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katie0528's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A tale of four sisters growing through their teens and early married lives. I attempted this book once as a kid ane gave up pretty quickly in, and while I did make it all the way through this time, it was mostly because I listened to it as an audiobook. While the girls and their relationship with the neighbor boy Laurie is charming, this book is one long morality tale. Nobody can do a single thing without Alcott turning it into a lecture on what proper young men and women should and should not do and how they do or do not think. It became quite tedious, and she even makes comments in the book about how the reader must have fallen asleep during her sermons. Lord knows I tuned out during many of them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Grief, and Death
Minor: Misogyny and War
paigehf's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Animal death, Child death, Death, and Chronic illness
Minor: War
mockingjayx16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Child death, and Death
Moderate: War, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Classism, and Racism
taural41's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: War
bookworm_sarah's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: War
kattila's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Animal cruelty, War, Medical content, and Child death
seventhswan's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can see why this book is a classic! It's extremely sweet - the characters are all lovable, the drama largely low-stakes, and everything turns out okay in the end. However, the old-fashioned language and now-historic setting stopped it from feeling too twee or preachy, and instead created a story that is cosy escapism for the modern reader. There was plenty in it that I'd not tolerate in a modern novel, and I'm still not entirely sure if it was aimed at younger readers and, if so, whether it would still appeal to them now. However, as an example of fiction from an era I'd not really explored before, I enjoyed it!
Although I've not seen any film adaptation of Little Women, I thought I knew the basic plot, but I was surprised - pleasantly so - by the ending! I was particularly attached to Amy by the end of the book, which I didn't expect at the beginning, and actually found Jo a bit irritating. I thought, though, that there was a good balance between the characters and the focus switched often enough to keep the story from becoming too dull.
Although I've not seen any film adaptation of Little Women, I thought I knew the basic plot, but I was surprised - pleasantly so - by the ending! I was particularly attached to Amy by the end of the book, which I didn't expect at the beginning, and actually found Jo a bit irritating. I thought, though, that there was a good balance between the characters and the focus switched often enough to keep the story from becoming too dull.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Child death
Minor: War
chloe_acceber's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There's a reason this book is a classic. Personally, I found the writing a bit of a slog to get through and some of the chapters just fully unnecessary. An entire chapter of the little newsletter the girls put together for their "gentleman's club", for example. It's a nice world builder, but to me felt far longer than it should have been. We're reading the story from Jo's perspective, I don't feel I need pages and pages of her poetry. The characters feel very real, and the conflicts that arise feel organic to the characters and their environment. Even as old as this book is, some aspects of life don't ever change. Siblings that love each other fiercely, and challenge each other even more so. The changes we all encounter entering our 20's and facing down adulthood-marriage, parenting, job prospects. And of course, the consistency of loss. It gives a nice window into what life was like for a working class, white family in the 1870's.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: War
morenareads's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Sexism
Minor: Racism
camoo3032's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
3.75
It's a sweet book but feels a bit like a sermon at times
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, War, Death, and Child death
Minor: Medical content, Ableism, Fatphobia, Grief, Alcohol, Classism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail