Because the disks were mislabeled, I began listening to the fourth and final CD first, but doing this didn't hinder the reading much. In fact, perhaps this set the tone perfectly as both the narrator's sing-song voice and the text reminded me strongly of Anne Shirley. As it turned out, the tone was not the only thing in common with L. M. Montgomery's character. Julie Trelling, like Anne, has a strong interest in her English classes, including poetry, theater, and creative writing. She also receives the same advice that Anne had when her imagination takes her to places she knows little about: "Write about things you know," says her Uncle Haskell. The story has a number of other plot elements as well, but as was the pattern of young adult books of the day, Up a Road Slowly is less plot and more theme oriented, more pointedly a bildungsroman for a girl in the 1960s. Blanchard's mini-plots to this end include stories about Julie's first two, and quite disparate, loves; her struggling to feel a sense of belonging after the death of a mother and her forced relocation to an old maid aunt's home; her attitudes towards a disadvantaged and mentally disabled girl her age; her dealing with an alcoholic uncle with a curious habit of showing up with his unused golf clubs at the most awkward moments; her handling of her idolized sister's marriage; and finally, learning to handle her father's remarriage to a dear woman she admires, but who also upsets things when she remodels Julie's childhood home. Young readers today will find some historic lessons as well as things in common with their lives today. Available in multiple formats including CDs (), Playaway (), and Digital (). Reviewer: Heidi Quist