Reviews

Becoming Jo by Sophie McKenzie

luci_08's review

emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bethanypaisley's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

lucyatoz's review

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Becoming Jo by Sophie McKenzie is a modern retelling of the classic coming of age novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

In this modern update, we hear the story from the perspective of Jo March, who is aspiring to be a writer. She lives with her Mum, an recently unemployed Social Worker, and her three sisters, Meg, Beth and Amy, and they have all recently moved, starting over in a new town. Their father is a Humanist Minister in the Army. Jo befriends Lateef, an immigrant orphan, who is living across the road with his foster dad.

I did enjoy the modern take of the classic story, with subtle inclusions which reflected back to the original novel, however it was just not the same for me, although I still give it 3 stars.

I borrowed this from Taunton Library. I read this for prompt 23, the other book with a similar plot, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.  For prompt 22 - a plot similar to another book, I read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. 

alongreader's review

4.0

Jo March and her family struggle through two tumultuous years, dealing with their father being away and then injured, Beth falling ill, annoying Aunt Em and everyone's ambitions for the future. Aided by Lateef, the boy next door, Jo tries to find her place in the world.


I wasn't too sure when I started this retelling; some of them take such huge liberties with the original text that they might as well be new works. However, Sophie has very cleverly translated the basic structure of Little Women's characters and events into a modern setting. I loved the little nods - John Brooke College, for one - and the overall tone was wonderful. I'd love to see a box set of this and Little Women! Or, Sophie, how about looking at some other classics? I've always loved A Little Princess... :D


I received a gift of this book and chose to write an honest review.

sarahed's review

5.0

I thought this was a really good retelling. It kept the spirit of the book, in a believable contemporary setting, without the outdated preachiness of the original.

frankie89's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

twiinklex's review

3.0

✨ "I don't think you can force yourself to love anyone. That sells both of you short."

Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable retelling of a great classic. The characters were pretty accurate: Jo is loud and clumsy and writes fanfiction, Beth is quiet and kind and loves the piano, Amy wants pretty things, Photoshop Lightroom and a nose job.

Surprisingly, Amy shines the most in this version and I like her a lot. She has all the classic traits from the original novel, but also displays a lot of character and growth in this retelling. Her being Aunt Em's choice for her trip to Europe makes a lot more sense and is much more natural here.

On the other hand, Jo is a lot less likeable this time because she's so much more rude, abrasive and narrow-minded. She forces her beliefs on other people and stomps on their feelings.

Spoiler

Beth was pretty much the same except for one major thing, while Meg is just Meg... She didn't have a lot of scenes but the author did put a nice spin on her character.

The biggest difference between this retelling and the original Little Women would be that this is meant for modern readers and therefore, the feminism is strong. There is no romance at all and none of the sisters have a love interest. Even the relationship between Lateef (Laurie) and Amy is merely hinted at. Meg's husband John Brooke does not exist at all. Instead, Meg heads off to John Brooke College.

Beth has cancer and goes into remission, so there is no death at all. As such, this book was more fluffy than emotional. It's also very short compared to the original novel so a lot of things were left out. I preferred the first half of the book and found the rest a bit lackluster.

Nevertheless, this was a really cool retelling!

anna248's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

briegordon's review

1.0

Little women is, in my eyes, probably the greatest book ever written. It is beyond genius. So I was extremely excited when I saw this retelling, and purchased it right away. I was disappointed. This was not how I had imagined Jo's mind to look like, and not how I imagined her sisters to behave had they all been living in the 21st century. It has unfortunately tainted my view of the original a little. The problem is the different expectations in this era. The original book was about love and loss and sisterhood, but the underlying theme was always one of feminism and the hardships of being a woman, so when these characters are plonked right in the middle of the modern world, the hardships are reduces, and the message is lost.

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this book; it is mildly entertaining. I would probably have quite happily read this if I was unaware of the connection to Little Women. I really don't think that this book did the characters justice at all. I regret reading it, honestly, and I think that it is always best to leave a classic book like Little Women to do its own thing, and not intrude it with unnecessary additions that annoy its readers.

lotoazul's review

4.0

now, THIS felt like little women. maybe a little bit more firmly in the kids!lit section than i would put the original LW, but the characters really felt like the characters from the original, except in a modern setting. and while i'm not as familiar with the UK setting rather than the usual massachusetts one, i feel like it works. i really liked how much the story included amy and beth, because i think because they're the youngest there's something of a tendency to ignore them because their personal growth at that age is more limited, but in this book it really did feel like they were part of everything that was happening and i appreciate it.

the twist on john brooke/meg made me chuckle-- i feel like because everything about that was kept under wraps due to meg's hesitation to confide in jo, it almost felt for a while there like meg was being a little left out, but then the reveal of the twist worked so i quite liked that. lateef was a brilliant twist on laurie for the modern age, and i really loved his relationship with jo, although, of course, it always hurts like hell that they don't end up together, but i've learned to deal with that by this point in my life, i guess. :P (the lateef/amy hints do kind of squick me more in a modern setting than they even do in the civil war setting, though, but i can't fault the author for that since it's basically straight from the original).

all in all, this just left me feeling the same feelings the original little women did, and for that alone i would love it. pretty good read, and definitely a great one for the kids as well if you have 'em!