My rating: 3 stars / I liked it
Synopsis
Bestselling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz bring us a romantic retelling of Little Women starring Jo March and her best friend, the boy next door, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.
1869,
Concord, Massachusetts: After the publication of her first novel, Jo
March is shocked to discover her book of scribbles has become a
bestseller, and her publisher and fans demand a sequel. While pressured
into coming up with a story, she goes to New York with her dear friend
Laurie for a week of inspiration—museums, operas, and even a
once-in-a-lifetime reading by Charles Dickens himself!
But Laurie
has romance on his mind, and despite her growing feelings, Jo's desire
to remain independent leads her to turn down his heartfelt marriage
proposal and sends the poor boy off to college heartbroken. When Laurie
returns to Concord with a sophisticated new girlfriend, will Jo finally
communicate her true heart's desire or lose the love of her life
forever?
My Review
I love retellings of my favorite fairy tales and Austen stories, but this is the first one I've read about Little Women. I had no idea what to expect, and it was an interesting read. Jo is much younger than I expected her to be at this point in the story- they have her at seventeen, and the timeline seems a bit off from the original story. Beth has died, and Jo is a successfully published author of Little Women, but is struggling with the sequel she is contracted to write. The authors did a good job of capturing her unrest during this time of her life. It's difficult for Jo to discern what the future holds for her and her sisters, wanting things to stay as they have been, but recognizing that marriage, travel, and career will change everything. She seems scared of her growing feelings for Laurie, and that fear prevents her from embracing the progression of their relationship into something more than friendship. I found her voice to be slightly immature, especially when whining and fighting with her editor. Some chapters were told from other characters' perspectives, such as Meg (which I found myself skimming), but I appreciated being able to get inside Laurie's head. Overall it was an entertaining take on the classic, especially for readers who wished for the childhood friendship to turn to romance.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
Pre-order Special
About the Authors
MARGARET STOHL
Margaret Stohl is a #1 New York Times
bestselling nerd, world-builder, video game creator, comic book writer and
festival founder.
As an award-winning young adult author,
she has been published in fifty countries and thirty-two languages and has sold
more than ten million books worldwide. Beautiful Creatures debuted as the
Amazon #1 Teen book of the year; seven of Margaret’s books have reached
bestseller lists around the world.
She has published fifteen novels and
graphic novels, as well as contributed to several games and countless comics
since her debut. Her last book, Cats Vs Robots: This is War, was a family
affair, illustrated by her child, the artist Kay Peterson, and co-written with
her husband, Lewis Peterson. It also starred three of her family’s five cats.
After Beautiful Creatures was released
as a feature film from Warner Brothers and Alcon Entertainment, Margaret began
working with Marvel on her bestselling Black Widow: Forever Red duology; in
2017 she began writing the ongoing Mighty Captain Marvel comic, followed by the
acclaimed Life of Captain Marvel miniseries, where she established a new origin
story for Carol Danvers in preparation for the theatrical debut of Brie Larson
as “Captain Marvel” for the MCU.
When not roaming the halls
of Seattle game developer Bungie - where she oversees the creation of new
global IPs - Margaret can often be seen at a Comicon or at one of the teen and
youth book festivals she co-founded, YALLFEST (Charleston, SC) and YALLWEST
(Santa Monica, CA), the largest in the country. Wherever she goes, you can find
out more about her (and invariably her cats) at @mstohl on twitter or
margaret_stohl on instagram or margaret_stohl on snapchat or at mstohl.com.
MELISSA DE LA CRUZ
She is the New York Times and USA Today
best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for
teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys
series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical
novel Fresh off the Boat.
Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s
Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic
handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files:
Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.
She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor
and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie
Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco
Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also
appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.
Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San
Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from
The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at
Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).
She
now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the
Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.
Giveaway
Prize: Win a copy of JO & LAURIE by
Margaret Stohl & Melissa de la Cruz (US Only)
Starts: 27th May 2020
Ends: 10th
June 2020
