With apologies to Paul Simon, it seems there are 50 million ways to rewrite Little Women. I’ve seen modern adaptions that switch the book’s setting and time period; versions that give us a living Beth or a Jo/Laurie union.  Versions where the Marches are vampires or werewolves, or just plain horny.  The four folks taking on Louisa May Alcott’s legacy in this re-imagining have simpler ambitions – they transplant the story into the 1940, shift the timeline to after Beth’s death, and split the book’s narrative between them, with each writer taking on a character.  But Great or Nothing works because it keeps the essence of what Alcott strived so hard to present and makes it even better.

It's 1942, and the March sisters have scattered to the wind in the wake of both Pearl Harbor and the death of their sister Beth. Arguments were had, and none of the family are on speaking terms. Jo is in Boston and, like Alcott, has joined the war effort which, in this story, means riveting together planes.  She feels rootless and disconnected from her family, but unable to cross the bridge she’s set on fire. Living in a boardinghouse, she meets lively journalist Charlotte and for the first time in her life, falls hard.

Meg is a schoolteacher living with Marmee, trying to adjust to wartime rationing and keep her mother’s spirits afloat.  She tries to support her friends and students as they lose those close to them while participating in the social whirl of her rich friends.  She finds herself falling for poor soldier John Brooks.  Marrying him will mean many changes – will she be up to them?

The biggest departure from Alcott’s novel comes in the form of Amy’s story.  She’s in London when America enters the war and ends up charming her way into the Red Cross, lying the whole time to her family that she’s safe in Canada.  Soon she’s meeting and tangling with family friend Teddy Lawrence, who’s now a daring pilot trying to overcome a broken heart after Jo rejected his proposal.

Each point of view is carefully balanced in Great or Nothing, with each sister developing as the book goes along. The lessons each girl learns are similar to what the original book presents – Jo must get over her pride and learn to become a better author through reconciliation and the discovery of true love; Meg must reject money and ‘society’ for happiness with John; Amy must grow up and discover who she is as an adult to claim happiness with Laurie. But the trip there is different, and the changes each author makes to the March girls’ story properly enchanting.  Beth’s point of view is presented in verse, which is an interesting break and provides insight into the girls’ childhood, but also feels like the least necessary part of the book. Yet the verses are also properly lovely.

The 1940s setting fits nicely and works well for a LW retelling, and we get visits from other characters in the original.  Great or Nothing provides a wonderful, unique look at the March girls that will be cherished by teenagers for years to come.

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March Sisters - WW2 - Concord - London - East Hartford - Death - Laurie - Betrayal - School - Factory Life - Red Cross - Soldiers - Marmee - Love - Acceptance - Family - Doughnuts

For lovers of Little Women, here's a retelling of the story set during World War II. Each chapter is from the point of view of either Meg, Jo or Amy. Beth has already passed away when the story begins but she still has an eye on what's going on with her family. The three remaining sisters, at odds with each other and miles apart, try to come to grips with Beth's death while trying to find their way back to each other.

Great retelling of Little Women - set during a different war. I highly recommend.

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to like this novel because I thought the concept was such a great idea. To move the setting of little women to World War II, but it just did not work it was long and the plot did not keep me moving forward as a reader.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 3/5 stars.

I loved Little Women. I remember reading it in 4th grade and being completely floored by it. I love the vibes and the romance and the nature of the March siblings. I felt a connection to Jo and Amy and Meg and Beth -- but especially Jo. I was SO excited to read this reimagining of the book along with a different time period -- WW2 -- that is one of my favorites to read. I wanted to read more about Meg and John, and Jo, and Amy and Laurie (god, I love Laurie) and how Beth's death was portrayed with verse in her chapter POVs...but for it being as LONG as it is...nothing happened?

Nothing happened that was exciting or plot worthy, which I guess is on par with it representing Little Women...but it just...didn't have anything that kept me wanting to read it? Jo's storyline did make me happy, as it made her queer (WOOT WOOT) which is honestly pretty easy to imagine. Meg's storyline fell flat with her pining for John and dealing with grief, but it felt very out of character. I liked Amy's story with a secret identity and going to London (and how her and Laurie got together)...but I wanted the sisterhood vibes...not all of them mad and grieving and ignoring one another.

It was good. I enjoyed it as a fan of historical fiction and also Little Women...but it was unnecessarily long.

I have admiration for authors who undertake the task of writing/updating classic novels, and manage to create something great. Moving the familiar story of the March family from the Civil War era to WW2 was an ingenious idea. The original characters retained their personalities in a setting that was moved almost 100 years forward. Although four different authors collaborated, one for each March girl, it was done so seamlessly that I honestly could not tell!
Many loyal Alcott fans might disparage this recreation. I really enjoyed it; all the details about life during WW2, especially those about the homefront, gave the story great reality. Meg’s experiences as a schoolteacher were particularly enjoyable to read about!
*Thanks, Netgalley, for a digital copy in return for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

Oh how I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The concept is perfect, the shifting historical time period works well, even the four sisters being written by different authors worked better than I originally thought it would. But the plot and some of the characterization simply fell flat for me.

Overall, I think the book was about 150-200 pages too long. As a 400 page book, not a whole lot happens. The Amy sections do offer the most growth, which is a nice reversal from the book and many film adaptations because it can be very jarring to simply find out, at the same moment that Jo does, that Amy and Laurie are married. While the book and films do showcase a little bit of their romance, this book affords the readers a prolonged look into how it could have happened.

As for Meg and Jo, more often than not I felt like we were treading over the same few issues. This is also a problem in the Amy chapters, but Amy's also had more purpose than Meg or Jo's chapters, with her budding romance and the addition of Laurie. Every chapter alluded to The Fight™. Every chapter alluded to Their Grief. Every chapter alluded to Meg's discontentment with staying home and Jo just having to run away because no one understood her. These sentiments were repeated nearly every chapter, and truly never revealed much. We can obviously gather what The Fight was about, but the harsh words, the reasons Jo never writes home and avoids Marmee's phone calls, are never revealed. Meg is reduced even further, in my opinion, than in Alcott's original novel when she marries the eldest daughter off to appease the view of women at the time (my opinion: the second half of little women purposely destroyed her characters to prove a point). Meg in the original novel is strong, she makes her choices (to marry and have children and keep a home) because she wants to and finds pride and joy in those things. Meg in this novel seems to whine at every inconvenience of being the one who is home, and it seems she stays out of unwanted obligation. It just doesn't feel like Meg to me.

Jo. I just come right out with it: the choice to make Jo queer in this novel may hold water because of the time and I know she has been increasingly read and coded toward the queer end of the spectrum in more modern times, but I simply do not agree with that assessment, nor do I like the choice here. To me, it takes something innate about Jo, her differences in wants from the time she was written, and diminishes that power a bit. Again, given the time period of THIS novel, and the proclivity for many historical fiction novels set in the same period to throw in the token queer woman and the woman she discovers shares her desires, I can understand why she was written this way. I just don't agree with the choice.

The Beth sections, written in prose, were beautiful. Many of the poems were very touching and I liked how it was as if Beth was still a part of the story, watching the strife her sisters were going through unfold. Beth is one of my favorite characters so to have her missing was a detractor, but to have a piece of her, was lovely.

I think, beyond the novel being too long and too repetitive at times, what also detracts from the heart of the story for me is the fact that the March sisters are scattered. The strength of Little Women is the sisterhood. They have their disagreements and arguments, but there is a bond in their sisterhood that withstood those things, and the test of time. It withstood Beth's death and to make her death here one of the catalysts for the break in their bonds, feels cheap. The sisters interactions are key to the March's story and you can feel that lack keenly.

The ending of this book leaves me baffled. There was no conclusion. There was no reunion, save for Amy coming home and essentially rehashing exactly what had happened in her chapters for Meg. Jo doesn't go home? Jo simply makes a phone call and then it ends. At least with the original story, Jo was about to publish her novel, something she did on her own rather than with someone else which is the case of the article she was writing with Charlie. The end was a let down, and rushed. And really left a lot to be desired, including the sense of conclusion. Not that everything needs to be wrapped up with a bow, but it felt as if the book was working toward a family reunion, to set aside their argument and heal together. And we never got to see that, which is disappointing.

Perhaps a younger reader would enjoy this more, or someone who does not pick up this book because they already know and love the source material. It is YA, which I have absolutely nothing against and read often, but there was something a little more juvenile to the story and characters than I like.

As a huge fan of Little Women, I greatly enjoyed this 1940s retelling of the classic. Absolutely wonderful.

3.5/5 for Great or Nothing

What I liked:
- The use of multiple authors for each sister. The subtle changes in writing style helps differentiate each character. and gives them more personality.
-I liked that the use of poetry for a character, it was quite unique. The lines were also not hard to understand, so I didn't feel like I was trying the decipher the meaning of anything.

What I didn't enjoy:
-Sometimes the characters felt underdeveloped. Especially with so much going on, some character's stories seemed to just be left behind.
- I wanted more details on the romantic lives of the sisters. While this is covered, it isn't gone into detail. It would have been nice to see these story lines get developed just a little bit more.
- The slang,,,it was a bit overdone.

Overall, this was a pretty good book for historical fiction fans. All elements of a good book was present!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought!
It was definitely emotional and also full of grief and acceptance, it basically had everything I like. The family relationships and sibling bonds plus cute romance (which I don't prefer but since it wasn't the main plot) was very much needed. The only problem though is that I would've liked an epilogue because my characters deserve happiness! I'm glad to have read such a heart-warming read! Definitely read this book if you're in the need of a short and warm read.

3.5 stars!💖

I honestly didn't know what to think of this book at first. But the more I read I found myself unable to put it down. This is probably my favorite adaptation of Little Women so far.

I love that the story didn't start at the beginning of the take but rather on the middle. By taking place sheet Beth's passing out allows us into the world of how each of the March family is dealing with their grief.

The only negative thing I have to do about this book was that I wish it was longer. I was dying to hear what would happen next. While I did like the style of the ending, I wanted more!!

I also loved how they jewelry Beth's spirit alive through poetry reflecting on what each of the girls were going through. And how this story really hit home that Beth was the glue that held the family together.

Great or Nothing is a recrafting of the American classic Little Women. Written by four authors, each taking a March sister's voice as her own, Great or Nothing brings the family into the 1940s. Now fighting in WW2 instead of the Civil War, 3 of the 4 girls grapple with the loss of Beth and the desire to move on from the past in their own ways.

I think this was a very interesting concept and while I love the connections to Louisa May Alcott's original Little Women, I was not a fan of the multiple authors. I think there was a disconnect in the writing styles between the four authors. This allows the reader to favor some chapters over others and I found myself speed reading some (to get to the end) and enjoying others. Fabulous concept, but a fail on execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Childrens' Publishing for an advanced copy of this novel. Great or Nothing will hit shelves on March 8, 2022.

Great Or Nothing is a fun update to the beloved Little Women story, and very readable for middle grades, where the original might be a bit harder to get through. I can imagine some of my 6th grade girls really enjoying this book, especially if they are familiar with the Little Women story or interested in World War II history.

I myself found it a little bit too heavy on the cutesy 1940s slang sometimes, mostly because I am a fan of WWII-era stories and some of it just seemed forced into the story to remind readers that we are no longer in Civil War-era America.

I didn't grasp, until I finished the book, that each sister was actually written by a different author. I like that idea, and it worked well in that each sister had her own unique voice, while also keeping the book cohesive. The one part I scratched my head at was the decision to make Beth's voice all poetry.

This was a fun read, and one I'd be willing to put in my classroom library.

I wouldn’t like to ruin anything therefore I will be giving a revolution of my feelings throughout the book. But never the less its been one of my favorite reed so far in this year and it’s a l a great book. The reimagined setting (which takes place in WWII)) is genius and works perfectly with the storyline. I felt like everything was in its place and the storylines all somehow worked perfectly with each other. Something else to note is how well written Beth is through the book, the poems are great and heartbreaking at times but they’re great. I overall loved this book and enjoyed all the emotions that the characters brought to me. I would 100% recommend this book to everyone else who is in the mood for some great enjoyable reeds.

The starting point was great, the setting, and the time period worked well together. The voice given to these classic characters gave a little more depth and life to to them, their relationships with each other and their grief. Despite this having four authors, it was very cohesive, they worked well together. The idea was lovely, but the execution itself wasn't as great as I hoped.

As I mentioned, the writing was great. Each March sister's perspective was written by a different author and it honestly didn't feel like it. I loved the poems from Beth's perspective. As for the time period, it just felt right and never forced. This extends to what the March sisters were doing throughout the course of the novel; I thought it was something they would really do. Everything was just smooth.

However what I didn't like greatly affected my enjoyment. The dialogue sometimes wasn't to my liking, more so in Amy's chapters, which looking back on it was actually the most eventful of them all. I look at the page count on this book, and when I've hit the 50% mark I asked myself what has happened so far and the answer is...close to none. This was more like a showcase of the characters' daily lives than actual plot, more character-driven and focused. That said, relationships here felt skimmed over and close to rushed for me, especially with Jo and her love interest. I cannot root for them when the other had shallow characterization and barely enough page time. I also wasn't a fan of the ending, I expected more than just that but there wasn't.

Nevertheless, I still found this to be an easy, poignant read. A fine and enjoyable reimagining.

Great or Nothing is the retelling of Little Women, set during World War II. I really enjoyed this one! While the entire story isn't in this version, the major plot points and characters are all represented. This was written by four different authors, each one taking on the perspective of one March sister. Even with so many voices involved, this book moved along seamlessly and cohesively. If you are a fan of the original Little Women, I recommend reading this one. The authors did a great job of capturing the essence of the March sisters, even within a more modern setting. 4.5 stars

Title: Great or Nothing
Author: Joy McCullough; Caroline Tung Richmond; Tess Sharpe; Jessica Spotswood
Publisher: Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press

Review to be posted to retail sites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble upon publication date on March 8, 2022.

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel reimagines the classic Little Women with four different authors lending their interpretation of the four March sisters. Set in 1942, the March sisters are not only dealing with America entering the war, but also the death of their beloved sister, Beth. After a terrible fight, the three remaining March sisters scatter across the world in order to deal with their grief- Amy to Europe in the Red Cross Clubmobile Service, Jo to Connecticut building planes, and Meg staying home to support Marmee and continue teaching. Each sister is trying to find their place in the world filled with turmoil and grief while Beth watches and guides them every step of the way.

Little Women is one of my favorite classic novels and this book pays so much homage to it. The characters are very accurate in their personalities compared to the originals but have even more depth and life to them in this story. The greatest part of Little Women is that the sisters aren’t perfect, but they do have good hearts and try to be the best they can be. This book delves into that concept effortlessly and makes them so relatable. It also handles each sister’s grief beautifully while still remaining true to the character. While the sisters are strong together, it was wonderful to see them grow individually when they are separated from each other. It’s such an important lesson that while we can feel completely comfortable and be ourselves when around our families, we truly learn who we are when go out on our own.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book!
Wow! I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. This book was easy to get into and easy to read - the characters were likeable and overall a really cute story. I don’t normally like WW2 stories but this one was very well written.

I chose this ARC since I enjoyed Alcott’s Little Women. This reimagining of LW brings the characters to life in a unique way- they are now navigating life during WW2. Jo, still our lovable tomboy, finds herself going to work in the factories building military equipment. Amy enlists in the Red Cross, while Meg stays home and tries to better her local community. Each mourns Beth, as she only has a voice in this novel via poems. The characters got to be portrayed as deeper and more relatable in this version of the story, and the setting made the story a little more easy to follow. With four perspectives and four authors, each character clearly has their own attitudes and beliefs. The March girls are still strong, independent, and bold. I loved getting to follow the characters along for the journey, especially since we miss most of Amy’s in the original Little Women. The authors bring the passion, anger, and desperation of the sisters to life in a way that Alcott did not. If you love historical fiction and woman-centered stories, this one is worth your time!

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Delacorte for approving me for this book! Once I heard that another Little Women re-telling was being published, and that it was being set in World War 2, I was all in. The story picks up right after Beth passes away. Beth's chapters are written in verse, while Amy, Jo, and Meg are written in prose. In the original, the girls all have each others back when she passes, but with this re-telling, all the girls go their separate ways after Beth's death. Meg stayed home to teach and stay with Marmee, Jo is in Connecticut working with plane parts, and Amy lies about where she is, but she's really in London working with the Red Cross. They all had a fight when Beth passed, and it lead them not talking to each other for months. It was more of a character driven story, than being a plot driven one. It was great seeing the girls in different environments, learning how to live and deal with things on their own without relying on each other. Dealing with a death, especially if it is someone close to you, is hard to deal with with, and they dealt with it in their own separate ways. The story flowed really easily, but I wasn't a fan of Beth's chapters. I felt like they were just there, and didn't serve a real purpose. I just skimmed over those parts. At first the book was a little slow, but the story eventually picked up. I love reading about Amy and Laurie's relationship. I love that Jo turned out to be queer in the last parts of the book. (Literally squealed! I was so happy!) The book being 400 pages is a bit too much. You can still keep it at 400 pages if the ending wasn't abrupt. Amy eventually stayed up, but all Jo did was just give them a call to talk to them, and the story ended. It made me want more. Overall, I did enjoy it, and I definitely plan on picking up my own copy of this.

Little Women has long been a favorite book, and the March sisters have long been favorite characters. So when I saw that there was a new imagining of the sisters' story set in more modern times, I was very excited to read it. In this version, the March sisters are navigating the challenges of World War II and the grief of the loss of their beloved Beth. Jo, having refused Laurie, has thrown herself into working in airplane factory in Connecticut. Meg is a high school English teacher and Junior Red Cross advisor who, though still living at home, barely sees Marmie (who has thrown herself into all sorts of committees) and is struggling to define her feelings for fellow teacher John Brooke. Amy has told her family that she is off to study art in Montreal but instead has assumed a false identity to work for the Red Cross in England.

It can be difficult for multiple authors to write a book together and to do it well, but the authors of this book have done so successfully by each writing the chapters of a particular sister. Their unique voices come through so well. Even though Beth has died before the book opens, her voice is still present in the form of poems between the other sisters' chapters. She is the omnipotent narrator, in a sense, watching how her sisters navigate their grief and try to find happiness in the face of loss.

This update feels like it does justice to the original story but also imagines some slightly different outcomes for the March sisters, and their paths feel authentic.