Reviews

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott

bethanymplanton's review against another edition

5.0

Jo's Boys is the unofficial final book in the Little Women's series. Ten years have passed since Little Men and the boys at Plumfield have started to enter into manhood. Plumfield is now a college due to the generosity of Mr. Laurence. As each boy has his own path to take, he realizes how much Plumfield has down for him.

annelisa614's review against another edition

4.0

Better than LM but not as good as LW obviously. Dan is still my ❤️. I liked that we got more jo and Laurie in this one! And Bess and Josie grown up were so sweet. And I’m so proud of Nan y’all. She DID IT!! Kinda annoyed by Meg at some points tho. I feel like she should’ve been the first to defend a marriage based on love

laurenipsums's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.0

i might have enjoyed this more if i had realised that i was supposed to read little men first

lindseysparks's review against another edition

I have loved Little Women since I was a kid but avoided the sequels until reading Little Men a few years ago. I liked it a lot more than I expected. So I expected to enjoy Jo's Boys. Instead I was mostly bored and had trouble remembering who was who. The most interesting character was Dan, and I hated the way he was treated. I think there were just too many characters to give any of them enough of a focus.

ohfyodor's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.75

infinitely's review against another edition

3.0

Book Review: Louisa May Alcott - Jo's Boys

“I think it is a very honourable and noble profession to select and give good books to the world.”

―Louisa May Alcott, Jo's Boys

Jo's Boys is the conclusion to the unofficial Little Women trilogy, and it tells us all about what happens to the Little Men we met in book 2, and how they turned out. I have to say that I didn't enjoy Little Men all that much, so I was not really looking forward to reading this, but it went by pleasantly and was an easy, fun read.

Louisa May Alcott's prose is endearing and every chapter feels like a fresh, new story for us to enjoy. I personally like how she makes everyday happenings sound exciting and new, and the dialogue clearly shows us the love between the characters, making a lot of them memorable and unique. Personally, I still think Jo is a brilliant character, and she still shines in the latter books. Her relationship with the professor is wholesome and sweet, and her friendship with Laurie and the other boys show us that she maintains her personality even though she matured and became more matronly as time passed. Amy and Meg, however, had their personalities diluted and faded into the background.

To talk about the other things I didn't really enjoy, not much has improved in the way of how stuck in its own time this series is. While Little Women is a beautiful story of love, friendship and family, the preachiness of the tone will not escape modern eyes, and this continues on to the second and third book. I personally don't find it too overwhelming, but it does hamper the experience a bit.

Moving on to the characters, I'm glad to see most of them grow and succeed, and to some extent achieve their dreams. It was pleasant to see some of them grow through unusual experiences, or be tested and come out stronger, and the varied natures of the boys made each chapter a cute little story that made us root for them as if they were our own family. Most of them had rewarding endings (key word: most), but it was a chiefly fruitful harvest for the Bhaer couple.

Overall: I think Little Men's set up of the boys as children was a tedious read but made for quite the prequel to this, as it gave me reason to be worried for, laugh for, cry for and cheer on Jo's boys. The likable characters and entertaining chapters outshone the moralistic writing and loss of personality for some of the original characters to some extent. In the end, I don't think Ms. Alcott could top the first of the series, but this made for a satisfying conclusion for our beloved March family.

3.5/5

beautifulminutiae's review against another edition

inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.0

maddie_hollar's review against another edition

4.0

I did enjoy this one a lot, but I liked Little Women best. Still, Alcott is one of my favorite writers and I really enjoyed the family ties that were still in this novel. Four stars; I did love it, but I have gave Little Women five stars, and I did like that one a bit better.

cd1310's review against another edition

2.0

I didn't care for the characters that much in Little Men so this finally really left me uninterested. If you're a big fan of the series you'll love it.

romy_elizabeth13's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

So the “curtain falls forever on the March family”. I have come to the end of this series and it’s been and interesting ride. Lots to say. 

It’s funny because unlike most book series’s, I read these much more spaced apart. It has taken me about 2 and 3/4 years to read this entire series because I took large gaps in between books. However this did not in anyway tarnish my love for the books and they will remain forever in my heart. I shall definitely come back to them. 

When I think back to the first little women book, it seems so long ago in comparison to the timeline of Jo’s Boys. And I suppose it is. In fact, I’m not sure if they mentioned Beth at all in this book. However she is still there, in memory. I saw her in so many ways, the love of music Nat had, the sweetness of Daisy and the way Dan would give everything for those he loved. RIP Beth March, you are loved forever. 

I definitely think this is worth reading. It was an amazing conclusion to this beautiful series and it was super nice to have the updates on everyone’s lives and see how the original three sisters and Laurie remained just as wonderful, and how the original Plumfield members (Nat, Demi, Dan, teddy, Emil, Nan, Tommy, daisy etc) has grown. It was also beautiful to see Bess (princess <3) go from this little girl to this wonderful young woman. And I loved Josie and all her theatricals. 

It never says if Nat and Daisy do end up together but I like to imagine they will. And though it was heartbreaking to see Dan have to let Bess go, I truly believe they always found each other in the end and though he never married, I am sure he always loved her, and a part of her will always love her Aslauga’s Knight. And the story between Demi and Alice was so nice

Honestly just worth the read if you’ve read the previous books