Little Women

Little Women

By Louisa May Alcott

54 ratings 84 reviews 92 followers
Book 1 of 4 in the  Little Women Series
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 10 - 8n/a7.9183833

Four sisters live with their mother, facing Christmas without their father as the American Civil War is underway. The family is settled in a new neighborhood, living in genteel poverty after the father lost their money. Meg and Jo March, the elder sisters, both work outside the home for money to support the family. Meg teaches four children in a nearby family, while Jo aids her grand-aunt March, a wealthy widow whose strength is failing. Beth helps with housework, and Amy attends school. Their nearest neighbor is a wealthy man whose orphaned grandson lives with him. The sisters introduce themselves to the handsome shy boy, Laurie, who is the age of Jo. Meg is the beautiful sister; Jo is the tomboy; Beth is the musician; and Amy is the charming artist with blond curls. Jo is impulsive and quick to anger. One of her challenges in growing up is to control acting out of anger, a challenge that also faced her mother, Marmee. Marmee advises Jo on speaking with forethought. The boy Laurie enjoys his neighbors, joining the family often in play and home theatrics written by Jo. His grandfather, Mr. Laurence, is charmed by Beth, and gives her the piano used by Laurie’s dead sister.

Publisher: Signet
ISBN-13: 9780451532084
ISBN-10: 0451532082
Published on 5/1/2012
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Number of pages: 528

Book Reviews (86)

Add a Rating

My favorite girl is Jo. She is sooooo much like me!!!! What an amazing book!!!! I love it!!!

My favorite girl is Jo. She is sooooo much like me!!!!

This book is amazing! The language used is beautiful and old fashioned, but still easy to understand. The book is about four sisters who live with their mother during the beginning of the Civil War. The oldest sister is Meg, who is very pretty and often takes charge when her mother is not around. The next sister is Jo, who is a complete tomboy and very stubborn, but is very loyal to her family and loves to write. Next is shy beth, who is sweet and kind to everyone around her. She loves animals and playing piano. The youngest is Amy. She loves fine things and wishes her family was rich, which could get quite annoying at some times, but she does try very hard to work around it and be a better person. The book centers around the theme of kindness, becoming better people, and growing up. The sisters all become better people throughout the course of the book. Starting one Christmas when their father was away, they gave their special Christmas breakfast to a family in need, and received from an old gentleman next door an even better supper, and ending on a bittersweet note that I shall not give away, this book is amazing. Exciting, and happy, although a bit sad at times, I would definitely recommend this book.

A word to describe the book. Magical. I flip through the pages with tears coming out of my eyes, anger raging through me, and happiness blooming on the pages. I love the characters, plot base, and everything about it. Character wise, there is the oldest, Meg. She is the prettiest and maturest. Following up is Jo, the tomboy, who loves to write, and tries very hard to cope through her anger at times. For the second oldest is Beth, She is a quiet, shy, musician, finding her way to express herself with music. Amy, the youngest one of the four sisters, is also the most obnoxious. She is still learning the ways to act like a lady and is not very mature, but knows a thing or two about art. All of the sisters mother, is struggling with her husband being in war. Of course the March sisters are all worried too, but they have other things to do, like Meg's marriage, who soon has twins to take care of. Amy goes off to Europe old, strict Aunt March to carry on with her painting. Back at home, Jo and Beth still have not figured out what they are supposed to do. Right when Beth is finding out what she means in life, it comes to an end. That just leaves Jo, who also figures out where she wants to be, kind of. A boy she meets who lives across the street falls in love with Jo. But for her he does not suit her. When Laurie confesses his love, Jo breaks it again. Laurie follows Amy to Europe, when Jo goes to New York to become an author. She meets a man who she soon marries, and grows another family. Those are all the plots of this wonderful book who is a big soup of emotions, lives, and the March sisters.

This book shows the struggles and hardships of young ,or little, women during the Civil War. Through disease, love, war and the bond between sisters and family, here is the story of four young independent girls in the 1860s.

lovergrl lovergrl

i love the books and i've read all of them.

This book is perfect for readers who aren't ready to read the "bigger" version of Little Women! I read it when I was 11ish and it was perfect!

I am in 6th but tested in a college reading level. I recommend not reading it until 6th or in a high reading level.

Really? I am in lower than sixth and considered at college reading level. 200 words per minute and 100 percent accuracy.

I have started reading it it’s not my favorite but people say it gets better. I like it so far.

This is a wonderful book. It is about four sisters: the March sisters. Meg; the eldest and the prettiest, Jo; the tomboyish, author, Beth; the sweet, shy one, and Amy; the youngest and most self conscious artist. They and their wise mother have to face the brave of the war going on, with the hanging feeling that their soldier father might not come home. While so, they meet a young man named Laurie, who soon is like a part of the family. Later in the book, Laurie falls in love with Jo. Jo, however, does not feel the same way.When Laurie confesses, Jo breaks his heart. I for one, disagree with this. I feel Laurie and Jo would have made a lovely couple. Later on, Beth gets brushed with death once, but manages to survive. I was really sad when Beth died from scarlet fever, and I wish she didn't. When the girls grow up, each one goes to pursue their dreams except for Meg, who marries John Brooke, Laurie's old tutor. They have twins, and have a happy family. As for Amy, she heads off to Europe with grumpy old Aunt March to paint. While in Europe, she stumbles upon Laurie, who also tried to escape from home for a while to try to mend his heartbreak. Honestly, I think Laurie was being a little creepy. But of course, Amy and Laurie fall in love and get married. And for the last but best character, Jo, she escaped to New York City to study, and writes a book. While there, she falls in love with a college professor, and they later get married. It was a very good story. I recommend it to anyone looking for a relatable historical fiction with excellent vocabulary.

Show More