I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of Little Women, you will love this re-telling!

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

I love the idea of this book, but ultimately I was not able to finish it as it did not hold my interest. I love the retelling of Little Women and setting this book with a black family in the Antebellum South. It looks like other reviewers who loved Little Women also loved this book - I was more interested to see how the author chose to rework some of the story, and once I figured that out I decided not to finish. Still, this is a fantastic idea and I think many readers will really enjoy this book.

I love how this was a remix! There are many people who will love reading this or have it read to them. The characters are very recognizable. We need more remixes of the other classics!!

I was a little apprehensive about this book, while at the same time desperately wanting to read it, because I've greatly enjoyed Bethany Morrow's other works and Little Women was my absolute favorite book growing up. I can't even count how many times I read it while dealing with middle school and high school stress. And I can now say without hesitation that this retelling knocks it out of the park.

One thing Bethany Morrow does especially well here is remaining true to the heart of the original story while still crafting it around a different family with a vastly different history and set of needs. Their desires, though, are very familiar. Meg wants a husband and family of her own, Jo wants to write and retains her tempestuous nature, Beth is sweet and gentle and loves to sew, and Amy is headstrong, a bit spoiled, and talented at art (dancing, in this case). But above all of those things is their love for one another and their closeness as a family.

I got hints of Jo being asexual here which really resonated with me and I found it very true to both this Jo and the original Jo. I am glad that this Lorie was willing to let Jo love him in her own way and not try to change her.

I think the choice to turn the March family from a poor Northern family with their father fighting in the Civil War to a formerly enslaved black family fighting to gain their freedom was brilliant. Their struggles and disagreements and love -- everything about them really -- were given a much deeper meaning and resonance. Beth's mysterious disease not occurring in white people so of course their doctors were perplexed. The way Amy was spoiled made so much more sense when taken with the fact that the entire March family were trying to give her the childhood none of the rest of them were allowed to have. Jo's book-in-progress being criticized not because she is a woman but because she dares to write intellectually instead of using the broken English and dialect expected of a formerly enslaved Black woman. The struggles are the same. The meaning and depth in every action and conversation are just. So much deeper. I'm in awe.

That last line of the book was utterly perfect and made me cry it hit so hard. Just. Beautifully crafted.

I also learned SO much while reading this book. I grew up in North Carolina and had no idea the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony even existed. Much as I have recently learned a LOT of things about the history of this country and its treatment of Black people that I never learned growing up.

This is a case where I think the audiobook narrator actually detracts from the story being narrated. This book deserves 5 stars absolutely, but I'm only giving the narrator 3. She spoke too slowly, with a somewhat odd lilt that made me a bit twitchy as I listened. I ended up speeding it up to 1.5x speed which at least made it go faster. Once I gave up on the audio and started reading my enjoyment of the story increased greatly. I wish I'd read it from the start because I think I'd have loved it even more and gotten more out of it.

*Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, and MacMillan Audio for providing an e-arc and audio arc for review.

I am sad to report that I didn't get through this whole novel. What I did read of it I liked a lot. I got some historical information I didn't know about. But I struggled through reading it since I thought it was a retelling of the Little Women story and not a remix. I will try and go back to reread it some day. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it. I did like the descriptions of the time period and the characters.

I absolutely adored this book and all the gems that Bethany dropped throughout! It felt like a history lesson with balance of facts and anecdotes! There was so much witty banter, I laughed quite a bit! I love the switch in perspectives as well. I finished this book so quickly and I would highly recommend it!

I love that this is a retelling in the viewpoint of an African American family. I cannot wait to see what else Morrow writes!

So Many Beginnings follows the classic sisters we know and love: Meg, Beth, Jo, and Amy. Only this time the story has been remixed to set the sisters, now recently emancipated in the midst of the Civil War rather than after it like the original story. Meg, the teacher, is dying to get married. Beth, the seamstress, tries to find the good in all things. Jo, the writer, is the voice of Civil War Era Blacks. Amy, the dancer, is spoiled but always speaks her mind. Together they navigate their personal lives coupled with the weight of the crimes committed against their people. The story is slightly changed from the original, but I think Morrow does a really good job of staying true to the characters. The change that surprised me most, which I won't spoil here, was a pretty dramatic change made to the story that had nothing to do with changing the race of the characters. All in all, this was a unique perspective on a classic story that couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Advanced Reader’s Copies (I ended up with an egalley and the audiobook) that were provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is from Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners and the egalley is from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Feiwel & Friends.

Ok, so let's get this out of the way first. This is a REMIX, not a retelling. They're two very different things. These are not Louisa May Alcott's March sisters, nor are they supposed to be.

Once starting SO MANY BEGINNINGS, I immediately did some research to learn more about The Freedmen's Colony on Roanoke Island because it's not something I know much about. And that's one of the beautiful things about reading books about people who have different life experiences than yourself.

Jo is still my favorite and I think Morrow allowed for a really important moment when Jo stood up for her writing in Boston. Sure, that moment is about the late 1800s, but it's a debate that is still happening today.

I think Morrow captured the feel of Alcott's LITTLE WOMEN while making it her own story. The historical events happening in the background that drive a lot of the story are also really interesting and I think the add to everything.

This was an interesting read and I'm excited to check out more of the Remixed Classics series.

Side note: I appreciate that Morrow made Amy less annoying (I said what I said).

Adenrele Ojo does a great job with the audiobook narration.

Marrow did a fantastic job keeping to the original story with some simple changes to the characters. I found that the inclusion of both the positive and negative events that were taking place during and after the Civil War causes the reader to become empathetic towards everything the March’s are facing in their colony.

All of the March women are so strong and loving. The way the family is always there for each other starts to become contagious. Each sister has her own road to travel throughout the story, but family remains the key focus.

The majority of the story takes place at the Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony. Many may have never learned about freedpeople colonies before reading this book, which is why it would be an excellent addition to any school’s library.

Overall, this was an excellent retelling, an easy read, and positively entertaining story that every school should order for their libraries!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and early audiobook copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix

Author: Bethany C. Morrow

Book Series: Remixed Classics Book 2

Diversity: Black MCs and love interests and side characters.

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: classical retellings, young adult readers, historical fiction

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Classic Retelling

Publication Date: September ,7, 2021

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Pages: 304

Recommended Age: 12+ (Slavery, Romance, Microaggressions)

Explanation of CWs: Slavery is very prevalent in this book and is the foundation for the story. There is also marked events of racism and migroaggressions by the few white characters.

Synopsis: North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:

Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.

Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.

Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.

Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family's home.

As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.

Review: I really like this remix of Little Women. Even though I have not read the book, I knew about what it should be about LOL. I didn't feel like from what I've heard about Little Women that this book was a lot better than it, but I really don't like classics to begin with. I loved the character development and the World building. I thought that the pacing was very well done and the story overall was very well written. I also loved the little nods to the original including the father's name being Alcott. I also feel like the book did very well commenting and showing the racism that happened after the Civil war. I feel like a lot of people think that racism and slavery and everything ended when the Confederacy gave up and this would be a great book to show them that that is definitely not true and still happens to this day unfortunately.

The only thing that I really didn't like about the book is that the plot was kind of disjointed. But I'm really not going to count that off for the book because I have not read Little Women so I don't know if Little Women is like that but it just felt like there was a lot of storylines going on around the same time and there was time skips and stuff like that and then the end really didn't resolve any conflict but there really wasn't any. Don't get me wrong the book is still really good, I just don't know if this is what Little Women is all about, but I have a suspicion that it is LOL.

Verdict: Highly recommend!

Pros
Little Women Love: Any fan of Alcott's Little Women is sure to love this book. It so perfectly reproduces the flare and feeling of its source material, from the word usage itself to the bonds of sisterhood. The sisters themselves may be in a drastically different situation because of the historical context surrounding the color of their skin, but they still have the spark of the March sisters as we've always known them.

Reclaimed History: Not only does this book remaster a piece of beloved literature, it reclaims a piece of history as well, featuring the lives of women of color prominently so that these women, too, can have their coming-of-age story. They can discover themselves, reach for their dreams, lean on their sisters, and grow up in a world of change and uncertainty to be strong and independent. And that's something more literature should seek to do.

Jo's Passion: Jo is always a favorite, isn't she? She's always passionate and full of wit, no matter what part she plays. But Jo's passion is all the more poignant here. Not only does she speak for women. She speaks for all people of color, as well, and her passionate truth is just as true today as it was in her little slice of history. She is hard, unwilling to compromise to nurture the sensibilities of those who don't want to believe her message, and that's all the more powerful with her new skin tone.

Cons
Modern Sensibilities: Little Women always reads a little preachy, in my opinion, and this book is no exception. Sometimes it's a bit much, especially because it wasn't written in a piece of history. It's a modern novel, and when its words so clearly connect to the contemporary age, it's sometimes poignant. And sometimes it's a bit too meta-narrative.

Slow Moving: This book isn't very long, and it adopts a long-winded style to mimic its source material. With the drawn-out style in mind, there ultimately isn't much that can happen in so few pages, and so it moves slowly to produce what it does.

Long Chapters: The chapters are both long and long-winded here. That is also due to the style, of course, but it nonetheless makes this book hard to digest unless you have a block of time to sit and dedicate to the long chapters. It won't appeal to every reader because of this, even though it isn't the longest piece of literature in the world.

Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
6/10

Fans of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women will fall right into the familiar lilt of this Civil War narrative. Those who appreciated the color added to Netflix's Bridgerton should soak up this piece of reclaimed history.

As a huge fan of the original Little Women I can say this one is a great retelling. I thoroughly enjoyed the creative changes Bethany C Morrow made while writing her story. She respected the original story while creating her version and I think that in itself is one of the greatest things about this book. The only thing I think might bother some is the use of formal language. Not many of us today use such formal words but again I think that makes this even better. I myself love seeing older less used words and was transported right back into a lost world to relearn classic words. I definitely recommend this book.

This was my first time reading a remix of a novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix. I thought that the author Bethany C. Morrow did a good job of staying true to the spirit of the original novel. The names, personalities, and interests are closely aligned. The book also explores some of the same themes of identity, love, work versus domesticity. However, So Many Beginnings provides a perspective we rarely read about in Civil War based historical fiction, which is the lives of those emancipated during that time. What I appreciated about the novel is that she didn’t use the stereotypical version of enslaved people with the “Yessa massa” type of diction. The plot didn’t dwell on their life as slaves, but focused on their life of possibilities. I also liked how Morrow incorporated social and political events during that time including life at the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, N.C., the Union’s efforts to recruit black men to fight in the war, and immigration to Liberia. While I enjoyed the storyline and thought it was refreshing to read a novel with such strong characters, I think part of the reason was because I was familiar with Little Women and found it interesting to compare the two sets of sisters. I wonder if someone without that familiarity with Little Women would have the same enjoyment because the writing style is not contemporary, but rather sticks to the didactic tone and simple and direct language that many “classic” children's stories were written in. And, perhaps that is what Morrow was aiming for. However, that is just a very minor issue in what I feel is a four-star novel. I suggest those using Little Women in the classroom to consider using this novel to do a comparison study between the experiences of whites and blacks during that time period. Thank you to #NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends Books for the ARC.

I really liked the idea of this book. I learned a lot about the times the characters lived in and historical facts that I did not know. I wanted there to be more story, I felt like the ending was rushed. Meg story in particular felt a bit like an after thought. It would have been nice to know how the lives of the characters turned out.

A major component of my master's thesis centered on Alcott's 'Little Women,' so I felt obligated to request this title. I have read LW more times than I could even venture to count because it feels like a warm hug when I return to it. I honestly had low expectations going into this novel because I have been disappointed by other LW-inspired works, but this is one case where I was truly surprised and impressed with what a magnificent job Morrow has done creating a work that can be enjoyed by those who are unfamiliar or intimately acquainted with Alcott's evergreen masterpiece. I really recommend this as a great example of how authors can spin new, interesting threads from old yarn.

For background you should know I'm a big lover of the original Little Women (book and films!) and have been since I was a kid. When I heard about this project, I was cautiously optimistic and very curious to see how this beloved classic might be adapted to follow a Black family of sisters during the Civil War era (the same time period as the original). And I have to say, So Many Beginnings does this very well! It stays true to the heart and tone of the original, but is also something all its own.

Fans of Little Women will enjoy seeing the clever adaptations of the story, but even readers coming to this fresh will come to love this family of very different young women who love each other a great deal. It's a story about four sisters, each with their own personality and interests. So Many Beginnings really nails the characterization in a way that feels authentic, and even the language and style of the prose feel consistent with the tone of the original. But there are differences, and it was cool to see how those played out.

The family is living in the Roanoke colony set up for the formerly enslaved. We get a lot of real historical context here of things that happened (good and bad) in the post-Civil War era. The early part of the book felt a little muddled to me and so it took a bit to fully get into it, but I ended up loving what Morrow did with the story. I want to talk about the changes she made, so mild spoilers ahead for those who are sensitive to them! If you're familiar with the story and don't mind knowing the differences ahead of time, you might find this interesting. If not, stop here and come back later!

************SPOILERS AHEAD***************

Similar to the original, Meg is a homebody who really just wants to be a wife and mother. Early on she has a potential long distance suitor that fizzles out, and later in the book you realize that was setting things up for Amy to have a wealthy love interest who was previously involved with one of her sisters. This gives her story arc something similar to the original (though in this case Amy is a dancer who goes to Boston for training) while not infringing on the different approach to the Jo/Lorie arc. (more on that later) Meg ends up falling for a local boy who does lawn care in town, even though Jo didn't think he was smart enough for her. I liked the way this adapted the original story with John.

Jo becomes a writer of nonfiction, talking about the plight of Black people in America and philosophizing. She eventually is offered the opportunity to write her own slave narrative, mirroring the original Jo writing sensational tales before writing something more autobiographical. But in this case, Jo ends up turning down the publishing offer when they want her to write in a lower dialect because people "wouldn't believe" she grew up speaking proper English while enslaved. The book does a great job of weaving in tidbits like that that really occurred. Another cool change here is Jo is probably meant to be asexual! She loves Lorie, but doesn't want a physical relationship and they end up in sort of a platonic partnership. It's really lovely and an interesting take.

Beth is ill in this rendition as well, but based on her symptoms and the discussions surrounding it I'm pretty sure she's meant to have sickle cell anemia. Which again, is a clever way to address a chronic illness that does affect members of the Black community, and the issues of white medical professionals thinking she was lying because her symptoms would come and go. Instead of dying, Beth decides to emigrate to Liberia and there's a line that nods to the original where she would miss her family "even in heaven". There's also some subtext where you could read Beth as queer, though it's not explicit.

I really enjoyed reading this and thought the author did a really great job of doing something fresh and interesting while respecting original text. Definitely one I would recommend! The audio narration is very good as well. It's narrated by Adenrele Ojo who is just wonderful. If you aren't used to more formal language, it might take you awhile to adjust since as I said, the prose is very reminiscent of the original Little Women. I received an audio copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much!! It did a great job at mimicking the original piece without directly copying it. The characters were lovable and the plot was perfect. I'd absolutely recommend reading this book!

I enjoyed So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow. The subtitle is "A LIttle Women Remix," and I enjoyed all of the parallels between this book and LIttle Women. However, this is it's own story; not simply a retelling. Ms. Morrow tells a great story about an African American family during the Civil War, and I learned about communities that were established during this time specifically for African Americans. It was also interesting to learn how Jo felt when she moved to the north. Her obervations about people liviing in the north and their feelings about people from the south were eye-opening. I choose this book because of its connection to a beloved classic, but it is so much more than that! Thank you to #NetGalley for a free ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Fierce Reads and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC of this title.

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow is a remix (not a retelling!) of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - it re-imagines the March sisters as part of a family of formerly enslaved Southerners who now live in the Freedman's Colony on Roanoke Island while the Civil War is going on. It was a fascinating look at that time from a perspective I've never read about before.

The March sisters are as lovely as ever, but I felt like people who haven't read the original might think that the characterizations are somewhat thinly drawn. One plus is that Amy is not as bratty as she is in the original and subsequently I cared about her more.

It was an entertaining read and I hope people enjoy it.