Friends and Relations

Sheree Haughian is an elementary-school teacher-librarian in
Orangeville, Ontario.

Series novels are rarely known for their literary excellence; nor are
stories adapted from movies or TV productions. The Road to Avonlea
novels, as removed from L.M. Montgomery’s works as they are, somehow
seem to survive this state of double jeopardy.

In Friends and Relations, the ladies of the King family bustle away to
a winter auction in town, leaving Sara and Felicity in charge of the
younger children. The menfolk set off for a bout of ice-fishing. But all
the family togetherness causes strain; old, petty jealousies arise among
the women, while at least one of the men silently questions the value of
the male-bonding ritual. At home, one of the youngsters literally breaks
away from the tight cocoon of relatives. His disappearance results in a
search, which solidifies the family unit once again.

You can pick your friends but not your relatives, one character
suggests, and the reader may wish that Heather Conkie had selected fewer
family members to populate the story. Although the characters are
probably not confusing to a series devotee, for the would-be Road to
Avonlea reader this book is not an ideal introduction. Nevertheless, the
problem of family tensions seething under a faзade of camaraderie is a
compelling reality, as likely in today’s social dynamics as it must
have been then, when tea, crumpets, and talk of china patterns were
perfectly commonplace. Recommended with reservations.