Jo & Laurie

Margaret Stohl · Melissa de la Cruz

Jun 2020 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Bestselling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz bring us a romantic retelling of Little Women starring Jo March and her best friend, the boy next door, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence.

1869, Concord, Massachusetts: After the publication of her first novel, Jo March is shocked to discover her book of scribbles has become a bestseller, and her publisher and fans demand a sequel. While pressured into coming up with a story, she goes to New York with her dear friend Laurie for a week of inspiration--museums, operas, and even a once-in-a-lifetime reading by Charles Dickens himself!

But Laurie has romance on his mind, and despite her growing feelings, Jo's desire to remain independent leads her to turn down his heartfelt marriage proposal and sends the poor boy off to college heartbroken. When Laurie returns to Concord with a sophisticated new girlfriend, will Jo finally communicate her true heart's desire or lose the love of her life forever?

Ratings and reviews

Okay, I want to start this review with just mentioning that this book is getting an unnecessary amount of hate because of what it's about. The Goodreads rating has been going down because people who haven't read it are rating it! If this isn't your cup of tea, no problem, but I'm here to judge the book on the content, not just on the idea. Personally, I thought this book was cute. Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz both know how to write a solid book, so I didn't think there were any glaring issues with it. I think that's it's an interesting reimagining of the ending (and beyond) of Little Women. Stohl and de la Cruz, in my opinion, make the characters their own enough that people who haven't read Little Women will be able to enjoy this. While I liked Laurie and Amy getting together in the source material, I didn't mind the changes made here. However, this book did drag a little bit. It wasn't anything groundbreaking or lifechanging, but I didn't think it was supposed to be. Overall, I think that this was a light, fun, and cute read that a lot of YA readers will be extremely happy with! 3.5 stars

While I was very excited to read this book, I was also a bit nervous. The original Little Woman is definitely a cherished thing in Western culture, so the idea of a spin-off was slightly off-putting (even if it did promise something I'd always wanted in the original). However, as I began reading, I simply found myself enjoying the story--not really worrying about its relation or possible "slander" of the original. I mean, there are plenty of spin-offs for classics like Sherlock Holmes or Pride and Prejudice--which toy with ideas of romance not present in the original. What makes this story any different? To me, nothing. Its simply a nice story written by fans of the original, imagining a different path the original story might have taken. Overall, it was a very sweet and enjoyable read.

This was a sweet retelling. I enjoyed reading this version where Jo and Laurie end up together instead of him going off to marry Amy. It was easy to visualize all the different places, from Concord to Boston and New York. I think it was cool how Laurie took Jo to New York, along with Meg and Mr. Brook and they got to see shows, including Charles Dickens, to try and help Jo be able to write a worthy sequel to Little Women. It was fun to read the different versions she tried first. They were quite funny. I did not mind the difference between this book and the original story. There are so many retellings of tales, from Robin Hood, to Romeo and Juliet. That does not make it a bad story, just different. I wish people would not prejudge it and call it sacrilege, without even bothering to crack the cover. The historical note at the end of the book also helps to explain why the authors wrote the characters the way they did. That was a cool little peek into the history of Louisa May Alcott and her original novel.

About the author

Margaret Stohl is a #1 New York Times bestselling nerd, world-builder, video game creator, comic book writer, and festival founder. As an award-winning young adult author, she has been published in fifty countries and thirty-two languages and has sold more than ten million books worldwide. She has published fifteen novels and graphic novels, as well as contributed to several games and countless comics since her debut. Some of her best known works include the Beautiful Creatures series, the Black Widow: Forever Red duology, the ongoing Mighty Captain Marvel comic, and the Life of Captain Marvel miniseries. Learn more at mstohl.com and follow Margie on Twitter @mstohl and on Instagram @margaret_stohl.

*****

Melissa de la Cruz is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly internationally bestselling author of many critically acclaimed books for readers of all ages, including the Alex & Eliza trilogy, Disney's Descendants novels, the Blue Bloods series, and the Summer on East End series. Her books have sold over eight million copies, and the Witches of East End series became an hour-long television drama on the Lifetime network. Visit Mel at melissa-delacruz.com and follow her on Twitter @MelissadelaCruz and on Instagram @authormelissadelacruz.