Little Women is a book that lends itself so well to a modern retelling. It was so fun to see the March sisters in contemporary times!

I am a big fan of both the novel Little Women and all of the movie versions, so this book appealed strongly to me. The author does a great job of bringing the characters and spirits of Alcott’s characters alive in this retelling.

It’s definitely a book that brings to mind Hallmark movies, snuggly blankets, and hot cocoa. I did feel, however, that the writing was a little too saccharine for my tastes. All in all, however, a great book, especially for fans of the original.

Thank you to Berkeley and Netgalley for my free digital copy!

MEG & JO by Virginia Kantra was inspired by one of my favorite books, LITTLE WOMEN, with the focus on the two oldest March sisters.

Meg has remained in their small hometown of Bunyan, NC. She’s married, has twins, and is the backbone of the family. She wants more than motherhood, though, and finds it when her mother falls ill and needs help with the family business.

Jo has moved to New York to pursue her journalistic dream. Things aren’t working out like they’re supposed to, though, and she finds herself working in a restaurant. She blogs about food and falls for the restaurant’s owner. She returns home for the holidays and starts to rethink her dream.

Beth and Amy are minor characters but are featured in this family story. I enjoyed this modern day imagining of the March sisters’ lives because the characters felt real to me, with their hopes, dreams, and flaws. The point of view alternates between Meg and Jo and I enjoyed them equally. I listened to the audio version which is narrated by Shannon McManus and Karissa Vacker. They both did a great job and it was easy to tell the characters apart. You don’t need to be familiar with LITTLE WOMEN to enjoy this book.

This was a very fast, easy read! I really enjoyed the touches on the original story, but the updated manner that Kantra handled situations and the personalities of the sisters. Looking forward to the next one focused on Beth and Amy, as I thought one downside was how little we saw of them.

This book is a retelling of Little Women, which is one of my favorite classics. My past experiences with retellings of classics hasn’t been great but this book surprised me.
Virginia has taken the essence of Little Women, the family dynamics, the souls of the characters and set them in the 21st century. She has made this book her own.
This is the first part of a duology which tells the story from the point of view of the two elder sisters; Meg and Jo. Meg is married to the love of her life and is living a very domestic life. Jo on the other hand is still searching for something that will satisfy her creative mind. Both these women have their own struggles and fears which they can’t seem to overcome.
I resonated more with Meg and her struggles of being the eldest daughter and having this innate tendency to take care of everyone while forgetting to take care of herself.
I loved how the author has made some changes to the story line. Everything seems to fit and doesn’t feel forced instead the story flows very easily.

To say that I went into this book hesitantly would be an understatement. In general, I’m not a fan of fan fic of my beloved classics and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is one of my most beloved beloveds. And as you might have figured out by looking at the cover, Virginia Kantra is a romance writer. Which is why, after 30 or so books, I've never heard of her. But, oh, Jo March! I always wanted to be Jo March when I was growing up - fearless, independent, a writer. So I decided to see what Kantra would make of her.

I gotta tell ya, I enjoyed this one. It's not great literature and there are some issues I had with some plotting. But Kantra is clearly familiar with both Little Women and Alcott's sequel, Little Men, as well as the truth of Alcott's father, Bronson Alcott. So how'd Kantra do with the girls I grew up loving?

Meg: modern Meg is very much the Meg of Alcott's books - wonderful mother, devoted wife. And she still has her richy rich friends. But this Meg also wants more - she wants to pursue her passion for numbers and be a partner in her marriage, not just the little woman (ha! you see what I did there?!).

Jo: still wants to be a writer, still wants to find her way in the big city, still doesn't want to end up with Laurie (although he's Trey here) and is still impulsive. But now she's battling modern writing problems. She gets downsized out of her journalist job and is working to build an audience for her blog. But now there's a whole lot of cooking involved. And she has to come to terms with the person her father really is.

Beth: this was the tough one for me. Because (cover your eyes if you don't want to have Little Women spoiled!) Beth never gets to be an adult in Alcott's books. There's not a lot for Kantra to work with. Beth is still sweet, still loves music, and still would rather fade into the background. While Kantra does put her out in the world and make her stretch her wings, she doesn't find a way to bring Beth out of the shadows.

Amy: still the baby of the family, still the one obsessed with her looks and fashion and art. Still driving Jo nuts. Except...this Amy is growing up. She is starting to think of others. And she is not taking any one's leftover boys (if you've read Little Women, I think you'll know what I'm talking about). I think I was most impressed with how Kantra took the material Alcott gave her for Amy and ran with it.

As for the supporting cast? Marmee is now Momma but she's still the rock of the family. To get the family to learn to stand on their own, Kantra has to sort of set her to the side. But she also gives Momma the backbone that Marmee (and Abigail Alcott) both lacked when it comes to her husband. Laurie (now Trey) was a bit of a disappointment; he never seems move beyond his love of Jo, which he does in Alcott's books. As for Professor Bhaer? He is now a smoking hot, world-renowned chef with an ex-wife and two teenage sons.

Although the resolution of Jo and Eric Bhaer's relationship doesn't entirely work for me (Jo never does seem to take responsibility for what she does that drives a wedge between them and I felt a little bit like his sons were mere props) and the book lacks the weight of the source material (even though Kantra does address concerns about PTSD and homelessness among veterans), overall I enjoyed the way Kantra wrapped up the book. Everyone has learned something and grown. Even though there are still some things to be worked out, you're left knowing that everything will be alright.

**If I could, I'd give this one another 1/2 star - it's definitely a notch above average but you've got to be really special before I'll go four stars.

It took me awhile to get into this book, as I read a few chapters between family events over the holidays. Once I reached the halfway point however, I had to finish and know what happened in the lives of the characters. I liked the idea of the book, with the modernization of a classic. I also appreciated that Beth didn't die in the book, as that was reserved for the mother's sister. It was a fun read and I will be interested to read a sequel, if there's one about Beth and Amy.

This is another rewrite of Little Women. The story is good and the characters are all consistent with the originals. I admit I'm not the biggest fan of Louisa Mae Alcott and I wish writers would come up with their own ideas rather that rewrite previous books. This one is current and updated as the sisters return to their small North Carolina town but I still wish it was a non Little Woman story line. This might be a way to get reluctant teen readers interested in the classic. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I liked the updated version of the Little women story. I did think the author was trying a little too hard, and it was a bit stilted/jarring. I got used to it, though. It is a fun companion to Little women, and I'm looking forward to Beth and Amy (Amy & Beth?).

A very sweet, non-traditional retelling of Little Women.

This took me quite a while to really get into, but I am glad that I stuck with it. I was really annoyed with the characters in the first half of the story, but I realize that they were written that way purposely to show their growth over time.

I think that Kantra put a modern twist on the women and how today would affect their personalities while still keeping their main traits alive and well.

It was a heart warming story, but just a little too slow, maybe just not for me.

I don't read a lot of classics but I've always loved Little Women and it's a book that always reminds me of the holidays. So I was thrilled when Berkley provided me with a copy of Meg & Jo to read and review, and I suspected it would be a great for the month of December. I'm so glad I was right.

Meg & Jo focuses primarily on two of the March sisters, even though all are present. Having grown up on a farm in North Carolina, Meg decides to branch out and move to New York. She has completed college and now secretly runs a food blog. She also works at one of New York's renowned restaurants. Meg stays behind in North Carolina. She has married a good provider, who gave up his coaching career so she could stay home and raise their twins. However, when Meg's mother gets ill, the running of the farm falls primarily on Meg which makes her question what she really wants from life.

Jo has always been my favorite March sister and the same is true for Meg & Jo. I love that Jo is independent and loves writing. She decides to go after her dreams even when the road doesn't seem easy. During the book she strikes up a romance with the restaurant's owner and chef, and even though it is doomed from the start, I couldn't help but cheer Jo on. I also really liked Meg's character development throughout the novel. I must add that Mr. March is not a very likable character and I don't know how the March women tolerate him. It seems they have grown up with a very jaded idea of what their father is really like and the bubble may be about to burst.

I think anyone who likes reading about family drama will thoroughly enjoy Meg & Jo but if you are a Little Women fan, then you really need to pick it up. It's nice to see the March sisters venture into the 21st century. And I'm thrilled to know there is a sequel, Amy & Beth, already in the works.

I adore the classic Little Women and was excited to read this retelling; however I was not very engaged with the story and ended up DNF-ing this as it was difficult to get into and the characters were quite unlikable.

This book was not quite what I expected and I have to admit I was disappointed. I was expecting a deeper, more thoughtful modern take on Little Women and the questions it raises about women's choices. This is not quite that. Meg's issues with her marriage seemed very obvious and overdone, and Mr. March didn't feel at all like a real character, certainly not someone who would have raised Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. I also didn't really buy that modern-day Jo would be a devoted food writer — that missed the mark for me. The warmth of Little Women isn't really here, nor are the strong relationships between the sisters. (They are described rather than deeply felt.) All that said, I'll be interested to read a book about modern-day Beth and Amy, if Kantra writes one, because I think those are the two sisters whose storylines don't translate as easily to a modern setting. So I'll be interested to see what she does with them.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A vague re-imagining of the classic Little Women. It was fun to spot the similarities, but it was a far cry from the original in writing.

In this contemporary reimagining of Little Women, we see Meg, mother of twins and devoted wife in North Carolina, and Jo, aspiring writer and food blogger in New York. When a back injury sends their hardworking goat farmer mother to the hospital, both must pitch in to help their family survive the holidays.

This is really a sliver of the fuller picture we get of the March women's lives in Little Women, focusing primarily on the first half of Part II. It's fun to see how Kantra imagines the March sisters with more agency, and it doesn't follow the original plot too closely, so you don't always know what's coming next. The biggest improvement on the original text for me is the realization of stodgy old Prof. Bhaer as sexy celebrity chef Eric Bhaer, who I love. Amy and Beth felt a little glossed over, but I do look forward to seeing their perspectives in the forthcoming Beth & Amy sequel. Overall, a fun companion to a classic text, and well timed with the new movie!

I received a free digital ARC through NetGalley. I am a fan of the classic story and this was to far off from that. It was also very paperback romance like.

Loved this retelling. Such a great way to keep these characters alive. Such a great take on the story.

Virginia Kantra has reimagined Little Women and brought it to life with a modern day spin that I was so excited about as a fan of the original book. She found a way to remain true to the spirit of the classic revolving around family while making the characters modern and a bit more relatable to newer audiences. ⁣I mean Jo is a blogger - I loved that!!! ⁣

The traditional gender roles were still very much front & center and while I would have liked to see a bit less of that it did coincide with the original book and the thinking in the time in which it was written.
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As with the original what I loved most was the bond between the sisters. When faced with a family crisis, who can you turn to if not your sisters even if it tests the strength of your relationship. ⁣While this book centered mostly around Meg & Jo, all the sisters played a part and I can't wait to read book 2 surrounding Amy and Beth! Overall, I found this to be a charming and inspired take on a cherished classic.

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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5*
Pros: An incredibly delicious retelling of Little Women. Brings back all of our beloved characters, but in a contemporary setting and with two PoVs, one of Meg and one of Jo. Meg's focuses in marriage life, struggles and happy moments. Battles with family expectations and the effort of being the perfect daughter, sister, wife and mother, all at once. Jo's viewpoint is exceptionally important, as she deals with becoming an adult, and life right after college. Super relatable outlook into being adrift and struggling to find a purpose. The novel is fantastically written, "fleshing out" the classic characters even more and giving them more complexity. Definitely a must-read and a great way to begin a year of reading.
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Cons: Some of the things that bothered me in the original duology remained. Jo's romantic arc was too rushed. Book cover did not match the story's ambiance.

I'm a huge fan of Virginia Kantra so I'll always read her books. I've never read the Little Women stories but I thought I would try the story out anyway. I've gotta say, while the writing was well done, I wasn't really engaged in the story. Maybe because this is a women's fiction book and not necessarily a romance book. I just thought it was okay.

I suspect many Louisa May Alcott aficionados get nervous every time they hear about a remake of Little Women, or a "contemporary retelling," like Virginia Kantra's Meg & Jo. I know I do, and I almost didn't pick up this book because I was concerned about the damage it would do to my favorite book. I need not have worried. On the contrary, Kantra got it just right. I can easily imagine that this is the book Louisa May Alcott would have written if she lived in the 21st century.

Which means, of course, that it's a really good book, in addition to preserving the spirit of Little Women. The characters, their struggles and triumphs, and their family bond (since this is still the March family) spring off the page. I felt so connected to the characters that I was a little bereft when the book ended, and I was thrilled to see that Kantra has a sequel, Beth & Amy, coming soon.

I would recommend Meg & Jo to anyone who was looking for a good story, whether or not they've read Little Women. Many kudos to Kantra for this wonderful book. Jo March (the original) would be proud.