Book Review: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

After my last depressing read, I reached for a guaranteed happy story :)

Little Women is the story of the March family's 4 daughters (Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy) during the Civil War era. The girls' family has descended into poverty before the war, and they are having to live without their father while he serves as chaplain in the war. Mrs. March is a very giving woman who spends as much of her time helping the war effort and the needy as possible, and she endeavors to teach her girls to become good women by her example. The story spans the girls' teenage years into their early twenties, with stories of hardships and illness, but also friendships and love. In the end, the whole family ends up together and happy in the simple lives they have all chosen.

This book has been such a fixture in my life that it almost feels silly to even try a synopsis so short. I grew up with my own mother always trying to read this book to us, but we would read it each night for a few days and then life would get in the way. I am the oldest of 5 kids, the first 4 of which are girls. When the movie of this came out in the 90s, my sisters and I were obsessed. We all picked which sister we were, and watched the movie over and over again. It was nice to finally read the full story for myself, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did way back when. This is a classic for a very good reason. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.