Book review: Little Women and Me
Check out the modern take on the original classic
Those who love the Little Women, the timeless classic by Louisa May Alcott will love this book,Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logstead, which takes all kinds of liberties with the original story. This is the story of a young girl called Emily who has been given an assignment in school where she has to pick her favourite story and then change it around. Emily, of course, does not need too much time to decide. She chooses her all time favourite book, 'Little Women' to work on, but as she gets into her project, she suddenly finds that she has become a part of the story itself.
So, within the first few chapters we get to meet the new Emily, who has been transported back in time and is now the middle sister of the March family. She is the sister who fits into story seamlessly, and we get to see each chapter of the original book, now rewritten with Emily's perspective on things.
Since Emily is a contemporary teenager, she brings a lot of modern vocabulary into the narrative but she does not use any kind of slang, in case people recognise her for who she is -- a girl caught in the wrong time zone. Sometimes she slips up and uses words like 'dude' but then she has to wriggle out of the situation as carefully as possible.
The book is targeted for young adults but this is a very enjoyable novel for all fans of the old classic, no matter what the age group. Some of the chapters might seem like sacrilege for devoted fans, especially when some of the moving scenes when seen through the eyes of a modern teenager are depicted as trite and horribly outdated. But if you skip through them, you find that the story is as engrossing as the original was, when you first read it.
Should you pick up this book? Yes, if you love Alcott and would do anything to read more about Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth and the family. But no, if you don't want anyone to sully the image of the story in all its original beauty.
Little Women & Me is a clever take on an old story and a must-read for those who would love to check out how classics can take on a fresh perspective altogether.
Those who love the Little Women, the timeless classic by Louisa May Alcott will love this book,Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logstead, which takes all kinds of liberties with the original story. This is the story of a young girl called Emily who has been given an assignment in school where she has to pick her favourite story and then change it around. Emily, of course, does not need too much time to decide. She chooses her all time favourite book, 'Little Women' to work on, but as she gets into her project, she suddenly finds that she has become a part of the story itself.
So, within the first few chapters we get to meet the new Emily, who has been transported back in time and is now the middle sister of the March family. She is the sister who fits into story seamlessly, and we get to see each chapter of the original book, now rewritten with Emily's perspective on things.
Since Emily is a contemporary teenager, she brings a lot of modern vocabulary into the narrative but she does not use any kind of slang, in case people recognise her for who she is -- a girl caught in the wrong time zone. Sometimes she slips up and uses words like 'dude' but then she has to wriggle out of the situation as carefully as possible.
The book is targeted for young adults but this is a very enjoyable novel for all fans of the old classic, no matter what the age group. Some of the chapters might seem like sacrilege for devoted fans, especially when some of the moving scenes when seen through the eyes of a modern teenager are depicted as trite and horribly outdated. But if you skip through them, you find that the story is as engrossing as the original was, when you first read it.
Should you pick up this book? Yes, if you love Alcott and would do anything to read more about Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth and the family. But no, if you don't want anyone to sully the image of the story in all its original beauty.
Little Women & Me is a clever take on an old story and a must-read for those who would love to check out how classics can take on a fresh perspective altogether.
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