Berkley Pub – Review: 5 Stars

Thanks so much to the author, Edelweiss+, and Berkley for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

Let’s just be honest, I absolutely LOVE the original Little Women. So when I first went into this book I wasn’t sure if I was going to love it because I love the original material that was the inspiration, or if I was going to hate it because it didn’t live up to the original material. I am very pleased to announce that, with the exception of a few insignificant details (come on. Trey? Why? Teddy is not an old fashioned enough name or nickname that it needed to be changed to Trey.), I really loved how the story was handled both with what was kept the same and what was changed.

This book takes the idea of the original characters and puts them into a modern day world. Some of the situations from the original novel are represented in this story through a more modern take (example being Jo being a blogger as an outlet for her writing, rather than working to sell her short stories), as have the characters to a certain extent in order to make them feel like they really belong in this modern life, and other portions of the original story that are not included in this story. This book isn’t the original book in a different time, it looks at these women (yes, Beth included) as modern day adult women, and seeing what that might be like. I really, really, really loved the choice to do that, rather than just telling a new version of the same exact story.

I was immediately drawn into this book, and I loved the reading experience of this book right from the word “go.” I would describe this book as a modern retelling, but also as a family drama with some sweet moments of laughter. And it is filled with real issues and very lovable yet imperfect characters, and you can really tell how much all of these characters care about each other. This book is told from alternating points of view, switching between Meg and Jo, and both voices were so different that even if it hadn’t told me at the beginning of each chapter, I believe I would have been able to tell who’s voice I was hearing. I love character driven novels, and I love hearing multiple of those characters’ voices in a novel, and so it is a really big deal to be able to differentiate between the various narrators. Another thing that I will say is that it was very easy for me to see different parts of myself in each of the sisters, including Beth and Amy who we don’t hear from as much in this novel. I think that there are bits and pieces of each of these characters that any reader can relate to.

I would absolutely recommend this book to my friends, and already have on several occasions. I think that this would be a great read both for people who are fans of Little Women and are looking for a rather cozy, easy retelling to read, as well as for people who haven’t read the original (I know a lot of readers who didn’t read it as a kid and now find it intimidating as an adult) who may be looking for an easier or more accessible way to jump in to the characters and story. I will definitely be rereading this book at some point in my future, and I honestly can not wait until the second book comes out so that I can get more into the heads of Beth and Amy!