Over a century after the book was first published in 1908, the coming-of-age story about an orphaned 11-year-old redheaded girl named Anne Shirley continues to be a favorite among readers everywhere.

My first boyfriend once told me he loved me, and, at that moment, I realized I didn’t love him. I was 23, lying next to him in my D.C. apartment. He said those three words. I sat bolt upright, then ...