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A review by caylieratzlaff
Great or Nothing by Jessica Spotswood, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, Joy McCullough
3.0
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 3/5 stars.
I loved Little Women. I remember reading it in 4th grade and being completely floored by it. I love the vibes and the romance and the nature of the March siblings. I felt a connection to Jo and Amy and Meg and Beth -- but especially Jo. I was SO excited to read this reimagining of the book along with a different time period -- WW2 -- that is one of my favorites to read. I wanted to read more about Meg and John, and Jo, and Amy and Laurie (god, I love Laurie) and how Beth's death was portrayed with verse in her chapter POVs...but for it being as LONG as it is...nothing happened?
Nothing happened that was exciting or plot worthy, which I guess is on par with it representing Little Women...but it just...didn't have anything that kept me wanting to read it? Jo's storyline did make me happy, as it made her queer (WOOT WOOT) which is honestly pretty easy to imagine. Meg's storyline fell flat with her pining for John and dealing with grief, but it felt very out of character. I liked Amy's story with a secret identity and going to London (and how her and Laurie got together)...but I wanted the sisterhood vibes...not all of them mad and grieving and ignoring one another.
It was good. I enjoyed it as a fan of historical fiction and also Little Women...but it was unnecessarily long.
I loved Little Women. I remember reading it in 4th grade and being completely floored by it. I love the vibes and the romance and the nature of the March siblings. I felt a connection to Jo and Amy and Meg and Beth -- but especially Jo. I was SO excited to read this reimagining of the book along with a different time period -- WW2 -- that is one of my favorites to read. I wanted to read more about Meg and John, and Jo, and Amy and Laurie (god, I love Laurie) and how Beth's death was portrayed with verse in her chapter POVs...but for it being as LONG as it is...nothing happened?
Nothing happened that was exciting or plot worthy, which I guess is on par with it representing Little Women...but it just...didn't have anything that kept me wanting to read it? Jo's storyline did make me happy, as it made her queer (WOOT WOOT) which is honestly pretty easy to imagine. Meg's storyline fell flat with her pining for John and dealing with grief, but it felt very out of character. I liked Amy's story with a secret identity and going to London (and how her and Laurie got together)...but I wanted the sisterhood vibes...not all of them mad and grieving and ignoring one another.
It was good. I enjoyed it as a fan of historical fiction and also Little Women...but it was unnecessarily long.