A perfect read for those who just can’t get enough of the March sisters!
This is a lively, hip, 21st-century reinvention of Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic about the tight-knit March family.
Virginia Kantra (Carolina Dreaming) energetically
reinvents Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women. Kantra
relocates the March family from New England to bucolic 21st-century Bunyan,
N.C. Mother "Marmee" struggles to maintain the artisanal
goat-cheese-producing family farm, while Father March, a pastor-preacher, is
away serving as an army chaplain and military missionary activist.
Part of the story is filtered through Jo, a single 28-year-old
journalist in search of a job, living in New York City. She works as a prep
cook at an upscale eatery while secretly blogging about the food industry. When
the tattooed, Michelin-star chef-owner of the restaurant takes a shine to her,
she fears the consequences of mixing business with pleasure. The other half of
the story is narrated by Meg, a devoted wife and stay-at-home mother of twins,
whose life is deeply rooted in Bunyan. Is she truly fulfilled? While the other
two March sisters pursue their own aspirations--Beth, chasing a career in the
Branson, Mo., music business, and Amy in Paris, intent on becoming a
fashionista--Marmee suddenly takes ill. Responsible Meg picks up the slack,
faced with choices that might upend her sensible life and affect those of the
family, as well.
Kantra
retains Alcott's basic story blueprint and the essence of her unforgettable
characters, including the irrepressible Aunt Phee and Trey, an updated take on
Theodore "Laurie" Laurence. The narrative successfully weaves in
provocative contemporary values and references, delivering a modern-day
story--with bold new twists--that explores timeless themes of love, romance and
the bonds of family.
Meg and Jo (A Novel) by Virginia Kantra
Berkley, $16.00 Paperback, 9780593100349, 400 pages
Publication Date: December 3, 2019
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NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted
with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this
review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (January 17, 2020), link HERE