Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Genre: Retellings, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

People who should read this: No one. Not unless you want your favorite classic ruined.

How dare this author ruin one of my favorite, beloved characters? Just the nerve… There’s creative liberty and then there’s forcing your ideas onto something. I have another author in mind that did the exact same thing with a different book. 

I’m not one to rage about a book. I rarely even hand out a one star rating. How can I when I personally know how hard it is to write a book, and that reviews are purely opinion and preference? But there are some books out there that earn every inch of that one star review. Artemis with its blatant disregard for women and other cultures. The Wedding Date which makes my blood boil. And now… Meg and Jo. 

Why did the world fall in love with Little Woman? The movie gods didn’t just make another movie for the fun of it. They knew what kind of money could be made. This little blog alone has seen an increase in interest after my Little Women review. People are obsessed because of the hope and love that the March family portrays. They don't read the book for real life. They read it for the possibility of happiness. 

So who thought it was a great idea to screw that all up????

*Calming breaths…*

Kantra didn’t just do a fun retelling of these girls in modern times. She took their name and their family dynamics and mixed all the horrible things about our world into the story. On top of that, she also changed each character into the worst versions of themselves. If you want a look into what’s wrong with the south, here’s your chance. Not once did I see the strong minded women so beautifully portrayed in the classic.

Funny how Jo came out as more of an angel in Meg and Jo than the original. Still, she was one of my least favorite characters, pushing Amy to the top. The horror of it all. I literally had to force myself to read the book - yes… yes… I did have to read it for my book club - and not throw it across the room. *Sorry library* This would be the book I’m stuck with for all of COVID-19. When will the libraries open so that I can rid myself of it? 

It almost felt like Kantra had it out for the men. Trey (aka Teddy) was a complete brat without a single thing to like. Mr. March, a beautiful strong father figured that his girls loved, was a monster. There wasn’t a lot of time to build up Jo’s love interest to really care, and Meg’s husband barely pulled himself out of the hole. 

To top all of this off, the writing was…. I’ll be nice and say that it lacked depth and finesse. It was missing strong description and sentences to pull you in. Anything that could paint the reader a picture, which lended to a very bland story in general. 

Now that my anger has subsided a little, I feel horrible. I hope that my mouth didn’t run away from me. I just get very bitter with books like this. Not only are they harmful to the fandom, but they’re hurtful to the people that work hard to make it in the writing world. I hope that no one is offended by my thoughts, remember this is only my opinion still, and I hope that the author doesn’t accidentally stumble on this blog. Or maybe I do hope she finds herself here so that she won’t cut apart another wonderful story from someone’s childhood.

Happy Reading

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 86/175