STORYTIME WITH STEPHANIE

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Little Women 2020

Fans of Little Women, the movies or the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, will ove this graphic novel spin on the tale Jo, An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort of) by Kathleen Gros.

Kathleen Gros has taken a story that has many different adaptations and created a modern and inclusive bent that young readers will LOVE. This graphic novel begins with a blog, Jo’s blog detailing her life and her family. All the sisters are there as is Marmie and they are living life in modern times, going to school and being creative. Since this is not the turn of the 20th century the girls are not preoccupied with marriage and homesteading and are instead teens living life in 2021, going through all of the ups, downs, worries and questions as their readers are. Laurie joins the story as the new next door neighbour and potential love interest of Jo, but Kathleen Gros’s Jo doesn’t have feelings for Laurie or any boy for that matter. Her heart flutters when Freddie from the school newspaper is around.

All of the sisterly love and family togetherness and many of the moments we have come to associate with Little Women are maintained in JO but the graphic novel format and the updated themes breathes new life into the story of the March family and allows it to resonate with so many more readers.