Where do you fit in your family tree? Eldest? Youngest? The middle kid? In the classic novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, four sisters are exactly opposite, making it easier for the reader to relate to at least one of the sisters. Jo, the crazy, wild and happy one; Beth, the studious young lady; Amy, the youngest, defiant and darling one; and Meg, the eldest, who is mature and responsible.

Almost every age group can relate to this book.  In the introduction, written by Jane Smiley, she says, “I know an 11 year old who has read Little Women. I know a 14 year old who has read Little Women, and a 19 year old, a twenty-eight-year old, and a 40 year old. I am 57. I read it two or three times before I turned fifteen…” . Every age girl can usually relate, and even guys!

This story is about four daughters who are poor and their dad is off at the Civil War. It is the story of Jo, Meg, Beth, Amy and Laurie, a young man who lives with his rich grandfather who is their next door neighbor. The story is about how they grow up and influence each other in their personal lives.

My favorite part in the book is when Jo and Meg go to a party, and that is when Jo first meets Laurie. Jo and Laurie have a romantic interest that breaks when Laurie tries to get together way too early, so Jo travels away and becomes a nanny and falls in love with Mr.Brook. He is Jo’s tutor and an author, he is poor but has high goals. . Jo and the author cannot be together, but no matter what happens, love is love, and they end up together.

Little Women is one of the best books to read because it is they type of book you want to get a cup of hot chocolate and sit next to the fireplace. Some of my favorite parts are when Jo and Laurie go ice skating on a lake and Amy is angry that she isn’t allowed to come and she ends up coming and falling into the lake. It took teamwork and effort to get her out, it shows the love Jo has for her sister. Another one of my favorite parts is when Laurie is trying to get Jo to forgive him, and gives her a hair clip. Jo isn’t ready for forgiveness and sticks up for herself, and leaves. This shows that Jo is sticking up for herself and how she isn’t going to give up on her dreams because of a boy.

This book is one of the best romantically, especially in this era. If you were asked to get married, a lot of girls would have said yes; even more so because of the different classes. If you were poor, you expected to marry poor, and not rich. In the end of most romances, they end up with the boy in the beginning, but not with Little Women.

By Ashley Chapman