Review: Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted 

Emily is sick and tired of being a middle sister. So when she gets an assignment to describe what she'd change about a classic novel, Emily pounces on Little Women. After all, if she can't change things in her own family, maybe she can bring a little justice to the March sisters. (Kill off Beth? Have cute Laurie wind up with Amy instead of Jo? What was Louisa May Alcott thinking?!) But when Emily gets mysteriously transported into the 1860s world of the book, she discovers that righting fictional wrongs won't be easy. And after being immersed in a time and place so different from her own, it may be Emily-not the four March sisters-who undergoes the most surprising change of all. Lauren Baratz-Logsted's winning confection will appeal to fans of Little Women as well as anyone who enjoys a modern twist on an old favorite.

Review:

I've read two of Lauren's previous releases, The Education of Bet and The Twin's Daughter, and enjoyed both.  When I heard about Little Women and Me, I was instantly intrigued. A girl gets sucked into Little Women and has the chance to really experience the old classic? Sign me up! While Little Women and Me did not entirely live up to my expectations, I still liked it, but will probably stick with recommending some of Lauren's other releases to fellow readers.

I started Little Women and Me a few months ago, but was having a hard time getting into so I set it aside. In December I decided to give it another shot and ended up enjoying the second half quite a bit. Emily is a character that takes some getting used to. She is frustrated with being the middle child and boy obsessed, two things that did grate on my nerves a bit, and when she gets the chance to write a paper on something she'd change in a book, she chooses Little Women. Considering I have never read Little Women, I sometimes felt a little lost with all her references to the different characters. Luckily, things started to make sense the more I read and I definitely know I need to read the original book now!

As I mentioned before, the main character did take a little while to connect with. She seemed a little immature and even by the end of the book I never really cared for her. The other characters were very well done, though. I liked getting to know the different March sisters and seeing how Emily interacted with them.

The plot was very original and I found myself wondering what classic I would like to be "transported" into. The beginning of Little Women and Me went a tad slowly, but things really started to pick up by the last few chapters. There was a great twist that surprised even me! 

Lauren Baratz-Logsted is a fantastic writer and if I had connected with the main character better, I probably would have enjoyed the book a lot more. The plot was fantastic, though, and if you are a fan of the original Little Women this is certainly one you need to check out! 

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

November 8, 2011/Bloomsbury/336 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books by this author: The Education of Bet, The Twin's Daughter, Crazy Beautiful