Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra – 390 pages
Book Blurb:
The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger.
Meg appears to have the life she always planned—the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters. One thing’s for sure—they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.
My Review: 4 stars – Guest Review
Meg & Jo claims to be “a contemporary retelling of Little Women” but I think it would be more accurate to say that this book was inspired by Little Women. Any author that retells a story is undertaking a huge mission, prone to lots of comments, especially a beloved classic like Little Women. Either way, I really enjoyed Kantra’s take on it. It can stand on its own, without the reader having to have read its inspiration.
The author did a great job of staying true to the characters, while adapting them to work in a modern day setting. Jo set off to New York to become a journalist, but due to the ever-changing industry, ends up as a prep cook at a popular restaurant, with a popular food blog on the side. Meg is living the life she dreamed of, a stay-at-home mom with two adorable children, a loving husband with a stable job and beautiful home. Of course, things don’t go as planned for either sister (or we wouldn’t have a novel!) and they both are forced to step-up to help take care of their sick mother. I loved how realistic their relationship was and how even though they relied on each other heavily, they also developed and grew into their own independent women.
Some aspects of the book weren’t given the modern-day update needed to work within its confines. Laurie now goes by Trey and owns a car dealership. His main role in the novel is to pop up at inconvenient times to confess his love to Jo. Although this is Jo’s story, and he’s a supporting character, I felt like he was just added in because he was a huge part of the original novel, not because he added significant depth to Kantra’s story. Additionally, Mr. March’s character seemed so stuck in the past that if you cut the parts of the novel he was in, you wouldn’t know if this book took place in the 20th or 21st century.
As you can guess from the title, the story does focus on Meg & Jo, but we do get a glimpse into the lives of the other March sisters, Amy & Beth. Their story lines are set-up as little cliff-hangers, giving the reader a taste of their lives, but not delving in too deep. I was interested in learning more about their lives based on their cameos in this book which works in my favor as Kantra’s sequel Beth & Amy comes out later this year! Overall, I enjoyed this book and will recommend to people whether or not they’re fans of the classic. Thanks to Carly M. for the Guest Fairy Review.
Quotes I liked:
Do all the good you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can.”
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
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