4.5 stars
Warning to all “Little Women” purists:
This is not a re-telling of that classic novel!
Come meet the Porter family through the eyes of the middle daughter, Jo. Not Josephine, just Jo. She has an older sister named Meg, and a younger one named Bethamy. Yes, you read that correctly. Any of those names strike a literary chord, readers?
Teenage Jo would love to get out on the running track of her school in Concord, Kansas, and never stop running. She loves her mother, and sisters, but being a constant part of “Little Women:Live!”, is getting old. When her Louisa May Alcott-obsessed mom inherited a rambling old house and barn, “Marmee” Porter thought it would be perfect for staging beloved scenes from Alcott’s classic. After all, with a family of three girls, she already had the characters of Meg, Jo, and Amy ready, with no casting calls needed. (Yes, only three; even she was not willing to have a fourth baby just for a “Beth”.)
However, that was years ago. The excitement has been lost for the three teenagers, what with the school tours, production season from May to August, and a well-stocked gift shop to help run. And besides, these girls know they are nothing like the family in the book, and that that ancient tome couldn’t possibly have any relevance in today’s society…
Most Memorable Scene For Me:
The Porter family stages a play, just as the original Marches did. However, “Beth” plays not a piano, but a keyboard, for the background music. And I have not stopped laughing yet at the choices she played to introduce each character! No spoilers; you just have to read it!!
This book is definitely intended for a mature Y.A. audience or older. There are references to drinking. drugs, and sex. (Hence my 4.5 star rating.)
I will certainly purchase a copy of this one when it releases in November!
*Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

The premise of this book was really exciting to me as a Little Women fan, but most of the book, I found myself SO FRUSTRATED with these characters that it was hard to enjoy it until the end. Jo was honestly so hostile and rude to everyone that it was too much for me at times. I don’t know how their mom stood by and let all three of the sisters act the way they did. Meg had absolutely no personality and even when the reason why was revealed, nothing really happened. Amy was unbelievably bratty. The pacing for me was really slow until about the 70% mark when actual conflicts started occurred but then they didn’t really get resolved. Everything just went back to normal, no changes or modifications. I wish I liked it more, but this completely missed the mark for me. There were a few really funny moments when the sisters were on stage reenacting scenes from the book so those were really enjoyable. But overall, not for me.


Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eh. So much talking and complaining with little action.
I guess the sisters belittle each other?
Not for me.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

Gotta be honest...I don't understand the positive reviews here. I thought I would love this because I think Little Women is such a sweet book but this...was annoying, boring, and not enjoyable. The characters were one dimensional, the conversations had no depth and we're painful to read, and Amy...couldn't stand her at all. I barely finished this book. I feel so bad giving horrible reviews but you want honest....this would've been a DNF if I didn't have to review it.

Jo lives with her sisters Meg and Amy (technically Bethamy) in a Little Woman themed attraction...that is also her house. It's a lot. The book follows Jo as she tries to realize who she is outside of the specter of Jo March.

Yeah, so romantic YA contemporary isn't my thing necessarily and I tried to re-read Little Women a few years ago and found it didn't hold up so I am decidedly not the target audience, but I think the target audience will enjoy it! It's a quirky twist on a bildungsroman with well realized characters, a very fun setting and lots of very important Life Lessons and whatnot. Personally, I would've liked it better without the romance and the Meg thing (I know it mirrors the book but as a person with a sister...ABSOLUTELY NOT), but again, I'm not the target audience here. I will definitely be recommending it to teens who like contemporary fiction, which is why I read it, so, success. 3 stars.

"Belittled Women" is a fun and easy read but I don't think it's a great homage to the original novel. Reading this only made me want to put this book down and go read the classic Little Women novel instead.

Really unfortunate because I wanted to love this. I wish I would have DNF because this droned on and on with really no positive conclusion.

This was not a great book...The characterizations were very one-dimensional and constantly pounded into your head. I don't think Amy said a single normal thing the entire book, and reading some of her conversations with Jo were painful at times. I'm all for bad sibling relationships but we did not have to read every single one of their arguments.

I was thinking of not finishing this one, but every time I was about to, I would reach a point where it was somewhat interesting. Then this cycle would repeat throughout the entire first half, and by the time I got to the second half, I was like I might as well finish this at this point. The only parts of this book that I really enjoyed were Jo and David's scenes together, but these were often ruined by the other characters. I'm pretty disappointed too since I enjoyed the author's debut, but yeah, this one was not for me.

In middle America, there is a family trying to make a living off of Jane Austin. Four girls and their mother routinely perform Austin-like plays for their audience. Behind the scenes though, there is turmoil. The girls are approaching adulthood and would like to claim their own identity. Each character goes about it differently and some disaster follows. Ultimately, they learn about family.
Opinion
This book is another modern day twist off of a Jane Austin book. Strangely enough, I do not like Jane Austin books but seem to be drawn to the remakes. This book was well done and had me wondering what happens next. I was drawn to the main character Jo as she was trying to find her voice and place in her family. I feel that it will appeal to young adults who are fighting the same battle for own identity.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Don't ask Jo Porter how she feels about Little Women: she lives it. No, seriously. Her mother is a bit obsessed; not only did she name her three daughters Jo, Meg, and Bethamy (a mashup of Beth and Amy), and refer to herself as Marmee. Oh, and they play their namesakes in a running show called Little Women Live!, with school visits coming to watch the family act out - and put unique spins on - scenes from the Alcott classic. Jo is sick to death of it all, she's constantly at odds with Amy, and Meg is just tuned out of everything. When a journalist and her son show up to write article about the Porter family, Jo is intrigued: the journalist asks pointed questions that get her thinking about life beyond home, and Hudson, the journalist's son, is giving her signals. When Jo strikes out on her own and lands in New York on what she thinks is an invitation to stay with the journalist and learn from her, and pursue a relationship with Hudson, she learns that the grass ain't always greener. Narrated by Jo, there are hilarious moments - the dialogue between Jo and Amy is particularly biting and witty - and moments that most teens will understand, like being frazzled by family relationships. You don't need to read Alcott to read and enjoy Belittled Women. A good first purchase for teen collections.

I enjoyed reading this YA book, however it is not my favorite and that’s okay. Many parts of this book were frustrating but I suppose that I because I somewhat empathize with the main character.

The premise of Belittled Women is...interesting. it's certainly never something that I've read before. So--Jo's mom is so obsessed with the Little Women book that she named all of her daughters after characters and they reenact the book as a sort of living history/living story sort of thing. I feel as though to really buy into this, you have to know Little Women well...otherwise a lot of the references are...well, they don't matter.

As for the actual writing, Sellet has an excellent knack for characterization and an immense fondness for the source material. The characters were written well, the dialogue was decent, and the plot was servicable, especially for a YA coming-of-age story.

I was somewhat irritated by the absolute naivety of the main character. I'm all for characters growing up and wising up. But then there's overlooking very obvious character traits and events for the sake of the plot.

A point that I thought was interesting: in the book itself, Sellet critiques the CHARACTERS for not engaging with the Little Women source material/Louisa May Alcott in a critical way. They're called out for not thinking about the whiteness/prejudices/general un-wokeness of the book....but Belittled Women doesn't critically engage with the source material in this way either. It attempts to a few times, and sort of circles the issues, but never lands. If the text itself hadn't called out the lack of awareness, I would have overlooked its own lack of follow-through.

For me, it's a book with an interesting premise but couldn't quite stick the landing. Other readers, especially those with familiarity with the source text, will find this an enjoyable homage to Alcott's work.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's books for the book ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

Like it or loath it, lots of people have opinions on Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women. Jo Porter, named after the distinctive Jo March, contains a unique set of opinions on the matter. Jo Porter, the daughter of a Little Women diehard fan, works with her family to re-enact scenes from Little Women for tourists. Jo Porter would much rather do anything else with her life, making her familial relationships tense.

Jo Porter is like just about every teenager out there. She festers with lots of angst, struggles to figure out who she really wants to be, and pines after a love interest. This creates quite the mix with all sorts of Alcott adorations and critiques. Overall, it’s a cute coming of age story. If a teenage reader is into the classics, I think they’d like seeing both Jos side by side. I liked this story, but I’m not sure I’d eagerly pick it up again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Colin’s Children’s Publishing for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book because we all have a path that we feel we’re stuck on, or a town that we feel we’re trapped in, and we feel like it’ll take something drastic to change the situation, or that we have to go to extremes to feel seen and heard. In this modernization of Little Women, Jo experiences these things and struggles with family obligations, without knowing all the details of her mom’s life choices, which causes her to make an embarrassing mistake and to have a come-to-Jesus moment with her family and friends. She’s transformed by a boy who’s a chameleon and learns to appreciate what she has, but also she learns to communicate and consider other perspectives, and we could all learn to do more of that. This is the best Little Women retelling I’ve read, and I so wish this author would do more retellings! Also, if your vibe Is family performers and relatable annoying siblings, then this book checks all the boxes. The characters are so real because they’re actively fighting the classic book tropes and that writing choice kept me so entertained and engaged with the material.

I will only recommend this book to my students who have previously read Little Women. It's a silly spoof, but the all the references go over your head if you're unfamiliar with LM Alcott.

A good retelling with a modern twist of the March sisters. There were times I didn’t love (see New York scenes) but enjoyed the dynamic between the sisters.

This is a modern re-imagining of the classic Little Women set amongst a family that does live Little Women re-enactments in a small town. Much of the narrative were charming and the idea is a lot of fun. The story feels a little bit contrived at times (the New York trip?!) and many of the characters lack depth. It's a fun, easy read and many of my students will enjoy it but I found myself wishing for less dramatics and more real conversations.

Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet was a fun and entertaining read. I really enjoyed the premise with and the mirroring that takes place in Belittled Women. Jo Porter has been stuck inside a novel her whole life. Being in a family with a mother who has decided she loves Little Women enough to make it and her family's life. Jo Porter, much like Jo from the novel, longs for something more in life than her little town. Out-of-towners come to shake things up and as things become more and more crazy, Jo finds herself looking for comfort inside of her world rather than outside of it. The writing style and the flow of Amanda Sellet is great and lends to a easy and fun read!

The book was refreshing: satirical slant regarding Little Women. A perfect light read for a YA audience. I listened to the book, and feel either reading it or listening you would capture the same enjoyment.

Miigweetch to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for giving me a copy of this book to review.

I was interested in reading this book because I have been a huge fan of the source material since childhood, and recently came across a thread on Twitter that talked about a potentially hidden history of Louisa May Alcott being transgender. Jo March has long been one of my favorite characters in American literature, so I came into this story with high hopes. Despite this, it was not the easy-breezy read I was expecting and the story just didn't work for me.

I would recommend this for Y9/Y10 readers who have no prior experience or exposure to "Little Women." The author does a nice job of crafting parallels between the original tale and this modern re-telling. I liked the quotes from "Little Women" that begin each chapter: I thought that was a great addition and strengthed the relationship between the two stories. The pacing was good and the writing was tight, which I appreciate.

The book is told in the first-person, which is not a POV that I normally enjoy reading, but I do think it works here. However, I never truly connected with the protagonist, which made it hard for me to get invested and continue reading. I just think that I am not the intended audience for this book.