Reviewed by The Head Elf and charter member of The Tiny Book Club
A revisit with my favorite childhood literature friends: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy! What could be better? Virginia Kantra achieved a grand contemporary retelling of “Little Women”, one of my favorite childhood classics.
You can tell the author knows the March sisters well, and that’s why it feels so authentic. I should know as my childhood best friend and I coveted this book. Between us we had all the Madame Alexander dolls and a trunk of old fashioned dresses from a grandmother where we played pretend and developed our own version of these characters. So, it can be really tricky updating a classic and having avid fan girls, like ourselves, accept a new version.
During the challenging time of quarantine this book provided my friend and me the solace we needed. We loved what the author did with our beloved characters.
"Meg & Jo"
Just like the title, “Meg & Jo”, this book focuses mostly on Meg & Jo. Jo has moved to New York and is a food blogger as well as working in a restaurant. Her experiences feel so real and honest. Jo’s still strong and stubborn, but also shows a vulnerability in her relationship with a new love interest, who also happens to be her boss. Her relationship with Chef Eric makes her feel more accessible as she isn't always in control.
Meg, is a full time mother to her twins, having left a job at the bank that she loved. She learns she has a lot to offer when she starts helping a farmers market vendor with his books. Her relationship with her husband, John, is very touching and real. Kantra allows us to experience through Meg, what many women feel when they give up a job they love to stay home with the kids, portraying the very real feelings and struggles that many women go through.
While Amy and Beth are in this book, I’ll wait to dive into them later. The unexpected part of “Meg & Jo” was the mother, Abigail. I won’t give away an spoilers, but let’s just say she is strong and independent in this story and runs a goat farm making artisan cheese. A back injury Abigail suffers brings all the girls home to North Carolina and once again shows us that the March family is always there for one another.
“Beth & Amy”
I preordered this book with great anticipation after loving “Meg & Jo”. I was supposed to wait to read it with The Tiny Book Club, but I couldn’t and consumed it in several afternoons. It felt like coming home, revisiting again with my old friends, the March family.
Kantra’s intentions with each character allow you to both recognize them from the original “Little Women”, but also just love them as if they were new literary figures all on their own.
Beth and Amy were always sort of the second tier characters in “Little Women”, everyone wanted to be “Jo” the strong, independent one. Beth, was always sick and delicate, and Amy, was the bratty baby. In this new book, both Beth & Amy rise front and center and we see them in a whole new light.
Amy, has created a successful handbag business all on her own and is learning how to change the way she has been labeled and seen by her family. She also has the complexity of being in love with Jo’s old boyfriend, Trey. After having seen the Greta Gerwig version of “Little Women”, whenever I was reading about Trey I envisioned the darling Timothee Chalamet from the film, who played “Laurie”, or “Teddy” as Jo calls him in the film. Thank you for this Virginia Kantra! Amy’s sassy but lovable in this book, and I think many readers would pick to be Amy now because of Kantra’s charming development of this character.
Beth has been thrust into fame with her talent of writing music, but is a reluctant performer and hates the spotlight. The author has created an inner monologue for Beth that is very powerful. Beth suffers from confidence and body issues. Kantra isn’t afraid to put forth mental health struggles in both Beth and a new character, Dan, a war vet suffering from PTSD who helps on the farm. There are many issues tackled in this book about ‘being good enough” and asking “what do you want” which are dealt with realistically and with compassion.
Abigail, the mother, is also incorporated in the book as well with a few chapters of her own. Her reflections on family and marriage are very poignant. I really loved her observations and wisdom. These chapters may have been my favorite.
Aunt Phee and the back stories about Trey and Mr. Lawrence senior will also surprise and delight you.
Chapter 29 starts off with the words “Jo took me to the beach. Because, she said, the ocean makes everything better.” I loved this quote! And I don’t think there could be anything better than my revisits with the March sisters thanks to author Virginia Kantra for creating these charming and enduring characters.
I recommend both of these books to but on your bookshelf! Like the original “Little Women”, you’ll want to read them again.
P.S. If you like to learn more about all of the research that goes into writing a book, check out Virginia Kantra’s talk hosted at the Orem Library in Utah.
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