Littler Women: A Modern Retelling

Schaefer, Laura. Littler Women: A Modern Retelling
September 5th 2017 by Paula Wiseman Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

The March family is struggling with their father being deployed and their mother working long hours as a social worker. Luckily, they have a family friend, Hannah, who has moved in to help. Meg struggles with being the oldest and wanting to go to middle school dances, and is attracted to the high school student, Brooks, who is tutoring neighbor Laurie. Jo is brash and always wears a hoodie, and is interested in writing scripts. Beth likes to stay at home and knit, and Amy is a nine year old who thinks she's 16. This novel follows the adventures of the original Little Women very closely, but the girls are all portrayed as a bit younger, and their adventures take place in the setting of a modern, suburban house and middle school.
Strengths: This is a perfectly serviceable realistic fiction book. There are not many books dealing with parents being deployed, and it is a positive, fairly happy family book. Bonus: Beth does NOT die.
Weaknesses: Beth could have been updated a bit more realistically. Knitting? Hmmm. I did love the original, so this fell a tiny bit flat for me.
What I Really Think: I'm curious to see if readers will actually transition to Alcott after getting a taste of the story. For a modern retelling, I prefer the Baratz-Logstead Little Women and Me because it's more clever, but this is not a bad addition to a middle school or elementary collection. I will probably purchase because I've not seen a lot of good realistic fiction for girls lately.