cheesehead_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Sweet modern day middle grade novel influenced by Little Women. Jameela Mirza is the character of Jo who has to deal with her father being away for work, learning about ethical journalism and dealing with a sick sister. This was such a sweet retelling. I love the strength of Jam but Hana Khan doesn't make her perfect (she makes a whopper of a mistake for the school newspaper) but she isn't one of those middle grade characters that is supposed to be cute while being disobedient. I loved this story of family and friendship.
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
This book mimics the trials and tribulations of the beloved “Little Women“ by Louisa May Alcott as played out by a Muslim American family. But, of course, it has been updated to the current day with different and bigger difficulties - 21st Century problems. It is really well done. As a matter fact took me a while before I realized it was a retelling of “Little Women“. Excellent book for middle graders and above.
shellysbookcorner's review against another edition
3.0
*I received a review copy from Amazon Vine and voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review.*
This was a nice story but I had a hard time getting fully invested. It centers around four sisters but I would have liked to have points of views from all of them and not just Jameela. This story deals with serious topics such as illness and racism. Overall it was a nice read but it didn't blow me away.
This was a nice story but I had a hard time getting fully invested. It centers around four sisters but I would have liked to have points of views from all of them and not just Jameela. This story deals with serious topics such as illness and racism. Overall it was a nice read but it didn't blow me away.
katreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the audio book of this lovely retelling of Little Women. It centered on 4 sisters in a Pakistani-American family living in Georgia and their trials when their father has to take a job in Dubai. I loved following the sisters, particularly Jameela and her journalism dreams. It would be a very good book to share with kids on cancer.
crafalsk264's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a retelling of “Little Women”. The first thing that surprised me was learning that “Little Women” was originally issued in two parts. Part 2 was originally titled “Good Wives”. These two parts were combined and issued in 1880 as a single book. These two along with the sequels, Little Men and Jo’s Boys, were eventually referred to as the “Little Women Collection.”
As to the story, More to the Story (MTTS) tells the story of the four Mirza sisters with a loving mother, and a loving but absent father living in Georgia, a Pakistani-American family. The book follows the major points of the original plot, the sisters have names beginning with the same letter as their counterparts (Maryam and Meg, Jameela as Jo, Bisma and Beth, and Aleeza and Amy). The major personality traits from the original sisters carry forward to today’s twin as well. For instance Jo’s primary desire is to become a successful writer. The boy staying with a neighbor is Ali instead of Laurie.
In this retelling, we have a modern version of “Little Women”, the MTTS and “Little Women” are both stories of love of family, community and country. MTTS adds the elements of friendship, ambition, illness, death and racist micro aggressions. The characters deal with respect and empathy being the major themes for the friendship plot line. Overall this is a modern telling of a classic tale with characters who are sympathetic and who show generous support of family and friends. Recommend to readers of updated classic middle grade literature, stories of family, friendship and love, and readers who want more tales of Pakistani culture and racism .
sandraagee's review against another edition
3.0
This book was sold to me as a [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642] retelling featuring a modern Pakistani family. There are definitely elements that are borrowed directly from the classic story, but this modern retelling definitely gives the story it's own unique twist. I think it's especially significant that this version is narrated in the first person, from Jam/Jo's perspective, unlike Little Women which favors Jo but is distinctly third person. As a result the focus on sisterly relationships is lacking compared to the original and Maryam/Meg and Aleeza/Amy are, I think, underutilized.
But if you aren't expecting/hoping for a word-for-word retelling, this is a pretty fantastic book. There's definitely a lot going on in this sweet, satisfying story and it's well worth the read. I enjoyed getting to spend time with Jam and her family and getting to peek into their culture.
But if you aren't expecting/hoping for a word-for-word retelling, this is a pretty fantastic book. There's definitely a lot going on in this sweet, satisfying story and it's well worth the read. I enjoyed getting to spend time with Jam and her family and getting to peek into their culture.
girlreading's review against another edition
5.0
4.5* A heartfelt, wholesome read and an absolute delight from start to finish.
This was a truly wonderful, modern day Little Women retelling. The story superbly explored topics such as family, religion, race, microagressions, childhood ambition and illness in a way that was brilliantly accessible to readers, both young and old and I adored the cleverly written parallels between the two stories.
This book has the power to be as moving, impactful and memorable to young readers as the original story and I hope it gets just as many tv/movie adaptations in the future (it deserves it.)
TW: Racist microagressions (challenged)
This was a truly wonderful, modern day Little Women retelling. The story superbly explored topics such as family, religion, race, microagressions, childhood ambition and illness in a way that was brilliantly accessible to readers, both young and old and I adored the cleverly written parallels between the two stories.
This book has the power to be as moving, impactful and memorable to young readers as the original story and I hope it gets just as many tv/movie adaptations in the future (it deserves it.)
TW: Racist microagressions (challenged)
karisjmadison's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
romanaromana's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
2 stars.
(Here are some content warnings. To add: brief discussion of a heart attack. Nothing in this review).
I was so excited about this book, but sadly, I was underwhelmed.
Jameela Mirza is ready to spend this year honing her journalism skills and impressing in her role as Features Editor of her school paper. But when her father accepts a job in Abu Dhabi, and her younger sister's health deteriorates, Jameela finds that there is much more to her story than her own writing.
More to the Story is pitched as a retelling/modern interpretation of Little Women, which I am fond of and really admire. But sadly, Hena Khan didn't do very much with the beloved story and this didn't feel like a fully-fledged or properly developed idea that could stand on its own.
First of all, the characters weren't given enough depth. Jameela, at least, had the most to her character so her position as a narrator made sense and I was pleased to see things through her eyes. But her other sisters were disappointing by comparison, reduced to one singular hobby if they were lucky.
By extension, Ali's character was far below what it should have been given how much he comes up in the novel. Annoyingly, he also fell victim to the poorly-written-British-boy trope. Khan acknowledges someone from the UK who helped her with her Briticisms, but I can only assume this guy was middle-aged, sans children and not a big middle-grade fan, because Ali didn't talk like a real British teenager at all, and fell into cliches and outdated dialect.
Plot was also disappointing. I appreciate that it was somewhat in line with Louisa May Alcott's original, somewhat ambling narrative, but the truth of the matter is that young modern readers have different standards and expectations, which I think should have been considered. The pace was ultimately too slow, and the peaks and troughs of drama and tension were practically non-existent.
Wrapping up here, but the gist isn't hard to grasp. Shoutout to Khan, however, for a nice premise and solid representation.
(Here are some content warnings. To add: brief discussion of a heart attack. Nothing in this review).
I was so excited about this book, but sadly, I was underwhelmed.
Jameela Mirza is ready to spend this year honing her journalism skills and impressing in her role as Features Editor of her school paper. But when her father accepts a job in Abu Dhabi, and her younger sister's health deteriorates, Jameela finds that there is much more to her story than her own writing.
More to the Story is pitched as a retelling/modern interpretation of Little Women, which I am fond of and really admire. But sadly, Hena Khan didn't do very much with the beloved story and this didn't feel like a fully-fledged or properly developed idea that could stand on its own.
First of all, the characters weren't given enough depth. Jameela, at least, had the most to her character so her position as a narrator made sense and I was pleased to see things through her eyes. But her other sisters were disappointing by comparison, reduced to one singular hobby if they were lucky.
By extension, Ali's character was far below what it should have been given how much he comes up in the novel. Annoyingly, he also fell victim to the poorly-written-British-boy trope. Khan acknowledges someone from the UK who helped her with her Briticisms, but I can only assume this guy was middle-aged, sans children and not a big middle-grade fan, because Ali didn't talk like a real British teenager at all, and fell into cliches and outdated dialect.
Plot was also disappointing. I appreciate that it was somewhat in line with Louisa May Alcott's original, somewhat ambling narrative, but the truth of the matter is that young modern readers have different standards and expectations, which I think should have been considered. The pace was ultimately too slow, and the peaks and troughs of drama and tension were practically non-existent.
Wrapping up here, but the gist isn't hard to grasp. Shoutout to Khan, however, for a nice premise and solid representation.