I probably would have liked this book a lot more if I had read it in the third grade when all my friends were completely obsessed with it. Why did I not read it in the third grade? Was I just weird and stubborn? Probably. (I was such a Jo.) At least I understand many of the references that my third-grade friends kept referring to. Oh poor Beth, oh dreamy Laurie, Jo and her hair, etc etc, etc.

GOOD

+ Many very well-drawn characters in the women, especially Jo and Amy, who learn and grow in interesting ways over the course of the novel.

+ Very warm rich relationships between the sisters and their mother. All the girls have recognizable and relatable flaws, and they act like sisters — yes, they love each other dearly, but sometimes they just can’t take each other’s crap.

MEH

+ Most of the minor characters, especially the men, are vague and flat, or named but not really there at all.

+ It was clearly written in installments, so it feels episodic, with very little end-to-end plot.

+ Occasionally preachy and moralizing in tone. (there is a moment I LOLed when an editor tells Jo to take the morals our of her stories because “morals don’t sell.” This is very meta for a kid’s book!)

+ The final matchups of the younger girls feels forced and strange and out of character for both.

I’m glad I read it, finally, and I totally get why so many girls love it so much. But I think I lost my opportunity to really love it.