Reviews

Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra

jackieyvette's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

As far as Little Women retellings go this was pretty good. I loved to see the story I’ve loved for so many years be told in a modern way that took enough liberties to be both enough told and new without losing anything in the original. Meg and Jo are the same characters written in a more modern font. 
I loved the glimpses of Amy (she’s my girl) and Beth and seeing where their story could go. And can’t wait to see what happens next. 


Crying score: misty is the word I’d use 

emmaroseklem's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

3.75

beastreader's review against another edition

3.0

I grew up reading Little Women. It is a classic book. Of course, I have also watched the different movie versions as well. My favorite is the one with Wynonna Rider, Claire Danes, and Susan Sarandon. So, it was a little hard for me in the beginning to separate myself from the imagines of the March sisters as I knew and loved them growing up.

In this book, the March sisters are living in a modern world. Meg is married to John caring for her twins, DJ and Daisy. Than there is Jo. She is a blogger and also works in a restaurant as a prep cook. She falls for her boss. Finally, there is Amy, who is a jet setter and Beth, who dreams of making it big in the music industry.

There were many similarities but at the same time differences in this book. I did like this modern twist on the March sisters. However, I still could not stop but compare this book to the original. Meg and Jo are the main leads of this book like the title suggests. My favorite was Jo. Meg was kind but a bit whiny about missing her life "before kids" but at the same time she would complain how she would not change a thing about her married life. Amy was still spoiled. Poor Beth, she was still kind of left with not much of a starring role.

This book does have a happy ending like the original and maybe even hints at more to come.

laurenmwhite20's review against another edition

5.0

This is a book that gives you a warm hug. It has Thanksgiving and Christmas elements in it that takes you on the story of a family, in particular two sisters, in this modern day take on Little Women.

whatshawnareads's review against another edition

4.0

Meg & Jo is a modern, partial retelling of Little Women. I have never read or watched Little Women and only have the vaguest idea of what it's about so I don't have that for a point of comparison. (But can anyone tell me if their dad was really that awful in the original?)

This is a hugely character driven novel, which I don't normally like, but the writing was absolutely amazing. The story is told in alternating chapters between Meg's and Jo's point of view. Since it takes place from roughly Thanksgiving to New Years and has a huge focus on family, it's a perfect read for the holiday season. I loved how well developed both Meg and Jo were and I loved the subtleties in each of their personalities. I just wish that some of the some supporting characters had been as well developed. After this I'm really looking forward to reading Beth & Amy.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Audio: dual narration, enjoyable narrators

isavdv's review against another edition

lighthearted 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

3.75

Doesn’t come close to little women, but it’s sweet and cute. About 100 pages too long, though. 

hrdallos's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Honestly. Why are men?
I grew increasingly irritated with women being thankful for almost nothing from men. 
Honestly, I’m just here for Chef.

staylorreads's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

3smallsalsmum's review against another edition

lighthearted 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

3.75

I enjoyed this retelling, modernized, added to, story of Little Women. There was more sex than I feel was necessary, but whatever. 

aposthuma's review against another edition

3.0

I have a lot of thoughts about this book. First of all, I don't think it can truly be classified as a retelling, because it basically picks up toward the end of Little Women but sets everything in the modern age. I can tell the author was trying to take great care to do each character justice, some of which she succeeded, and some not so much. This book was filled with Laurie slander (who went by TREY), and Friedrich Bhaer (who went by ERIC) was a very one-dimensional character despite how much time we spent with each, since half of the book was in Jo's POV. I liked Meg's storyline about finding herself and realizing it's okay to ask her husband for help, but overall the whole thing fell a bit flat for me.