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Little Women (Little Women, #1)

Louisa May Alcott

Start date: August 22, 2012

Finish date: August 24, 2012

Discussion: Current Group Read

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Aug 06, 2009 Cecily marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: bildungsroman, usa-and-canada, classics, overrated, ya

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 a ...more

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Oct 23, 2009 Alisha Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, favorites, books-i-own-that-i-ve-read, tearjerkers

My first actual introduction to Little Women came from watching the Winona Ryder version of the film on a snowy, beautiful day in New England during my sophmore year of high school. I immediately fell in love with the movie and tracked down the book in my library. I read a few pages of it, couldn't get into it, and brought it back to school unread. And that was that (sadly this happened with a few classics that weren't required of me). I ultimately decided that I should give Little Women another My first actual introduction to Little Women came from watching the Winona Ryder version of the film on a snowy, beautiful day in New England during my sophmore year of high school. I immediately fell in love with the movie and tracked down the book in my library. I read a few pages of it, couldn't get into it, and brought it back to school unread. And that was that (sadly this happened with a few classics that weren't required of me). I ultimately decided that I should give Little Women another shot due to my love of the film. I'm so glad I did.

Okay, sure some of the views in this book (one being that a woman's worth was determined on how well she kept house) did prick my feminist nerves a little bit, but I did keep in mind that this was a wildly different time than the one I live in now. The book was a bit on the preachy side, but Little Women had such a humble and homey feel to it that I really didn't mind being preached at most of the time.

Now, on to The Little Women...I was endeared by all of the characters in this book (Marmee, Hannah, etc.), but of course I was mostly endeared by the little women (and Laurie). I just loved Meg, Beth, Jo, and Amy (to some extent, at least). My favorite was definitely Jo. She was just so strong, independent, and marched to the beat of her own drum. And I adored her relationship with Laurie. When I finished the film, I remember thinking (HUGE SPOILER FOR THE END HERE) "Laurie ends up with Amy?!??!? What a rip-off!" Even while reading the book, I kept hoping that I would turn the page and Jo would end up with Laurie.

On the one hand, I thought that Jo and Laurie were perfect for each other, but on the other hand, I loved that they had such a strong friendship that not even unrequited love could ruin it. However, I still don't like that Laurie ended up with Amy. Out of all the sisters, she was the one I was least endeared by. I would've loved nothing more than to drop her down a peg or two (or six). However, nothing can be done about it at this point. The fact that I'm so into whom should end up with whom just shows how attached I am to Little Women. (END OF SPOILER)

So, I absolutely loved and adored Little Women. I found it to be one of those classics that's just incredibly easy to read that even those whom don't have much experience in reading classics (like me) can understand the language without much difficulty. Little Women was just an adorable and sweet book that I know I'm going to re-read this book for years to come.

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