Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Little Women (Classic Graphic Remix, 1)

Little Women, fixed! So much better than the original novel!

Rey Terciero pulls the cast into the modern day, adds diversity, and jettisons all the awful, sexist social morals of the 19th century. And good riddance to them.

Other stuff had to go too, for space. I missed the focus on Jo's writing and the sister's plays. I was happy to see that Laurie, the little punk, was mostly sidelined.

Wisely, this graphic novel adapts only the first part of the novel, meaning the new story doesn't have to rush too much as it just covers a year in the life of the Marches. (Even so, some scenes are a little abrupt and awkward.) Most importantly, there is the potential for a sequel. Yes, please!

(p.s., I also recommend the new movie by Greta Gerwig. It show more managed to fix the flow and the ending of the novel.) show less

The first chapter is one-to-one, but the story develops into a conclusion that's fairly different but a good adaptation of Alcott's intentions. Lots of good details (the Marches are a blended family, Jo is gay, Amy likes video games and monster comics, Beth gets cancer and the girls shave their heads for her).

The language was a bit stilted. What teenager uses the word "deluded"? And why do we only refer to Mr. March as deployed to "the Middle East"? If we're avoiding naming a country for fear of the implications, I fear they're already there in his military service.

I also disagree with the characterization of Mrs. March. She was a more realistic mother figure in this, to the point that it no longer felt like Marmie at all. Absolutely show more do keep the exhaustion and frustrated moments, but she also needed more moments of wisdom and self-reflection. At one point, she finds out Amy was exploring some adult websites and her mother's response is to ground her. Why punish a child for being curious, especially since her curiosity means that Amy hadn't had a "talk" previously? show less

I'm not quite sure what the authors/illustrators were trying to accomplish with this. At times, it adhered strictly to the original story...and at others, it threw everything of the original out the window in favor of unfamiliar characterization and modern-day moralizing. It seemed what this book really wanted to be was somewhere in between...and it just didn't quite get there.

A charming modern take on the first part of Little Women (it ended with Beth in remission, not her death, so a lot of kids who were introduced to Little Women through this book are going to get a sad surprise when they read the original). I was a bit unhappy about Jo's big secret being that she was gay...given her (and Alcott's) focus on activism and professional passion over love, it would have been better to have her be ace. Though it was a nice twist to have Aunt March's (here "Aunt Cath") angry reclusiveness be due to her own long-buried secret.

This is scarcely a "retelling" of Little Women, but it's interesting how it captures the creepy preachiness of the original novel and updates it for the 21st century. In this case, the moral issues are LGBTQ (good), bullying (bad), and for crisis we get a case of cancer that Beth survives. I believe she most likely survives because the author doesn't care to expand the book to include a subplot of coping with grief. Everything wraps up neatly and tidily.

The other thing that the new authors did as well as the original book is creating an ensemble of four strong and charming sisters. (I liked Mrs March of this book better than Alcott's version -- less smarmy and less inclined to guilt trip her girls.) I also very much liked the backstory show more of the multiracial family, kudos for that. Racism could have been another moral issue, but isn't really coped with -- it's pretty much out of nowhere when Amy expresses fears and concerns around being black. I'm guessing that, like grief, it's too complex and too difficult to resolve quickly with happy feels. show less

I was surprised how much I liked this book -- retellings can be very awkward -- but I think Rey and co. did a fabulous job in how they chose to update it. I was astonished how well this story adapts to modern life and challenges. The exposition-via-emails did feel a little forced, especially the first couple, when the author is trying to establish how this blended family came about, but I enjoyed the larger storyline a lot. Surprised at the Beth plotline, intrigued by Jo's. Translates amazingly well, and I think Alcott would have liked it.

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy by Ray Terciero and Bre Indigo is a graphic novel that retells the classic story of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. In this version the March sisters are from a blended family with Meg and her father being black, Jo and her mother white while the younger girls, Beth and Amy, are of mixed heritage. They live in a brownstone in Brooklyn, the mother is a nurse while the father serves in the military and is deployed in the Middle East.

Many of the details of the original book are included but in an updated manner and readers of the original will certainly recognize the girls from their personalities, but their problems and inner feelings have been given new twists more in line with today’s young women, from show more concerns about their future careers to dealing with racist bullying and their sexual identity. The story is enhanced by the letters and e-mails that the girls send their father which allows the reader access to their inner thoughts.

I thought this was a wonderful update on one of my favorite stories. The artwork is colorful and attention grabbing, and the story works well in it’s contemporary setting. My only quibble is that all the important issues that were raised were quickly dealt with and smoothed over which simplified the story somewhat. I would love to see a sequel at some point to see how the girls progress. show less