Name: Ana Cob's review of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel by Rey Terciero
Item: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel
Rating: 4
Author: Ana Cob

Rey Terciero

2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Join Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they are reenvisioned as a blended family living in modern day NYC in this beautiful, full-color graphic novel. With their father away in the military and their mother working overtime to support the family, the March sisters have to rely on one another to make it from day to day. Whether they're arguing over the bathroom, struggling with homework, fighting off bullies, understanding their crushes, or battling leukemia, there's one thing the four sisters keep questioning--will everything turn out okay? Follow modern young women, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they discover themselves and follow their dreams. This lushly-illustrated story is a must-read for fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile and Sisters, Mariko Tamaki's This One Summer, Svetlana Chmakova's Awkward, and Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl.

A Modern Retelling of Little Women

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel

Ana Cob

renee badenoch

Really cute and charming contemporary reimagining of Little Women. The March sisters are a mixed-raced, blended family in Brooklyn, struggling through life and family squabbles. 

Some of the scenes in this book I prefer so much to the original! One scene that particularly stood out was the scene where Meg is at a party and is chastised by Laurie... in the original book, Laurie belittled her for "dressing immodestly" and it's unbearably cringe inducing. In this version Laurie calls her out for belittling and making fun of a poorer person at a party. It played out in a very nuanced way, like a converstion between two good friends, and Meg's remorse, and subsequent actions felt justified and sincere. 

While Jo tends to get most of the attention in adaptations of Little Women, this version gives a lot more time to all the March sisters. Amy comes across as sharp, vibrant, and sunny. While she is occasionally selfish, it feels natural for her since she's A TEN YEAR OLD CHILD. Meg was also well developed; while interested in fashion and boys, she's also deeply connected to her family and wants to make a difference in the world. Her goals and desires change in the book in a way that felt reasonable for a teenager (and she dumps Brooks, which made me cheer!). Throw in a more diverse cast and Jo being queer, and the book stands as a really great remake of the original 

A few quibbles I had: 

1. I wish that Mr. March was not fighting in the army. It felt incongruous with the diversity and progressivism of mucn of the rest of the book to have an unquestioning acceptance of America's violent and prolonged occupation of Afghanistan, and the pro-war rhetoric used at the beginning ("I'm fighting to make the world a safer place for my girls") was almost enough for me to quit reading. Fuck all the way off with American imperialist bullshit. 

2. A lot of Little Women's original ideas of "it's important to stay strong through hard times no matter what" were really prevalent in this, and made me pretty uncomfortable, especially when directed by white mom at black girls, as well as at Beth, a cancer patient. While the girls are given opportunity in the book to display a huge range of emotions from fear to sadness to anger, they're never told, "hey, its okay to break down and cry" and are frequently praised for being "strong" and "fighters"

All in all, I do think the good parts of this book are enough to outweigh the critiques and Im happy that it's out there fore kids who want to read it. A good (and much less white) recommendation for kids who are fans of Raina Telgemeir.

Author is a queer white man, illustrator is a queer woman of color

Carrington Kinslow

The ONLY thing saving this from a 1 star rating is that Jo was queer. I really don’t think the creators of this graphic novel even read Little Women. If they did, they clearly didn’t understand it. This had absolutely terrible and incredibly inaccurate characterization. This had a terrible case of “We hate Amy March because Jo March is so much better” that has ruined many Little Women retellings I’ve tried to read. The other three March sisters were written to be selfish, stupid, and bland, all while Jo was intelligent, humble, and absolutely perfect. Give me a break. I’m so sick of Jo March stans not being able to see Little Women in its entirety. Jo March stans, you’re all soooo not like the other girls. Authors who are blinded by their adoration of Jo March shouldn’t be allowed to write Little Women retellings, it’s ignorant to neglect the nuances of the other sisters because you have some weird personal issues with them.

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

For both old and new fans of Louisa May Alcott's March sisters, this retelling set in New York City brings all the characters firmly into the 21st century as a multicultural, blended family. All the sisters have their deepest desires and joys to explore: Jo reads and writes, Meg dreams of fashion and plots for the perfect, rich lifestyle, Beth loves making music and Amy is the baby of the family who draws and plays video games. Laurie and his grandfather live in splendor nearby and Marmee, here Mom, works long hours and tries to keep up the hopes of their little women. The sisters squabble and misunderstand each other and make up and then keep secrets that are cleverly shared via Jo and Meg's diary entries and emails from all the girls to their father who is serving in the military overseas. You will find your heart in your throat worrying about Beth and rooting for the literary tomboy in Jo like always, but you will also see a Meg who is more self-reflective and compassionate and will rise to the occasion and an Amy who finds ways to think of others before herself. The solidarity of the sisters is celebrated with fresh commitments to each other and careful attention to the ways young women experience privilege and global awareness today. A re-telling FTW.

Ana Cob &
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel by Rey Terciero

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Ana Cob &
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel by Rey Terciero