Jo & Laurie

May 18, 2020
De la Cruz and Stohl’s affectionate tribute to Louisa May Alcott’s work takes place in the year between the 1868 release of Little Women and the 1869 publication of Good Wives, two volumes that are today published as one. At 18, Jo March struggles to produce a sequel after the success of her domestic novel loosely inspired by her family. Buoyed by the novel’s success and overwhelmed by demands for a happy ending—that is, marriage—for the sisters, she toils to find direction on and off the page. Eventually, Jo must balance commercial callings, reality, and fiction as the siblings’ real lives (and shifting relationships with Laurie, the steadfast boy next door) overlap and diverge from Jo’s imaginings. The authors carefully mimic the setting and dialogue style of Alcott’s works, making their care for the characters apparent. Inspired by the original novel’s events and further structured around Alcott’s history and letters, de la Cruz and Stohl’s novel is a playful addition to the world of Little Women, providing readers with a richly imagined look at grief, creativity, and authorship that infuses the beloved characters with new life. Ages 12–up.

September 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-As many fans know, the classic book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was originally published as two separate novels, Little Women and Good Wives. In this audio, notable YA authors Stohl and de la Cruz tried to imagine what went on in Jo's life in between the two novels. It's 1869, and after Little Women's surprise success, Jo is having trouble coming up with a sequel, but the family's poor finances and her editor demand that there be one, and soon. The book's readers insist on a sequel in which all four girls end up married and living happily ever after, but the fiercely independent Jo is resisting the idea of marriage, both for herself and for her character. Not all of her sisters are thrilled with how they were portrayed in the original book; many scenarios of what should happen to their characters in the sequel are suggested, adding some levity. Cassandra Campbell performs the book, differentiating among the characters well, and bringing the beloved characters to life. Jo, Meg, Amy, Laurie, and John Brook are all back, along with others, and their different personalities are portrayed expressively and perfectly by Campbell. Romance is in the air, along with a couple of twists in the audio which may change listeners' minds about certain characters. An author's note precedes the story and a historical note concludes it, giving context to the story. VERDICT Fans of the classic Little Women will either love this different take on the novel or be horrified in Alcott's name.-Julie Paladino, formerly with East Chapel Hill H.S., NC

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