Little Women

[CuriousJorgi]

I read this book with my father when I was 9 or 10. He was try ing to help me with reading since I am dyslexic and hated to read out loud at school. We each had to read a chapter out loud. I loved the story and the characters. I loved that my dad read it will me and even cried with me. One of the best ready memories I have

[Mrjankovic]

I very much loved this book. I felt that it was something that all sisters can relate to. The character Jo is an excellent role model for girls these days. She is so cleaver and such a free thinker. I hold this story very close to my heart.

[Cr8ivemom]

I like how the sisters had such different personalities. I found the relationships between the sisters to be fairly well developed. The feelings of jealousy, sibling rivalry and sisterly love translates accross generations. It makes me wonder how the four sisters would relate to one another in our modern society? Would Meg be working mother? Would Jo be a novelist or a journalist traveling the world?

[books+barefeet]

I really liked this book growing up- despite the fact that Alcott is just a little bit preachy (it was the time of course, she had to meet the expectations of female authors since it wasn't considered a particularly attractive profession for women). The characters are incredibly real and they stay true to themselves throughout the series. And, there are some things that are universal about growing up no matter how much time passes. It's always nice to know you're not alone in how you feel or in the ridiculous mistakes you make.

[Cool Books]

I love this book because it shows how family is a very big support.

[jlauroesch]

It's funny-I've always disliked this book so much due to its overly didactic nature. However, as a feminist I'm also torn because the character of Jo does prove to be a decent role model for young women. I'm curious to hear others' opinions of Little Women through a feminist lens.

I read it for the first time when I was around 10, and probably reread it another 2 or 3 times before graduating high school (so yes, I like it! ). Anyway, one of the first things that drew me to it was the fact that the main characters were girls/women, and the fact that many of them were strong female characters (I grew up in the 70s). My least favorite character was Amy (I found her shallow, she was more interested in how others thought of her than in what she really was, which is not a strong trait in my opinion). Meg was a little more traditional, and though not a favorite of mine, I thought she had her own strength. Beth was definitely strong, choosing to put others before herself, not because it was expected of her as a woman, but because it's what she felt was right. And Jo, choosing to follow her own path, even though it might mean not getting married (a major goal for girls of her time) was my favorite. So yes, through my young feminist eyes and through older (not old!! ) feminist eyes, I think it's worth a read. It's both a reflection of it's time, and a hope for better times in the future (which we're still working toward).

[Sarah1]

I had always wanted to read it and finally did last year. It was different than I expected but I still loved it! I think it's a great choice.

[Charnie08]

Ahhh - I loved this book - I must've read it when I was about 11 / 12. Jo was my absolute hero! Jo's Boys made me quite determined to open up my own orphanage one day. I loved the closeness of the family and their ability to conquer all obstacles. Looking back at the other comments makes me think about re reading this book from this perspective - 35 years on. I wonder how I would feel about it now? What would change? And maybe I don't want to read it again because I wouldn't want anything to change!

-- 01 Jun 2014, 20:53 --

Oh yes - I think its also the first book that ever made me cry.

[amjunus]

Nowhere near as preachy as other Alcott books. Little Women was feminist. It had new ideas for the way girls were, (well not actually new ideas just honest ideas). I loved this book, especially the parts about doing plays and writing their own newspaper. And I'm not sure I would have ever forgiven Amy for burning the manuscript. I was disappointed that Jo didn't marry Laurie. He understood her, whereas the Professor came off as more like a father figure.

[anomalocaris]

Jo and Laurie would never have worked out. He had a codependent thing going on. With no real passion of his own, he wanted a woman who would be his whole world and provide him with a reason for getting out of bed in the morning. Jo would have found it stifling. She never, from the first moment we see her, wanted to be petted and adored. She just wanted to be the equal of a man, and would never have settled for being someone's little wife, or someone's porcelain angel.

Never did get the Amy/Laurie thing. I suspect Alcott wanted to keep "Teddy" in the family and stuck him with Amy because she couldn't do anything else. Beth was dead. She'd established Meg's romance early on and wasn't willing to change it. It wouldn't do to pair him with Jo, especially if she had "Little Men" in the back of her mind as a sequel. That left Amy as the only option, The whole thing seems like a hasty wrap up and I suspect it's because it really was.

[quill_begotten]

This was one of my favorite books when I was growing up! I loved the way I could draw parallels to my own life from it. I have three sisters and we are all like Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy (some more than others), even in that order! I was always heartbroken that Jo and Laurie never worked out together but I could see how their relationship may not have worked out no matter how hard it pains me to say it! And it was so sad that Meg's husband dies. All in all though, I loved this book for the lessons it contained and the sisters' adventures through life together. I definitely want to read it to my girls if I have any daughters in the future!

[Acwoolet]

I have always loved Little Women! Although the first time I read it I was absolutely devastated by Beth's death and never really understood why Jo and Laurie couldn't end up together. Amy's character irritated me too, although she definitely added to the dynamics of the book. All in all the story was great and I believe that young girls today can benefit from the life lessons of the March family.

[Keirakay]

My favorite thing about the book is the way the family stuck together, and I think mostly what touched me is the respect and honor and love all the girls gave to their mother, and later on to their father. It's something teenagers today just do not seem to have for their parents.

I like reading books set in older times when children actually liked their parents for the most part all the way through adolescence. Nowadays, if you have more than one child, chances are at least one of them is going to have issues during those teen years and end up butting heads (sometimes quite vocally) with one or both parents.

Reading books like this, where the children respect and honor and support their parents, rarely arguing or acting disrespectful, is just heartwarming. That's how it should always be with parents and their kids.

[pagenumber394]

I read and watch the movie so many times as a child.

I am actually thinking about buying this book and reading it again. It has been awhile.

I think this book is relatable because each character plays a certain role in the family.

[anomalocaris]

I think mostly what touched me is the respect and honor and love all the girls gave to their mother, and later on to their father. It's something teenagers today just do not seem to have for their parents.

I think this is actually the parents' fault though. The book is set during a time when parents were parents. These days, parents who are younger than about 50 now simply don't parent, for the most part. They want to act like children themselves and they want to be their child's BFF, not a parent. They deny them nothing. They won't discipline them at home, and if the kid gets into trouble at school, god help the teachers and administrators who dared to try to impose limits on that child. If parents teach a child that he rules the roost, that his parents will give him anything he wants, and there will be no consequences for his actions, he ultimately has no respect for them, and he's going to throw tantrums even as an adult if the world doesn't hand him everything he wants on a silver platter. I know a couple of parents who actually kept their kids in line, and those kids, as teenagers, respect their parents and have very close relationships with them. That's the irony of it -- if you try to be your kids' friend while they're growing up, you're going to lose that when they become teens, but if you remember that you're the parent, NOT one of their friends, you'll end up being friends with them as teens and young adults.