Yes, Rey Terciero's 2019 graphic novel Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women does definitely and indeed contain some if not even many of the general thematics of Louisa May Alcott's classic 1868 Little Women (that the March family's father is away serving in the United States army but this time and unlike in Little Women of course not with the Union Army during the US Civil War but somewhere in the Middle East, that the modern incarnation of Meg March still desires first and foremost to be married, that Jo March again presents herself as both a reader and an emerging writer, that Beth is shy, reserved, devoted to her music and finally that the youngest March sister Amy and like in Little Women also considers herself in Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women in an often overly inflatedly positive and "I am the greatest thing since sliced bread" type of manner). And indeed, just like with Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, when in Rey Terciero's Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women, two real and horrible family crises appear proverbially out of the blue (with the father being severely injured in action and Beth being diagnosed with leukaemia), the often squabbling amongst themselves March sisters realise what is important to and for them to come collectively together to fight for both ailing Beth and for the injured father, thereby cementing and strengthening their family ties and their love, their understanding of one another.
Now since Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is and remains one of my absolutely favourite both childhood and adulthood reads, I did pretty well realise from even the title Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women that Rey Terciero's graphic novel would as a totally contemporary, decidedly 21st century adaptation of Little Women not likely be in any manner even remotely as magical, as emotionally charged and indeed as meaningful as Louisa May Alcott's original narrative has always been to and for me. For quite frankly, I really do tend to usually not enjoy modern remakes of classic novels and especially so if said novels have always been personal favourites. However, even with my trepidations regarding Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women, and even though I was pretty sure that I would in no way be able to truly love Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women, I was still interested enough to sign the novel out of the library and to give it a try (and of course, I was also hoping that a goodly amount of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women textual and descriptive magic would still be at least partially present in Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women and enough so for perhaps even a high three star personal reading experience).
But no indeed, this has certainly been rather majorly wishful thinking on my part. For after having now completed Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women (and I actually even read this two times just to be sure of my reaction), I have to sadly and with frustration admit that I have not been able to either enjoy or even all that much appreciate what Rey Terciero has penned and rendered with Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women, finding most of his presented text annoying and uncomfortable (especially that aside from Beth being similarly sweet and delightful as she appears in Little Women, the other March sisters all rather act and behave as pretty shallow and often as much too mean spirited and constantly bickering and fighting amongst themselves, with particularly Amy generally feeling to and for me like a caricature of extreme brattiness and full-of-herself overconfidence, not to mention often unacceptable rudeness and a total lack of even basic manners, something that is definitely NOT the case in Little Women, as while Amy might indeed be a bit of a spoiled brat at times in Little Women, she is also not the cardboard thin mannerless little monster girl she seems to much too regularly present herself as being in Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women).
And while, yes, I do well know that especially Jo and Amy have their differences and sibling rivalry squabbles in Little Women, even with differences of opinion and occasional brouhahas, Louisa May Alcott's narrative ALWAYS shows that first and foremost, the March sisters love and cherish one another. But sorry and in my humble opinion, in Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women (and indeed even though the March sisters do finally come through and work together to help Beth beat leukaemia and the father recover from being severely injured in action), too much of the day-to-day existences of especially Jo and Amy (and even to a certain extent Meg) seem to rather consist of snarkiness, of being nasty and opinionated towards each other, of bickering over everything and anything and to the extent that Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women gets pretty tedious and boring and rather like reading a typical "mean girls" narrative, something that does not interest me and something that certainly is equally NOT how I would ever consider Louisa May Alcott's Little Women).
Combined with the fact that I have also not really enjoyed Bre Indigo's accompanying artwork, and in particular both find Meg rendered as much too adult and mature looking for her age and the way in which Amy has been drawn downright horrible and aesthetically ugly (as to my eyes, Bre Indigo makes Amy appear like a strange looking chubby toddler with always and constantly evilly staring eyes), I really cannot say that Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women has in any manner been an enjoyable reading experience for me (and indeed, I also and sadly do thus very much consider Ray Terciero's text and Bre Indigo's illustrations as rather substandard adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and also not in any manner truly positive tributes to both the author and her novel). And the only reason that I am still rating Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women with two stars and not one star is that for one, I do appreciate that with Beth March, Rey Terciero has thankfully kept her as sweet and as lovable as the Beth March of Little Women (and yes, I also enjoy that Beth recovers from her leukaemia in Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women, although of course, her cancer is not cured but is just in remission) and that for two, I do think that it makes sense for Rey Terciero's Jo March to out herself as being Lesbian (for while in my opinion, Louisa May Alcott's Jo March would not make sense as a Lesbian, the Jo March of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women, indeed, her being gay does feel natural and I am also glad that this is textually shown and not just vaguely hinted at or alluded to).