In this incredible take on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, Meg, newly married with young twins, struggles with her new roles as wife and mother and only finds peace in her garden, which then turns into a calling that can help other women who feel similarly. Beth, while not ill, knows she is running out of time, and she wants nothing more than to break out of her home and live her life, and a new friendship might give her that chance and the happiness she wants. Amy, in Europe with her extended family, is pursuing art and marriage knowing that she is expected to marry well but unsure of how to balance herself, her art, love, and the marriage her family needs. With so many incredible themes and characters returning to the pages or appearing for the first time, lovers of the original novel will deeply enjoy Epstein, Malinenko, and Parker’s interpretations of these characters, which are based on Alcott’s three sisters. The characters are naturally the stars of the novel, but the different formats, distinct perspectives, and beautiful world-building and character relationships add so much to this incredible retelling of a classic, nostalgic novel about womanhood and family.

Who wouldn't want to revisit the March household and see all the "little women" from a different viewpoint than Jo's? Me!

Now it has been decades since I've last read [book:Little Women|1934] so I had to keep googling things to refresh my memory. In the first half of the book there's no mention of the father, so I wondered if he had died, but no. (I've read [book:March|13529], so I have a pretty low opinion of him from that book, at least his financial sense.)

I think these alternate histories for Meg. Beth and Amy are all well thought-out and possible based on the original book. They all explore their talents and move on to better things (well, for Beth in the short run). This is written in an almost YA style, but that keeps true to the original.

Beatrice Cenci as painted by Guido Reni. Amy recounts the story of how Beatrice (allegedly) murdered her abusive father and recounted that Dickens thought the painting was impossible to forget.
<img src="https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th/id/OIP.v7bMynHC6hlyRTbvqFRcDQHaJ3?cb=thvnextc2&rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain&o=7&rm=3" width="300" height="300" alt="Beatrice cenci"/>

However, disappointments--

--I was disappointed that Marmee comes across as shrew and calculating for all the daughters...I guess some things never change as when a teenager thinks everything is her mother's fault.

--Letters from Amy during her European tour to her family are included. Perhaps it was my kindle edition, but I had a difficult time reading them. Increasing the font did no good.

--I realize Beth wanted to do more than just housework, but what about all the servants, laundresses, cleaners, and well, 99.9% of the women during that time? Was she implying that Hannah's life was worthless because she only cooked and cleaned?

--It's interesting to see what possibilities Beth, Meg, Jo and Laurie have for romance and friendships. I think Amy would have needed more explanation of what a Boston marriage was. This is certainly a more open-minded book than expected.

If Meg and Amy ever did collaborate on an herbal book--
<img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8b090f_bad45ffd64f6427b87da595964a33497~mv2_d_5745_4803_s_4_2.png/v1/fill/w_462,h_386,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/8b090f_bad45ffd64f6427b87da595964a33497~mv2_d_5745_4803_s_4_2.png" width="400" height="300" alt="artwork"/>

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an electronic ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

If Jo March isn't in the story, it's the Other March Sisters, not Little Women. Recreated and written by Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, and Liz Parker, the novel tells the story of Meg, Beth, and Amy. The storytelling style of profiling each sister was a successful way to delve into the characters' development; however, I felt that I didn't care much for the characters. There was a good amount of repetition that the editor could have tightened up. I was very excited to read the book; however, it left me lacking. I am grateful to the authors and publisher, Kensington Publishing Group, for the ARC.

Little women is one of my favorite books of all time so I was very excited to read this. I liked it but it wasn’t love. I enjoyed Meg’s story the most, maybe because I related to her best. I missed Jo.

Not my favorite, but it was fun revisiting the characters in a new way.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read it. I hope it finds its audience.

You need to have read Little Women to read this story. Each part correlates with a different sister. The prose is pretty, but there is no clear plot line across the sisters.

I was really excited for the Other March Sisters, but ended up having a really hard time with it. I think the struggle was that it began and ended with Amy's perspective. Amy has always been my least favorite and even with the shift in perspective, I had a hard time connecting with her character enough to enjoy the story.

I DNFed this book after really trying to like it. This was ultimately not about the style of the book or the portrayal of the characters. I am not a massive reader of Little Women, although I've seen both movies, and I felt going into it that I knew enough of the story to feel comfortable reading it.

I did not feel comfortable reading it. There were large sections of Amy's story that I did not understand, simply because I did not know the portion of the book they were referring to. I tried portions of both Meg and Beth's stories (my favorite character in the original) and felt the same way. I wasn't "in" enough to understand the references, but the stories were not universal enough to make sense without understanding the references to the original work.

I noted that there were several low reviews on GoodReads and was so sad to see that many of them were upset by there being queer characters in this book. That was actually a reason I was excited to read it and reading review after review of people saying, "But they weren't written that way in the original!" when they KNEW they were reading a retelling made me sad. Apparently the Little Women ladies shouldn't dive too deeply into Louisa May Alcott.

So, I want to end by saying I sincerely hope this book finds its audience, which, in my opinion, is people who love Little Women and also understand that queer people have always existed and that retellings featuring queer characters are very, VERY common in literary spaces. I am definitely the latter, but not the former.

"The Other March Sisters" is a delightful and insightful novel that offers a fresh perspective on sisterhood, family dynamics, and the enduring power of connection. This book provides a warm and engaging read, perfect for those who appreciate character-driven stories with heart.
This book is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction focused on family relationships, personal growth, and the nuances of sisterly love. If you're looking for a heartwarming and thoughtful read that celebrates the bonds that shape us, "The Other March Sisters" is a truly lovely pick.

I really need to stop leaning to other adaptations of Little Women, as they all tend to leave me disappointed. I do appreciate the LGBTQ twist on the story, as I have always headcanoned queerness within the walls of Louisa May Alcott’s story. However… the story as a whole was not quite what I had hoped for. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

A telling of the March sisters. Those that weren’t the focal point of Little Women finally have a chance to have their stories told. Following Amy, Meg, and Beth you get insight into their lives, from their own POVs.

It was really an interesting novel. I regret to say that I haven’t read Little Women yet, though it’s one I plan to read in the near(ish) future. But even so, this one was easy to follow. Easy to jump into the characters’ stories, and each was unique.

It portrays the differences in struggles that even those from the same family face. A great reminder that even if you have a similar background, we all have our own paths in life, some of which we can’t always control.

Though parts of it were unexpected, considering the time period too, I thought it was interesting. It’s inspired me to check out Little Women now!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from @lizparkerwrites, @lindaepsteinauthor, @allymalinenko and @uplitreads . However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.

The longer I think about «The Other March Sisters», the more conflicted I am about what I think about it.

I started enjoying it a lot. I loved seeing life through Amy, Meg and Beths’ points of view, since we didn’t get to do it in the original, Little Women. From Amy I liked knowing how restricted the world of art was for women. I liked seeing Laurie and her get closer, it was something I missed in Alcott’s novel, it felt so out of the blue when I first read it. From Meg, I enjoyed following her steps as she discovered that she’s more than a mother and a wife, that she can still develop her passions and focus on herself. I liked how the author explored the expectations on mothers and wives and how it shapes one’s perceptions. From Beth, I liked how the author touched topics as solitude, sickness, death, Good and Evil. Her love story was quite nice too, I really hoped that happened in the original.

And what was what I didn’t enjoy that much? It’s written from an actual point of view and it breaks the illusion we’re still inside Little Women. There are so many thoughts that people from that period of time wouldn’t have, even though we’d love to think that way. Of course, there were LGTBIQ+ people back then, of course there were people fighting for women’s rights and thinking they were as valid as men, but the way The Other March Sisters’ portray its characters, it just feels like they are more deconstructed and open than they were.

Also, the book paints Marmee like someone I don’t remember her being. And it’s nice to see characters explore their sexualities, but in this book was —for me— too much and too forced, especially on Laurie.

At the end of the book, the authors explained they took some creative licenses, and some got inspired but Alcott’s real sisters. I think there’s where my problem with the book was, they weren’t adding things to characters we alredy knew, but creating new ones that we didn’t fully recognize.

If you read Little Women a long ago, like I did, I think you can enjoy this book. But if you’re a fan who read it thousands of times, I’m not sure this story will be for you.

If you are a fan of "Little Women" this story is kind of same to that or you can say you can remember it about in your subconscious mind. It is basically a retelling. Three sisters who are struggling and figuring out what they want to do in their life. This book also has LGBTQIA+ representation. the writing was good at some times but was kind of overlapping which made it hard to figure out at some point.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the chance to read and review this book!

Little Women is one of the first books I remember reading independently, and I have revisited the story many times! While I loved the idea of focusing on the three sisters who were never the primary focus of the original work, I found what I missed the most was their shared interactions! Besides my love of the original work, I picked up this book because I have loved another novel by one of the authors.

I chose not to finish reading after finishing 30% of the story because I was a little uninterested. Perhaps leaving Jo out meant I missed her fire that created such magic between the group of sisters. I also had trouble finding a through line, it felt like reading many short stories that didn't fit together or present a central conflict. I think this is a great story for someone who often reads and appreciates historical fiction, but it is not a genre I read often, and had trouble getting into the book.

I always love a retelling, especially of my favorite stories like Little Women! I like the twists this one took, and I look forward to more from these authors!

I've never read Little Women, only seen the movies, so I enjoyed this more than I think people who have read the original will. I love the focus on the other March Sisters and that literally Jo is not in at all, even through letters. It really helped center the other sisters. I enjoy that with each sister we got a different side of them. Amy has always been my favorite sister so I loved seeing a more mature side of her in this book, exploring Europe and art, I loved her and Laurie and how the Jo incident was talked about. Meg finds herself raising twins in a life she never imagined for herself, so she finds comfort in her garden and a way to make money of her own. I really liked her story but I was sad that she married John out of spite and not love, that just seemed to far removed from the original, but it was beautiful seeing their love bloom. Beth's was perhaps my favorite store to read though because you really see her deal with her anger over getting sick and being the one stuck at home while all her sisters go off and live their lives. She a very sweet romance with a woman that I just adored! The one thing that bugged me though was how Marmee was handled, she really seems quite villainous, especially in Meg's story and that was just wayyy too hard for me to believe. I think it would've been great to see the sisters have issues with Marmee and how they were raised or treated but within the bounds of what her character was. I felt as though she was an unflattering caricature of her original self.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. From beginning to end, the flow of the story kept me engaged, and the writing style quickly became one of my favorites. The author's ability to weave words together so effortlessly made the experience even more enjoyable. What stood out most to me was the unique and intriguing concept behind the story. It felt fresh, creative, and thought-provoking, drawing me deeper into the world the author created. I found myself completely immersed in the plot and invested in the characters. Overall, it was a captivating read that left a lasting impression, and I look forward to reading more works from this author in the future.

The March sisters are back, and this time, they are telling their own stories. With Jo away in New York, Meg, Beth, and Amy are carving their own paths. Meg finds her calling after feeling unfilled as a wife and mother. Beth longs for life outside of her bedroom. Her time is limited, but she makes a connection that brightens her life. Amy feels the pressure to marry and to marry well, but art is her true heart’s pursuit, and she has some decisions to make while stuying in Paris.

Jo is mentioned, but she told her story, and the authors give the other sisters their turn in this book.

I love retellings/continuations of beloved stories, and I think the authors did a great job further developing these characters and doing deep dives on women’s hearts, minds, and story arcs. Thoroughly enjoyed this read.

This was a lovely extension to the story and characters we are introduced to in Little Women. I enjoyed getting a deeper look into the lives of the other March sisters and having each of them have their own stories, hobbies, talents, relationships and problems. Having the world of little women tackle themes of racism, abortion, and LGBTQ+ was refreshing and fit well into the confines of the original story line. Having three different authors did lead to the book feeling a bit disjointed and there was some repetition in the writing that had me skimming the last bit of the book. I found Amy's parts to be the most tiring to get through which is maybe due to the fact that we are readers are more familiar with her story. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the e ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

The Other March sisters was an interesting retelling of Little Women. I highly enjoyed hearing more from Meg and Beth, but honestly could have done without reading Amy's story. She was always my least favorite character, and I did not feel this particular book added any more depth to her. The adding of LGBTQ+ characters is not an issue for me, and I do not feel that it in any way disrespects the original story. I often wonder what things might have been written about in earlier times had it been more socially acceptable.

With Thanks to the authors, Net galley and Kensington Publishers for the opportunity to read this eArc.

Little Women is a book of my childhood, my introduction to the ‘classics’ and a fond reread over the last 30 or so years.
Finding this continuation, a reinterpretation of the lives of the other March sisters who often sat in the periphery of Jo’s existence and experience, was as exciting as one can imagine.

Starting the book, I was a little thrown off by some of the plot lines and changes in some of the girls’ personalities but soon found the book intriguing and hard to put down. Anyone who has read and loved Little Woman over the years will know, it is hard to step away from the warm embrace of the March family, no matter who has written it!

Some intriguing moments of Amy’s vulnerability, Meg’s discovery of self and service and Beth’s own quiet power coming to the forefront. The writing felt more modern and there were some points that were repeated, which at times became annoying.

Did it feel a little jarring compared to the original, yes. Did it seem plausible that these were the pathways for the girls, no and also yes. Was it that our own view of the story dripped in nostalgia, our own perspectives and experiences made it a little hard to reconcile between the old and new – yes. Readers need to know that author who wrote Beth’s part, was quite inspired by the original author’s (Louise May Alcott) sister, not the written Beth we cherish from Little Women.

I think that if you do love the sisters, this will be an interesting read regardless of your love or hate for it. just like a movie made from a book that doesn’t get it quite right, you know you’ll keep watching it if only to keep living in that universe.