So Many Beginnings by Bethany C Morrow didn't disappoint. I loved everything about it. Thank to you NetGalley for the ARC!

Allowed for great discussion with students who are a fan of the original story/movie. While it wasn't particularlly useful for my needs, students resonated with the story a lot

For fans of Little Women, this is a creative retelling of the March family story set during Reconstruction after the Civil War. In this retelling, the March family are newly emancipated African Americans trying to make a life of freedom in the Roanoke Colony of freed people. The March sisters Margaret, Joanna, Bethlehem, and Amethyst (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) navigate the post Civil War landscape. While the sisters are separated and come back together and are separated again, their bonds remain strong.

In this book, Morrow offers a new version of Little Women. The March sisters are freed slaves living in the Colony of Roanoke.
Opinion
I must confess to have never read the original Little Women. I honestly have no interest in it whatsoever. Re-writings though? Sign me up.
This book was a fabulous read. It gave insight into what it was like for a newly freed people in the 1860s. I truly had a love/hate relationship with reading this book. I loved the story but when I would read about what "new experience" the March sisters had, I was saddened. This story portrays an ugly part of our history as it is beginning to change.
After reading about Morrow's research, I certainly started thinking about the history that I had been taught. Very few people of color were represented and fewer still the amount of women. I can only hope that this book, and others like it, can help set a precedence that we need to seek the truth in our history.
For those looking for a good book to read, this is it. For those looking for something that will leave them wanting more intellectually, this book is also it. It is a solid book that will offer what you want, be it a good read or to be taught more about what happened than you learned in your history class.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book. Many apologies for taking so long to have read it.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

I've never read Little Women, but something tells me the original could not top the remix. Bethany C. Morrow's tale of four sisters each struggling to find their way in a new world made it so that every reader would be able to relate to one of the girls and empathize with all of them.

I’m a slut for Little Women retellings and this one was *chefs kiss*

There are so many elements of the original story that come through in this remix that you can tell its Little Women at its core, but so many things have changed to give it a fresh feel.

I love that Jo wasn't forced to marry someone in this one and got to live her little Ace lifestyle with Lorie her platonic bff, I love that Beth was given a chance at life with a chronic illness and the discussion here about white doctors not knowing how to treat black patients was so interesting, and Meg and Amy felt so much like Meg and Amy without being boring or annoying.


Some people won't like this one just because so many things are different from the original but its a retelling and reimagining for a reason.

There is so much that one can appreciate about So Manny Beginnings. It definitely is a remix and not direct retelling that covers so many different facets of American history that are often left out of classrooms. However, there were a few structural things that I didn't enjoy about the novel. 3.5 stars

Prior to reading this book, I had the honor of listening to Morrow speak about this book. During that conversation she made sure to reiterate to listeners not to expect a direct retelling of Little Women. Fortunately for me, I've never read the original text so my expectations of a direct retelling were never there. The novel still does focus on the four sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy and the relationship that they share during and after the Civil War. Morrow does a great job crafting each sister, giving them each a distinct personality with a robust back story. One of the most important aspects of this novel is understanding that Morrow does develop a distinct narrative under a similar structure to Little Women. There is some deep diving into topics that directly relate to the Black experience that aren't taught in schools, in addition to debunking certain ideas that people traditional hold about the Civil War i.e. "the North is good, but the South is bad." As an individual that has acquired a degree in history and has taught the subject enough to know how revisionist history is often at play, I really appreciated this aspect of the novel. Morrow isn't just making characters diverse for the sake of making them diverse; there is careful consideration to what their real life experiences would have been during this specific time in history.

There were two things that I struggled with after completing this novel: the length and the narrative voice. In my opinion, Morrow has an extremely distinct voice and way about writing that isn't necessarily my favorite. This is the second novel that I've read by her and I'm pretty sure that her writing style may always be a point of contention for me. There were parts of the book that were made extremely dry by the writing and in some aspects just a tad bit clunky. I also wish that this book was just a tad bit longer. There was so much more that I wanted to know about the sisters and the mother especially since it takes course over many years.

Overall, I think that this is definitely a novel worth picking up. Morrow explores some interesting themes that are extremely important to what the US is currently facing in response to CRT. I'll be interested in seeing what else comes from this Classics Remixed series.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the arc, in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited to read So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix, since I have loved Little Women since I first read it, and am a big fan of historical fiction. Additionally, I am always eager to learn more about the history and experiences of African-American peoples. However, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I anticipated. Perhaps because I am now many decades older than when I originally read Little Women, it just didn't hit me with the same feelings. However, I did appreciate insight into what it may have been like for free blacks during the period of the Civil War. I did purchase a copy for the high school library where I work, and will recommend it to students who enjoy historical fiction, especially those that are curious about seeing history from multiple perspectives.

This is a fun reimagining (that's desperately needed for Little Women). The spirit of the characters is kept the same with some extra nuance. This is a young adult book, so be ready for that kind of tone and pacing while reading this book.

I recommend reading this in conjunction with a Little Women and Bridgerton marathon. The vibes are right.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

"I hope you’ll pass through life’s gauntlet of trials with all your passion and fire intact.”

⭐⭐✨

Thank you to Feiwel Friends and BookishFirst for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

content warnings(from storygraph): racism, slavery, war, mentions of death, chronic illness

I entered a raffle for this book as I was somewhat familiar with Little Women, and was excited to read a retelling of it, especially by an author whose first book I gave 4 stars already. The cover was gorgeous as well. I believe I used this for a readathon prompt where the cover reminded me of springtime!

Please take my review with a grain of salt as I read Little Women many years ago and only gave the original three stars. I don’t remember it much at all, so it’s very possible what I didn’t like is from the original story!

This book felt less like a story and more of a “in this new setting, here’s how I would write my retelling and why”. Everything jumped around and felt like partial scenes or snippets of conversations. I struggled with the audiobook of this as the omniscient narrative made me have to pause and rewind to see who has just thought a thought or said something.

I enjoyed Part Two, especially, due to the March sisters being mostly grown up, and was disappointed that that was only the final part of the book.

I unfortunately did not like the sequel to A Song Below Water either, so this is probably my last read by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Little Women is my absolute favorite classic, so I was really excited when I found out about this book! I also read one of the author's previous books and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to pick this book up. I was not disappointed. This book is amazing.

This book takes place in North Carolina, 1863 and follows four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they navigate life living in the Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island during the American Civil War. I agree with so many other readers that even though I love the sisters from the original classic I think that the sisters depicted in this book were even better. I could not pick a favorite character and I LOVED being able to read from all four sisters POV's.

This is definitely a book that I will be reading over and over again! I highly recommend this book so if you have not read it yet hurry up and find a copy!!!!

Thank you Macmillian for this eARC!
Gosh where do I begin? The Macmillian remix series is so stunning and So Many Beginnings is no different. Our reimagined March sisters are full of heart and heartache. This story has all the nuance and care that is required of retelling this classic but does so in a new and fresh way without sacrificing any of the soul of the original. Morrow breathed new and needed life into this one.

A great retelling of a classic that also acknowledges America's rough past. This would be a great book for high school remedial readers because the language is easy to understand but the themes are complex.

I loved the new take on a classic tale (hello that ending that we needed the first time). While I have yet to read the original, I am a huge fan of the movie and that is what drew me to this book. I could not put it down, and I loved the dynamic between the sisters. Would love to read another work by this author!

Actual Rating: 3.5

If someone would have told me there was an asexual character in this, I would have gotten to it much quicker. The first time I attempted to read this, I only got a chapter in because I struggled with getting into the writing. Over a year later, I attempted again and am glad I did. I loved the focus on the freedpeople’s colony and the differing opinions amongst the Black characters about what they felt freedom was supposed to look like. History is messy, and the racists got to write most of it, so it was refreshing to read from the perspective of formerly enslaved people attempting to forge their own paths. It’s hard to pick a favorite sister, but I liked older Amy’s personality and growth. In general, it was beautiful to read about the closeness of the family and the bonds between the sisters. I remember very little of Little Women, which I haven’t read since I was young and have never seen, so I think that worked in my favor since I had nothing to compare this book to. Overall, I found the plot and characters enjoyable, it just took me a little longer than I would have liked to get invested in the story

Here's the thing. LIttle Women is my absolute favorite book ever. This is not Little Women. The only thing they really had in common is that there are four sister. This would have done better in my mind if it had been marketed as its own unique book. Pushing it as a Little Women book did it no favors.

This was a great reimagining of this classic tale. Bethany C. Morrow is a talented writer who knew how to make this story her own!