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akookieforyou's review
4.0
*4.5*
"It would be her honor and her pleasure to go down with this particular ship. They could be dashed together upon the rocks, sink together to the ocean floor. Only blurry, ink-splotched pages to mark their watery grave.
Because it was always our story.
It just never had the right ending."
This book made my heart feel so full, with happiness and sadness alike, and I even cried (multiple times).
It may not always be the popular opinion, but I love Laurie and Jo together, they're so perfect for one another, truly they feel like two halves of one whole. I was completely dissatisfied with the ending of Little Women (the movie, I couldn't quite bring myself to read the novel after I finished it), so to me, this is how it should've ended. I hope we can see even more retellings with this type of treatment towards characters in the future. We've seen Cinderella end up with a woman, Jo choose Laurie, Romeo and Juliet live, what's next? I'm excited to find out.
"It would be her honor and her pleasure to go down with this particular ship. They could be dashed together upon the rocks, sink together to the ocean floor. Only blurry, ink-splotched pages to mark their watery grave.
Because it was always our story.
It just never had the right ending."
This book made my heart feel so full, with happiness and sadness alike, and I even cried (multiple times).
It may not always be the popular opinion, but I love Laurie and Jo together, they're so perfect for one another, truly they feel like two halves of one whole. I was completely dissatisfied with the ending of Little Women (the movie, I couldn't quite bring myself to read the novel after I finished it), so to me, this is how it should've ended. I hope we can see even more retellings with this type of treatment towards characters in the future. We've seen Cinderella end up with a woman, Jo choose Laurie, Romeo and Juliet live, what's next? I'm excited to find out.
cheshirecataclysmic's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
As someone who always wished that Jo & Laurie had ended up together this was a delightful read
julia___reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
liz_towery's review
4.0
I enjoyed this story a lot more than I thought. It might have helped if I had read Little Women before. But maybe it could have lessened my enjoyment as well. Certain things are definitely unrealistic, and take you out of the story a bit. But watching Jo struggle to resolve the story of Little Women was a fun ride.
emareah2's review
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
3.5
kaileyjarvis's review
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
clubuntu's review
2.0
I’m not rating this 2 stars because it’s a little women retelling, I’m doing it because I didn’t like it, it was a little boring to me.
I was expecting to like it as I’m not against the idea of Laurie and Jo together, it just wasn’t for me.
I was expecting to like it as I’m not against the idea of Laurie and Jo together, it just wasn’t for me.
bargainsleuth's review
4.0
For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
When Jo & Laurie was recommended to me because I had like others works by Melissa de la Cruz, I thought, “Why not?” It’s Little Women, it’s Jo and Laurie, what’s not to like? I had no idea that writing a YA novel about beloved characters could get so vitriolic if based on the reviews on Goodreads. There are people who didn’t read the book but rated it one star. Who does that? Rates a book they haven’t even read? “Let’s just completely ignore the intentions of Alcott with this glorified fan fiction” reads one fan review.
I get it. Louisa May Alcott was a century ahead of her time with her feminist prose. Little Women was an instant classic when it was first published in the 1860’s. I haven’t studied Alcott nor read her other works (although during the pandemic, I collected a bunch of them), so I was surprised to learn that Little Women was actually two books. The first book was written and was such a success that the publisher wanted Alcott to “finish” Jo’s story, so she did, and that second book was also a success. Subsequent editions combine both books into one, making the Little Women we know and love today. Joe & Laurie takes place between books one and two, when Jo doesn’t know how to make her characters go forward. She’s also dealing with losing her sister Beth.
The first time I read the book as a girl, I wanted Joe & Laurie together and was so disappointed when it didn’t happen. As I got older, I realized my folly, but that was after 30 years of living in the 20th century (and like Jo, married an older, wiser man who would not make me “settle down” in a conventional way). But even as an adult with a wider view on female/male relationships, what’s so wrong about wanting a first love to work out?
Stohl and de la Cruz have fashioned a world that seems much like the original, with dialogue that fits. Jo is a young woman who’s simultaneously a sweetheart and yet strange for the times in which they are living for all her feminist ways, fragile in psyche and yet tough, too. She’s also joyous, but can be very angry in any given situation. Laurie is still the clever, kind and passionate young man who is unflinchingly in love with someone who does not love him back in the same way. Or does she? That’s the heart of the novel.
Either the thought of Jo & Laurie makes your feminist soul want to vomit, or you can take this book for what it is meant to be: an alternate history of some beloved characters. I myself enjoyed visiting with these old friends again and exploring what could have been.
When Jo & Laurie was recommended to me because I had like others works by Melissa de la Cruz, I thought, “Why not?” It’s Little Women, it’s Jo and Laurie, what’s not to like? I had no idea that writing a YA novel about beloved characters could get so vitriolic if based on the reviews on Goodreads. There are people who didn’t read the book but rated it one star. Who does that? Rates a book they haven’t even read? “Let’s just completely ignore the intentions of Alcott with this glorified fan fiction” reads one fan review.
I get it. Louisa May Alcott was a century ahead of her time with her feminist prose. Little Women was an instant classic when it was first published in the 1860’s. I haven’t studied Alcott nor read her other works (although during the pandemic, I collected a bunch of them), so I was surprised to learn that Little Women was actually two books. The first book was written and was such a success that the publisher wanted Alcott to “finish” Jo’s story, so she did, and that second book was also a success. Subsequent editions combine both books into one, making the Little Women we know and love today. Joe & Laurie takes place between books one and two, when Jo doesn’t know how to make her characters go forward. She’s also dealing with losing her sister Beth.
The first time I read the book as a girl, I wanted Joe & Laurie together and was so disappointed when it didn’t happen. As I got older, I realized my folly, but that was after 30 years of living in the 20th century (and like Jo, married an older, wiser man who would not make me “settle down” in a conventional way). But even as an adult with a wider view on female/male relationships, what’s so wrong about wanting a first love to work out?
Stohl and de la Cruz have fashioned a world that seems much like the original, with dialogue that fits. Jo is a young woman who’s simultaneously a sweetheart and yet strange for the times in which they are living for all her feminist ways, fragile in psyche and yet tough, too. She’s also joyous, but can be very angry in any given situation. Laurie is still the clever, kind and passionate young man who is unflinchingly in love with someone who does not love him back in the same way. Or does she? That’s the heart of the novel.
Either the thought of Jo & Laurie makes your feminist soul want to vomit, or you can take this book for what it is meant to be: an alternate history of some beloved characters. I myself enjoyed visiting with these old friends again and exploring what could have been.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
3.0
3.5/5
I have always loved Little Women. I love the story, setting, characters. But I can never seem to understand the story as a whole. Saying this, it has been a while since I have seen any movie and this book was the first book I have read on the subject. I thought it was ok, seeing how the characters can never be ruined I enjoyed them. The writing to me was just a little slow.
I have always loved Little Women. I love the story, setting, characters. But I can never seem to understand the story as a whole. Saying this, it has been a while since I have seen any movie and this book was the first book I have read on the subject. I thought it was ok, seeing how the characters can never be ruined I enjoyed them. The writing to me was just a little slow.