Based on the classic story "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, this story takes our beloved characters into a retelling set in World War Two. Meg, Jo, and Amy are dealing with the grief from the death of their sister, Beth, and the tragedy that has moved the USA into the war. With fights and miscommunication between them, they are thrust into their own adventures taking them all over the country and across the pond. This is about the lessons they learn and how sisterly love can overcome anything.

This book started slow but once I hit 20%, I could not put it down. I loved the alternating POV chapters. I loved that there was a different author for each POV. I think it enhanced the perspectives a great deal and allowed for the sisters to have a unique voice. While Beth's sections were always short, they were incredibly impactful. "Waiting" absolutely crushed me in the best way. I loved seeing what the three sisters were doing to help the war efforts.

I didn't make it through more than half of this book before giving up. I really wanted to love this continuation of the March sisters' story, but it just didn't hold my attention.

This was such a wonderful, unique retelling! I loved each of these writers' work individually and felt that they told a really beautiful, cohesive story together. The setting, while still historical, felt both refreshingly different from the original Little Women while still familiar in the ways that mattered. I thought this was super well-executed.

I love Little Women and I've read it several times. I thought that I would really enjoy a modern adaptation or retelling of this beloved story. I was excited to read this book set during World War II. However, I just could not love this story like I loved the original. It's no ones fault but my own. I'm sure others might enjoy it more than I did. I liked the story, I just didn't love it.

I am obsessed with reimaginings as of late and this one does not disappoint. The way the March sisters experience from the original fits so seamlessly into a new era was great to read.

As four different authors are writing a different sister’s perspective, it could’ve easily felt disjointed. However, it all came together beautifully.

An amazing ode to the original, but in a fresh, modern retelling.

Little Women is one of my all-time favorite books, and I cannot help but pick up every adaptation that is made. This one does an especially great job of taking a classic and making something new that stands on it’s own.

Like the original, this book is fundamentally a moving story about a family in wartime, though this family is living nearly 100 years later during World War II. I loved how each author wrote from a different sister's perspective, but the story fits seamlessly together.

I really enjoyed this book. The twist of morphing the same March sisters' experience of "the war" to be that of World War II made the familiar story feel simultaneously refreshing and comfortingly familiar. Moving the narrative forward approximately eight decades, for me, made the struggles and doubts, as well as the triumphs, that the girls experienced feel even more relatable. I applaud the decision to set the book after the loss of Beth, while still including her voice as she looks on from "beyond". Her contributions in verse were beautiful.

Unfortunately, I don't know how likely I am to purchase this book for my library's collection, given what the circulation statistics show me regarding my community's interest in historical fiction and similar stories. However, I will certainly be recommending the title to anyone looking for a new twist on this classic tale.

OH. MY. GOSH. I thought I loved Little Women before, but this put it on a whole new level. While I did find myself skimming some of the Meg chapters, Amy and Jo kept me thoroughly engaged, and the ending is simply beautiful. Five out of five stars, and I will be buying this and recommending it to everyone I know.

Great or Nothing is a breathtaking WWII reimagining of Alcott's famous "Little Women". Written by four authors each writing as one of the famous March sisters. Beth, written in verse, responds at the end of each chapter to what she wishes for her sisters now that she had passed on. Jo, working through her grief while taking part in the war effort building planes in a factory, Meg, staying behind to continue teaching at a high school while her beau is off at war, and Amy living a secret life in England. Each sisters' narration unfolds what it means to experience loss, love, and the discovery of one's desires.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved getting to see what the March sisters would have been up to during World War II. I love reading stories about women's experiences during the war, and the ways that they were able to take part in the war effort, and I think this novel did a great job of exploring that. I loved that each of the sisters was written by a different author. Each of their voices felt distinctly different. I especially loved Beth's poetry and Amy's storyline.

The thing that I didn't love about this book, was that it did not feel like a Little Women retelling. The thing that I (and I think everyone) love about Little Women is the relationships between the sisters and their mother. Marmee was barely in this story, and the sisters are all separated for the entirety of the novel. I think the reason that Amy's chapters were the strongest was that she was with Laurie, so you had their friendship and blossoming romance. The rest of the sisters were all alone and distant - not even writing to each other. So the essence of Little Women was completely missing for me.

So overall, as a story about women and the war effort, it was great. As a Little Women retelling, I don't think it worked.

An enjoyable glimpse of the March sisters if they had come of age just before World War II. There's more of a focus on Amy in this story--she has run away to join the Red Cross in London where she crosses paths with Laurie. Each sister has a story, even Beth, whose poetry speaks from the grave. I loved the placement of these characters in the 1940s. And Jo working as Rosie the Riveter seems quite fitting. The book was long, and not enough happened, so while it started out as wonderful, my final assessment is less enthusiastic. Still a must-read for Little Women fans, maybe not for those new to the March sisters.

I loved this retelling of Little Women. Moving the story from the Civil War era to WW2 felt new and fresh. The WW2 setting let us see the expansion of women's roles during the war. I liked seeing the independence and contributions of women -- creating Victory Gardens, volunteering with the Red Cross, working in factories, flying planes, and writing war stories. It was absorbing and creative.

Each March girl was written seamlessly by a different author. They gave voice to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in way that may not have been possible if written by the same author. I loved how each character felt authentic to the original story, yet updated, I especially liked Jo's storyline. I enjoyed getting to see more of Amy and Laurie’s relationship.

I definitely recommend, especially for the representation of strong and diverse women!

*Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in return for an honest review.*

I think the idea of this book is really cool. It seemed (I have zero experience to back this up) pretty thoroughly researched– there were lots of descriptions of clothes, food, and common words or phrases that either fit with other things I knew about the 1940s or felt pretty on point for what I expected from a story set in that era. There were also lots of references to historical facts and events, from the attack at Pearl Harbor to women working in factories and flying planes (not in combat).

So all that made the story feel really immersed in the time period, and I liked that. What I struggled with, though, is that sometimes I felt like the atmosphere or the setting dominated the story. This happened to me especially with Amy’s character, I think, but not exclusively. Her way of thinking and speaking was so steeped in lingo from the period that sometimes I just felt like I didn’t connect with her.

I thought the decision to tell the story beginning after Beth’s death but still include her as an observer was really interesting. Her chapters are written in verse, and often they add something to what’s happening with her sisters. Sometimes they reveal more things about who she was and her own hopes and dreams. I liked those moments a lot.

One of my favorite things about the book is that in this story, Jo finds another writer, a woman who’s goal is to be a war correspondent. They bond over challenges in their relationships with their sisters, writing, and being dissatisfied with what they’re told are the conventional roles of women. I think seeing the connection between those two as writers and women finding where they belong in the world made for a powerful story to read.

On the whole, I’m not sorry I read the book as there are several things I really enjoyed. It wasn’t what I expected, though.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC of Great or Nothing in exchange for my honest review. I have always been a Little Women fan and have read many versions by multiple authors. This is by far my favorite! I love how the authors each took a March girl and became their voice. Each girl is on their own adventure and finding their path but each of them still has their thoughts and heart with their sisters. I was very impressed with the story line, character development, and ending. Very different than other versions so you won't be able to predict what's coming and honestly I can't love this book enough and couldn't put it down!

The premise of setting Little Women against the backdrop of WWII immediately drew me in. These characters have been re-imagined countless times, but having four different authors voice each of the March sisters was an inspired decision that gave each character their own distinct rhythm and tone. I’ve read several versions of Little Women, and this was probably the first time that I connected with Beth and Meg’s characters and by far my favorite adaptation (shockingly upsetting the 2019 film adaptation’s deathgrip on my soul.) I’ll likely be going back to other adaptations with a new appreciation, which is the highest praise I can give to any retelling.

**SPOILERS**

BETH:
The story starts several months after Beth has passed and the chapters alternate between the lives of Meg, Jo, and Amy. However, in a stroke of BRILLIANCE, we get Beth’s omniscient perspective on her sister’s actions and feelings at the end of every chapter. Beth’s narrative is delivered in beautiful and haunting PROSE that had me in tears. The fact that her narrative is both physically and rhythmically displaced from the rest of her sisters gives it such a poignant quality. In death Beth is even more out of sync with her sisters than in life and this is the first adaptation/retelling that I have read that really confronts how much of a burden that must have been for her. Beth has always served as a sweet but flat plot motivator in my mind, but Joy MCCullough breathed life into a character that I’m sad to say I had never really given a second thought to.

MEG:
Meg’s chapters brought greater depth to her story than I expected. I’ve never particularly connected with or cared for Meg’s story before. Maybe this new found appreciation stems from finding myself in a place in life that has me finally relating to Meg’s themes but Jessica Spotswood’s Meg felt distinct. In this story Beth has died before Meg marries John, who has been drafted and is sent away to basic training before he can propose. Meg is instead left to battle Sallie’s offers and snipes without the support of her husband and with a new understanding of how brief and cruel life can be. If anything, I think this makes the decision to choose a life of love over a life of means even more difficult for her.

JO:
Lesbian Jo is an absolute revelation, and Tess Sharpe did an incredible job with this beloved spunky character. I do wish that her story had been a bit longer and Jo had the chance to progress a bit more. Compared to the other characters, Jo’s storyline didn’t seem as complete, even if it was just as fun.

AMY:
As always, I loved Amy’s stubbornness and bravery, and Caroline Tung Richmond marvelously showcases Amy’s tireless resolve to be “great or nothing” in the face of a world that wants to make her small. The one change in this adaptation that I took issue with was how Laurie’s motivation in proposing to Jo was changed. It was reframed in a way that would be easier for Laurie and Amy to work through but I thought it belittled the real feelings and relationship that had developed between Laurie and Jo. People fall in love, fall out of love, then they do it again. Just because Laurie was rejected the first time doesn’t mean he wasn't in love at all. It’s okay if Laurie is learning about himself and the different types of love he feels for the March girls. It’s not okay to take the easy way out and erase something that I think made Laurie and Amy’s relationship stronger. He had to earn her trust in a real way that finally made him grow up. Conversely, this Laurie is already more mature than the Laurie that Amy first encounters in other adaptations and isn't quite as in need of the intervention that his relationship with Amy provides. This story is more about Amy's growth than Laurie's.

**LAURIE:
Caroline admits that she pictured Timothee Chalamet as her Laurie, and I have to admit that I did as well. So if anyone needs some more Theodore Laurence of the Timothee variety in their life, Caroline DOES NOT DISAPPOINT.

Finally, thank you to Random House Childrens, Tess Sharpe, Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Jessica Spotswood, and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.75/5

There’s nothing I love more than a Little Women retelling, and this one gets it so beautifully right. ❤️

Set during WWII, we find Amy, Meg and Jo spread across the East Coast (and the Atlantic!) in search for purpose and meaning after Beth’s tragic death. Jo is working at a factory in Boston, Meg is tending to the house and teaching at home in Concord, and Amy is living a secret life as a Red Cross volunteer in London.

As far as retellings go, this has been an absolute favorite for me. The perspective of four different authors (one for each sister) allows for narration and storytelling to feel true to each sister, while still creating a cohesive blend among all. Beth’s narration, in particular, was written in verse as post-mortem letters, which felt so right and was something I loved. Additionally, the plot has enough deviation to make it unique and intriguing for beloved fans and newcomers alike, while keeping the framework we so know and love. I found myself dipping back into the time frame and framework I loved at my leisure, which made it all the more enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was an excellent retelling. I appreciate that it was during one of my favorite times in history. I think it was translated well from one timeline to another. The relationships were still there and strong. The story was written well and it was a delight to read.

I am here for all the retellings and one of Little Women? Yes please! Great or Nothing is a reimagining of Little Women set in 1942. After the recent attack on Pearl Harbor, the US starts sending troops to the front and the March family is dealing with the loss of Beth. The sisters each go their own way to serve the war effort (parting on unhappy terms). The structure of this book is so unique–each sister’s point of view is written by a separate author, with Beth’s section written in verse. A thoughtful story, great for fans of Little Women and fans of sister stories. I also enjoyed the glimpses at life on the homefront. #greatornothing #netgalley #bookstagram #booksofinstagram

Thank you, NetGalley and Delacorte, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Although I didn't realize it was a middle grade story, I really did enjoy this heartwarming read. This Little Women retelling is set during WWII after Beth's death. A grief-fueled argument between the March sisters catapults them off in separate directions, as they seek to do their part in the war, while also finding themselves through journeys outside their comfortability. As a retelling, don't expect the same story, but that's what makes this novel worthwhile. It really explored the characters in exciting new ways, while keeping true to the essence of each of the March sisters. I loved that one of the storylines included a sapphic love story, it was raw and thoughtfully explored for a young reader's book. The four different authors were able to effortlessly dive into each of the sisters' stories, and the POVs flowed perfectly. If you like historical fiction and want more of the March sisters, I definitely recommend.

~Little Women retelling
~Multiple POVs (e/sister taken on individually by each of the four authors)
~Historical Fiction - World War II setting
~Middle Grade Level
~Focuses on bonds of sisterhood, being a woman in WWII, love and grief
~Sapphic Representation
~Beth’s chapters in prose

Thank you for the eARC of this fun, retelling of a well-loved classic. I was intrigued by the retelling and even more intrigued when I noticed that each of our beloved March sisters is written by a different author. The differences in writing really did lend itself to feeling as though you were reading each sister's personal account. What an interesting choice of writing and I think it worked really well for this particular book.

I appreciated that it was a more modern retelling of the story, taking place just as the United States becomes involved in WWII in Europe. It was an interesting take and I think that it made our well-known heroines only more likeable and relatable. And, Beth's chapters written in prose was such an impactful and powerful way of writing her story from beyond the grave. I loved this.

I did struggle some with this only because there were a few nods to pop culture or history that just didn't quite fit in with the timeline of the novel. The authors referenced well known singers and Christmas recordings throughout the novel and when do a little digging, the timeline was off. This frustrated me because the book would have been just as good without those references and the fact that they were off on their timeline was an error that could have been avoided completely.

There were several attempts at pointing out the racism and hatred towards several populations in this time including Japanese Americans and Black people in the United States, however because of the target audience, this was not elaborated on. I had to remind myself that this was a middle grade novel and that it was a retelling of the Little Women in a more modern version and after the loss of Beth. I would've loved for a more young adult perspective but nonetheless, I enjoyed revisiting some of my favorite literary siblings. And Laurie, always Laurie.