SPOILERS in 6th paragraph
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. A collection of classic stories about 4 sisters. First of all, I am part of 4 sisters too. I'm the eldest. So, I relate to the sibling dilemmas and rivalries. I don't really vibe with Meg, because I'm not much of a lover. Jo is the most relatable character for me as she loves writing, has a hot temper, and wants to be a little girl as long as possible, yet be in charge. She doesn't care much about fashion and cries over books in a secluded little spot with a rat as company (I don't have a rat though). Just like Lord of the Flies, this book is a classic and has many words and long paragraphs. Yet, it shares compelling stories and amusing recounts.
The story is about the March family which includes 4 sisters in their teenage or preteen years, a mother, a servant/maid/cook, a father and occasionally a grumpy aunt who pops in from time to time. Later, "the Lawrence Boy", his grandfather and his tutor. The story starts off, by the four sisters talking about Christmas and how they won't get any presents as they are poor. Soon, the talk gradually shifts from complaining to planning to get presents for their mother instead of themselves. When Mrs. March (or Marmee as the girls sometimes call her) comes in, the girls huddle around her and greet her.
They start of their Christmas by taking their dinner to the Hummels, who had a newborn enter the world, and were too poor to buy anything to eat. Throughout the book, the girls make all types of sacrifices for others or their family and learn to appreciate the things given in life. Throughout the year, Meg learns to appreciate what she has at the present, rather than dreaming about what she wants, Jo learns to control her temper and be patient, Amy learns to think of others and to appreciate what she has and what she can give to others rather than fulfilling her own selfish needs. And Beth? To be honest, I don't quite remember what kind, gentle Beth's important lesson was. But a tragic incident involving her shakes the whole family.
A few other important characters are Laurie (Theodore, sometimes called "Teddy" by Jo), Mr. Laurence (Laurie's grandfather) and Mr. Brooke (Laurie's tutor). Laurie seems like a jolly, funny, respectful and loving boy. Though he does have some faults (everyone does). He is just the type of boy I would fall in love with.
There are many lessons to be learnt in this fascinating little collection of pure entertainment. A few of them are: to appreciate the little things in life, to appreciate your family and friends, to think about others, to make little sacrifices in order to help others, to control your temper and treat everyone with patience.
SPOILERS: I don't indulge in shipping, but I did want Laurie and Meg to be together. It was a bit disappointing when Meg chose Mr. Brooke, but this was a nice turn of events as it didn't follow the traditional flow of the other books.
Summary of 2 sentences:
Four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy have a year worth of their story told. The stories include topics such as love, family and friends in a way which exceeds other books with these topics.
Recommendation reading for 'Little Women': 🍕🍕🍕🍕 and a half
Age rating: 10+
Pages: approx. 759 (in one version)
Chapters: 23 in Part 1 and 47 in the whole book
Reading Time: The average reader at the speed of 300 WPM (Words Per Minute) would take 9 hours and 54 minutes
My favorites (MORE SPOILERS OF THE BOOK AHEAD)
Favorite line: "I'd rather take coffee than compliments right now" (This accurately describes me and most of the people I know and I love this line and am going to use it whenever I get the opportunity)
Favorite scene: When Jo publishes her story and she visibly shows how nervous she is before entering. And the surprised and proud remarks from all the people she loved deeply touched me.
My comments:
Thankfully, this isn't traumatizing, but incredibly sad at one point. But this is a happy book in general and I absolutely love it. While reading through, it really did inspire me to be a better sister and daughter, but unfortunately I have a hot temper and that is not easy to control.
Whenever I asked anyone if they knew 'Little Women' the reply would be "Oh, I loved the movie!"
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I haven't seen the movie, but I was talking about the book, Patricia.
You reviewed it well/ I have seen the film and now want to try reading it.