A review by chloe_acceber
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There's a reason this book is a classic. Personally, I found the writing a bit of a slog to get through and some of the chapters just fully unnecessary.
An entire chapter of the little newsletter the girls put together for their "gentleman's club", for example. It's a nice world builder, but to me felt far longer than it should have been. We're reading the story from Jo's perspective, I don't feel I need pages and pages of her poetry.
The characters feel very real, and the conflicts that arise feel organic to the characters and their environment. Even as old as this book is, some aspects of life don't ever change. Siblings that love each other fiercely, and challenge each other even more so. The changes we all encounter entering our 20's and facing down adulthood-marriage, parenting, job prospects. And of course, the consistency of loss. It gives a nice window into what life was like for a working class, white family in the 1870's. 
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