Starting the Next Chapter: Review: The Little Women Letters

by Gabrielle Donnelly
publisher: Simon & Schuster
date of publication: June 7, 2011
format: ARC
pages: 368
source: from the publisher
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
challenges: Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge

From Goodreads:

Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March’s descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly’s novel will speak to anyone who’s ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her.
With her older sister, Emma, planning a wedding and her younger sister, Sophie, preparing to launch a career on the London stage, Lulu can’t help but feel like the failure of the Atwater family. Lulu loves her sisters dearly and wants nothing but the best for them, but she finds herself stuck in a rut, working dead-end jobs with no romantic prospects in sight. When her mother asks her to find a cache of old family recipes in the attic of her childhood home, Lulu stumbles across a collection of letters written by her great-great-grandmother Josephine March. In her letters, Jo writes in detail about every aspect of her life: her older sister, Meg’s, new home and family; her younger sister Amy’s many admirers; Beth’s illness and the family’s shared grief over losing her too soon; and the butterflies she feels when she meets a handsome young German. As Lulu delves deeper into the lives and secrets of the March sisters, she finds solace and guidance, but can the words of her great-great-grandmother help Lulu find a place for herself in a world so different from the one Jo knew? Vibrant, fresh, and intelligent, The Little Women Letters explores the imagined lives of Jo March’s descendants—three sisters who are both thoroughly modern and thoroughly March. As uplifting and essential as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Gabrielle Donnelly’s novel will speak to anyone who’s ever fought with a sister, fallen in love with a fabulous pair of shoes, or wondered what on earth life had in store for her.
Some things, of course, remain unchanged: the stories and jokes that form a family’s history, the laughter over tea in the afternoon, the desire to do the right thing in spite of obstacles. And above all, of course, the fierce, undying, and often infuriating bond of sisterhood that links the Atwater women every bit as firmly as it did the March sisters all those years ago. Both a loving tribute to Little Women and a wonderful contemporary family story, The Little Women Letters is a heartwarming, funny, and wise novel for today.

What I Thought

As you may already know if you are a regular visitor to my blog, I typically review YA books, most often of the urban fantasy, paranormal romance, dystopian, and, more recently, steampunk persuasions. However, I will always have that special place in my heart reserved for classic literature. I also enjoy fresh new takes on these classics and can greatly appreciate a well-written one. While it has been a long, long time since I last read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, I was intrigued when I saw The Little Women Letters advertised in a Shelf Awareness newsletter. Imagine my delight upon receiving a package from Simon & Schuster containing an ARC for this book! I am glad to say that my enthusiasm did not wane once while I read this book and definitely recommend it for anyone who has read and loved Little Women in the past.

The book's main character, Lulu, really struck a chord with me. She was so very easy to relate to that I was completely engrossed in the book by the end of the first chapter. Lulu is a young woman who is unsure about what she wants out of life. As she tries to make such an important decision on her own (she is a very independent sort of girl), she has to deal with pressures from her prodding (albeit well-meaning) family. I really loved watching her work through her issues and questions through the surreptitious reading of letters written between her great-great grandmother, Jo March, and her sisters. In several ways, Lulu is much like Jo, though she also has issues of her very own to work through. I was left feeling very contemplative at the end of every chapter and had to sit down and think about what I had just read. If you have problems similar to Lulu, she will compel you to think about your own situation, which is a very powerful thing to find in a character from a book.

If you have a different type of personality, there are other characters containing vast appeal in The Little Women Letters. It is full of strong female characters, each with her own unique take on life. Emma, the oldest sister, is a reserved yet funny character who almost always has her head on straight. Sophie is the wilder, youngest sister who has a lot to offer underneath her seeming caricature-like facade. Charlie, Lulu's best friend, is a quiet, humble young woman who is possessed of a generous spirit. Watching these girls discover things about themselves and move through life added so much more to the book and made it all the more engrossing.

There are several themes throughout the book that pertain to women: the women's movement, relationships, balancing duty with fun, friendship, sisterhood, family, and so much more. Reading about the lives of the characters left me feeling both introspective and refreshed. I was sorry to see it end and would have loved to read just a little more about these women.

If you are looking for a new approach to a favored classic, I urge you to give The Little Women Letters a try. Though this book is not YA, it wouldn't be inappropriate for those in their late teens. The writing is funny, touching, and bittersweet all at once and I couldn't have loved it more. I give The Little Women Letters 5 hoots.