Fun Friday with a blast into the past, as a middle-school girl is launched back into the pages of Little Women – no cellphone, no jeans, no kidding!
It seems like the world of Little Women is so much simpler than modern life, but Emily finds that even in 1861, human nature keeps things interesting. And the personalities of those March girls!
So, can Emily change the parts she dislikes about her favorite book? Will her actions as “the middle March” fix it or spoil it?
You’re sure to find the original Little Women at your local library or indie bookseller, but if you’d like to read Emily’s favorite online -free!- in a variety of formats, visit Project Gutenburg here.
**kmm
Book info: Little Women and Me / Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Bloomsbury, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site]
Recommendation: Emily jumps into the assignment to change something in a classic novel – she can’t change her real-life family, can she? Being a middle sister is just so annoying…
Back in the pages of her favorite book, Little Women, Emily tries to decide on just one thing to change: Prevent sweet Beth from dying? Keep Papa out of the Civil War fighting? Have boy-next-door Laurence marry Jo instead of silly Amy?
Suddenly she is whirled into the book itself – as middle March sister Emily!! What a different world – life for 13 year-old girls in 1861 means corsets and needlework, not jeans and text messages.
As she lives through the events chronicled in the novel’s pages, Emily tries to fit into the story without giving herself away as a time-traveler. School isn’t mandatory for girls? Hooray! Reading aloud to grumpy, demanding Aunt March? Yikes! Long evenings at home with sewing instead of the internet? Urrr…
Key events in the story are just around the corner – can Emily change things enough to keep Beth alive or make Laurie realize that he loves his best friend Jo instead of her sister Amy? And what will happen to Emily when the last page of the book is turned?
Whether reading this before or after Little Women itself, readers will see 19th century life and Alcott’s classic tale in a deeper way through Emily’s humorous adventures and misadventures. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.
This is a great premise for a book and one I can relate to. I remember having similar frustrations reading Little Women as a child, long before I learnt about things like narrative hooks and the necessity of conflict to keep a story interesting.