A review by lucyeanderson
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. It's no secret that I adore the Greta Gerwig movie , so I was so excited to read the original material, and it did not disappoint! I found that this book took me longer than I thought to get through, but that's honestly no fault of the book and rather a symptom of me being a final year uni student.

I adored reading the character's development and how you fully understood each character's motivations, and despite the book portraying strong Christian values, you never felt that the characters were preaching at you, but rather their imperfectness that made me love them so much was used as an (effective) tool for lesson learning. Additionally, anyone who thinks
Amy and Laurie and Jo and the Professor
aren't the correct final pairings needs to reread the book, as I felt like they were characters who truly bought the best out in each other and were made for each other! It is disappointing to read some of the inherent sexism that characterises the time at which the book was written, but how Alcott handles it I see as incredibly progressive and admirable for the time. 

Finally, as an older sister
Beth's death
made me sob like a little baby. But I do believe it was incredibly necessary to the story and shows the fragility and value of life perfectly. 

Overall, I adore this book and it's characters, and think everyone should read it and be whisked away into the picturesque world of Alcott's childhood.
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