A review by crafalsk264
More to the Story by Hena Khan

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective slow-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

This book is a retelling of “Little Women”. The first thing that surprised me was learning that “Little Women” was originally issued in two parts. Part 2 was originally titled “Good Wives”. These two parts were combined and issued in 1880 as a single book. These two along with the sequels, Little Men and Jo’s Boys, were eventually referred to as the “Little Women Collection.”

As to the story, More to the Story (MTTS) tells the story of the four Mirza sisters with a loving mother, and a loving but absent father living in Georgia, a Pakistani-American family.  The book follows the major points of the original plot, the sisters have names beginning with the same letter as their counterparts (Maryam and Meg, Jameela as Jo, Bisma and Beth, and Aleeza and Amy). The major personality traits from the original sisters carry forward to today’s twin as well. For instance Jo’s primary desire is to become a successful writer. The boy staying with a neighbor is Ali instead of Laurie.

In this retelling, we have a modern version of  “Little Women”, the MTTS and  “Little Women” are both stories of love of family, community and country. MTTS adds the elements of friendship, ambition, illness, death and racist micro aggressions. The characters deal with respect and empathy being the major themes for the friendship plot line. Overall this is a modern telling of a classic tale with characters who are sympathetic and who show generous support of family and friends. Recommend to readers of updated classic middle grade literature, stories of family, friendship and love, and readers who want more tales of Pakistani culture and racism .