I have owned this book forever! I have the movie and have always loved it. Thanks to several group challenges on here, I have finally gotten to this little gem.



Happy Reading!

Mel

Some classics come with a shelf life and feel like a relic of the past if read beyond their era.

Some classics are dated but still enjoyable as the values they espouse are timeless.

This one is firmly in category two. Many of the ideas might not be as relevant today, almost 155 years after its first publication. But the characters are still appealing, the writing still attractive, and the themes, still satisfying.

Jo and Beth are still my strong favourites, as are Laurie and Prof. Bhaer. This reread has been as much of a treat as expected.

Not gonna change my rating – this entire series is my firm favourite.  



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Still one of my favorite books - it's just so insightful about the daily struggle to be a good person. I'm low-key dreading the "it's not as feminist as you think it is!" takes that will inevitably spring up around the movie release (shocker: book that was written in the 1860s has many values from the 1860s). But re-reading this novel for something like the 15th time (and for the first time in my 20s) was really special, and helped me reassess how I personally feel about the way women and men are framed in here. Video to come soon-ish with some more reflections.

this book is such a treasure. ☁️✨
mr. and mrs. march raised such strong women of faith and i really enjoyed seeing them grow up alongside the mischievous boy next door. i loved laurie! he was so lively and charming and wore his heart on his sleeve. i also loved the march sisters as if they were my own. i saw a little bit of myself in each one, but mostly meg. i feel as though meg march is my soul character.

Whilst I do recall reading this as a young child I could remember little about the characters and the story-line so felt I was revisiting both something beloved and viewing it with fresh and excited eyes.

This felt like a series of short stories involving the March sisters, bound into a longer narrative. Whilst each sister is dissimilar in temperament and personality they all share the closest of bonds, and reading of their shared happiness and sorrows made this an altogether adorable reading experience. I didn't expect this to be as poignant and whimsical as it was and each of the nostalgic adventures recounted had me feeling like an honorary March sister, so inclusive was the style of writing and the lovable nature of the characters within.

Each of these tales had a moralistic edge that made this suitable for younger readers, but not off-putting to an older or modern-day readership. I whole-heartedly enjoyed this, and the warm, fuzzy feelings it evoked, and am glad I have revisited something so special.

I was given this more than 30 years ago, and it never appealed, but I gave it a go when it was selected by my book group in 2009.

As most people know, it's Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical account of four teenage sisters growing up in slight poverty, while their father is away at war.

The opening words alerted me to the tone:
"'Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without any presents'... 'I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls to have nothing at all.'"

Despite this, they are virtuous and generous girls (albeit, each has a little quirk: Jo is a tomboy, Amy a bit prim etc). If that doesn't tug at the heart strings enough, it is peppered with sentimentality, such as:
"Very few letters were written in those hard times that were not touching, especially those which fathers sent home."
and
"Tell us another story, mother; one with a moral."
Too much cheese/saccharine for my taste, so I gave up 1/3 of the way through.

Victorian YA

The book is of its time, but, perhaps because it was written for young adults, there is a simplicity of language and structure that exacerbates the self-conscious self-righteousness of it. It lacks the depth, breadth and moral grey areas of more adult writers of the time, such as Dickens. That may be an unfair comparison, as he was writing for a different audience, but it nevertheless reflects my reaction.

Read this many years ago, and it was delightful to reconnect with this wonderful classic once again.

i can tell this become my favorite classic book besides all classics books of the queen of classics books Jane Austin , and u can see a lot of classic word here :D

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Galentine's Day is right around the corner...so why not curl up with a good book? Check out my latest n  n    BooktTube Video n  n - all about five fabulous books on female friendship!

n  The Written Reviewn

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n  “Don't try to make me grow up before my time…”n

The March sisters may be radically different but they all have one thing in common - love.

Their love for their mother and father, their love for adventure and for each other unites them in this troubled time.

The Civil War is afoot and all the sisters can do is think about their father away and in battle. Their mother tries to distract them but often she can barely distract herself.

Jo, a radical tomboy and aspiring author - rallies her family with her amusing plays and scribbles.

n  I like good strong words that mean something…n

Meg, the beautiful sister, often puts her family first and holds them together when her mother cannot.

n  You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he’s the right one.n

Amy, the youngest, was spoiled as a child and oh my, it shows. But even she can rally when life looks darkest.

n  I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now.n

Beth, sweet and good-natured, valiantly cheers on her sisters but her frail health often keeps her at the sidelines.

n  There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping...n

The sisters must face hardships their New England home.

They must face things that they never would have thought possible.

But, even in the darkest of times, n  they will have each other.n And that is most important of all.

n  Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your fault.n

This is probably my fifth or sixth time through and yes, I am totally going to read it again.

There's just something about this book that's absolutely gorgeous and timeless.

I love the sisters and their relationships with each other - I see so much of myself and my cousins with their day-to-day interactions.

Jo, the darling, is the perfect mix of strength and fear. Watching her grow from a brash girl to confident young woman just makes my heart happy.

n  You are the gull, Jo, strong and wild, fond of the storm and the wind, flying far out to sea, and happy all alone.n

And the message of the book! Ahh. My heart. So full.

It often feels like the messages from books in the mid 1800s are saccharine sweet or so heavy-handed with their themes that they're ridiculous. (Just look at the later Anne of Green Gables if you'd like an example!)

But this one had just the right mixture of loving family + religion + life lessons. It was beautifully balanced.

n  Be worthy love, and love will come.n

That being said, I do absolutely hate that  Beth has to die.

I swear, every time I reread this series, I practically rediscover that fact (my brain is incredibly good at selective memory-ing those sorts of things)...which makes it awful all the more.

Oh, and am I the only one who's still bitter over who Jo ends up with? This book may have been published in 1868 but this is my hill and I WILL DIE ON IT!

But don't let that spoil your interpretation - this book is truly wonderful. I love it.

Audiobook Comments
Read by Kate Reading - can I just take a moment for us all to appreciate the the narrator is Kate Reading? Her last name is absolute perfection.

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I finally read Little Women! Jo is one of the most relatable characters of all time for me. I feel like this book came into my life at the perfect time. Here’s a reading vlog of my experience reading this: https://youtu.be/MkzZAxk4MLQ

2 stars
DNF @65%

I genuinely tried liking Little Women, especially since I loved Greta Gerwig's movie. It just didn't work for me. I was so utterly bored. I tried continuing thinking that I will like it because it is such a loved novel that has so many people in love with the characters and such. But I can't get through this. I want to move onto something that I actually will enjoy.

Alcott's novel will be enjoyed by people who like feminist themes in their novels. In my opinion this was just so meh. So unenjoyable. I know that back when this was first published this would have been mind-boggling, but as I don't live back then and don't really have an interest in learning the ideologies of the time, I just kind of gave up.

One thing that I did find interesting was everyone's hate for Amy. Why does everyone hate Amy?? If the novel only focused on her, I think I would have enjoyed it much more. She was so interesting. I loved seeing her progression from being a little girl to becoming womanly and being punched in the face with reality. I know that she burned Jo's manuscript, but Jo is basically a terrible sister to Amy for no reason. I know she gets Laurie in the end, but it isn't her fault that Laurie fell in love with her. So yeah. I am an Amy fan.

I don't have much to say about this novel. It didn't really evoke much emotion in me, so I am not able to go as in-depth as I usually like to. If you are looking for a classic that I think is a better pick if you are looking for themes about growing up please read The Catcher in the Rye, I loved this one.

Updated 8/26/2016 - Update at end

So, this is going to be my most confusing review to date and I am going to need some help from people who read this, so please reply if you know! (see below)

I read this for my Completest Book Club. I am glad I did because it is a classic I hear about all the time. If you take the Never-ending Book Quiz on Goodreads, it seems like every other question is about Little Women. While for me this book was just okay, I can see why it is a classic and enjoyed by many.

My confusion is this. I am only about 50% of the way through my audio copy of Little Women. As I was posting my status update last night I was noticing some comments that led me to believe I am now in what is considered the second book "Good Wives". My audiobook does not say anything, other than that I am in Part 2. In doing some research, I found that frequently audiobooks combine the first two books. My goal was only to read Little Women, so if I am truly in book 2, I am ready to stop.

See spoiler for details about where I am: Meg just got married, and it is my understanding that is how Good Wives starts

Update: So, I did finish part two (Good Wives). It definitely had a different feel. Almost like Little Women was meant to be read by 8 to 12 year olds and Good Wives was meant to be read by 12 to 19 year olds. While my star rating did not change, I did like getting a chance to "finish" the story of the little women. It felt like there was less filler, and that was either because there was, or because I was getting used to the writing and the story.

I probably would have rated this higher if it was the type of book I would normally be into. But, I am glad that I now have this classic under my belt!