Eric Walters
Publisher: DCB Young Readers

Redheaded orphan Sam can’t seem to stay out of trouble. His latest incident — defending himself by hitting the high school quarterback in the face with a can of soda — lands him in the Johnson “Blue Gables” Juvenile Center while he awaits trial. Sam needs to keep his nose clean, but can he control his temper when he’s targeted by a long-term Gables resident?
When Sam is given a reading assignment, he thinks he’ll have no interest in a classic book about another redheaded orphan. But he soon realizes that he’s found a kindred spirit in the book, and maybe even an unexpected source of hope.

“All I wanted was a place, any place.” Red-haired Sam finds himself between foster placements in a new town and school, with little hope. “I hadn’t wanted to hope,” he told himself. “Hope only lets you down.”

An altercation with the school’s quarterback involving a can of Coke lands Sam in a juvenile detention center awaiting trial for multiple charges including assault with a weapon. To add insult to injury, his teacher at the center assigns him the book Anne of Green Gables for a project, he thinks because of his red hair. But he reluctantly comes to see parallels between his own alienation and anger and Anne’s feeling like a morsel of neglected humanity. As his “room” mate, therapist and even the guard everyone avoids show moments of kindness, Sam learns to hold his tongue and reshape his view of the world along the lines of an unlikely kindred spirit in the form of a fictional character from Avonlea.

Sam offers an insightful and heartfelt juxtaposition of the gritty world of a juvenile detention center with the pastoral setting of Anne of Green Gables, providing unlikely parallels along the lines of alienation, resilience and the need to belong. Sam slowly comes to see the orphaned and unwanted Anne shares many of the same challenges that he faces, but with an optimism and self-acceptance that he comes to want for himself. The impact of Anne’s story on Sam shows the power of literature – especially of a classic story – to speak to people from a variety of backgrounds, even to people who find themselves behind the locked door of a prison cell. Walters inserts quotes from the book that resonate with Sam and help to reshape his attitude and his view of the world. Ages 11-14.
– James Steeves