All Grown Up

by Daisy Buchanan

After thirty long years, Louisa’s daughters can finally look after themselves … or so she thinks.

Because suddenly, they’re back – apparently for good. Meg’s second-guessing her marriage. Jo’s career hangs in the balance. Amy has inexplicably quit university. None of them empty the dishwasher.

Louisa knows it’s time for some life lessons. She adores her girls, but if she’s ever going to get her (sex) life back, they’ll have to grow up – and go.

But maybe they’re not the only ones with lessons to learn… And Louisa might just discover that her daughters have something to teach her about being an adult too.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Family

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2026

About the author

Daisy Buchanan is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster. Her books include the novels Insatiable (longlisted for the CWIP prize), Careering (as heard on BBC Sounds), Limelight and Pity Party, and the non fiction titles How to Be A Grown Up, The Sisterhood and Read Yourself Happy.

As well as hosting the chart-topping podcast You’re Booked, Daisy has appeared on a number of TV and radio shows including Woman’s Hour, The Today Programme, Soul Music, A Good Read, This Morning and Good Morning Britain. She is a TEDx speaker and has guest presented the Booker Prize for BBC News.

Reviews

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would happen if Little Women were set today, somewhere not far from Manchester? This book is what would happen and it is an absolute triumph. This is brilliant. The main focus of All Grown Up is Louisa, the girls' mother and I couldn't be happier about it. In the original book Marmee is so good as to be slightly sickening and yet you know that a woman bringing up four girls alone while a civil war rages is no milksop, and to bring up such independent, strong and vibrant women, she must be something special herself, yet you never find out - until now. I love the character of Louisa and even though she is transposed to modern times, you can always feel the thread between the original book and this one in a way that allows you to trust Daisy to do what needs to be done for these beloved characters, who for a while in my childhood seemed real to me. This is brilliant. It's funny and smart and wise. The characters are fully realised and the men give them centre stage without becoming thin themselves. It made me laugh, it made me cry. I couldn't stop reading it and I didn't want it to end. One of my top ten books of 2025. I can't wait for it to come out next year so I can press a copy into the hands of everyone I know who ever loved Little Women.

[cursedb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was actually expecting a little more from this book because I’ve generally found the author’s novels both entertaining and incredibly easy to get invested in. Since this one draws so many parallels to Little Women, I think I went into it expecting something much closer to a modern version of that story. Of course, that was my own expectation rather than a promise the book was making, but it definitely shaped my reading experience.
One thing I really appreciated was how clearly the novel paid homage to its inspiration. The characters share the same names as the March sisters, and many of their defining traits and virtues feel recognizable, making the book read almost like a contemporary reimagining rather than a direct retelling. I enjoyed seeing those familiar character dynamics adapted to modern struggles and circumstances. I also liked that the story gave attention to each sister’s individual challenges and experiences. The book is highly readable, and it moves at a comfortable pace while exploring themes of family, identity, ambition, and relationships. That said, for some reason, I never fully connected with it. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why. There wasn’t a major flaw that ruined the experience for me, but there was something about the overall execution that kept me at a distance. Perhaps it was the amount of dialogue, or maybe it was something about the writing style itself. Whatever the reason, I found myself appreciating the book more than I actually enjoyed reading it. Overall, I can understand why so many readers love this novel, especially those who enjoy modern reinterpretations of classic stories. While I admired many aspects of it, it ultimately didn’t resonate with me as much as I had hoped it would.

[Tilly Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m calling this as Daisy’s best yet (and that’s saying a lot because I’ve loved all of her books)! This is the most joyful and uplifting contemporary take on Little Women, and the writing and humour reminded me of Marian Keyes. Obviously there were moments I sobbed (I may not have read Little Women in a long time, but you never forget the loss of Beth), but mostly I laughed and grinned like an idiot. Also, the men are pretty damn dreamy and the ending is SO satisfying.

Loved it!

[Dee Hancocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

All Grown Up is the modern take on Little Women I absolutely needed. Reading the characters felt like home yet they came with new problems associated with adulting today. I loved getting into their heads and how the story splits between them seamlessly with dedicated chapters. The humour is well placed at times and other times slightly cringe, but I didn’t mind this as it made for a lighthearted read which still dealt with life issues. If you like stories with messy families, unlikeable characters and a bit of fun on the side then this read is for you. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

[Victoria Hand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully well written, this book is an absolute joy to read. It flowed really well with a light feel whilst covering some rather weighty topics. I enjoyed every page.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I love Little Women too much, which meant I wanted to read this but then wasn't sure about what it did to the characters. It still made me cry though and is maybe best read without thinking too much of the original characters

[Claire Grove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, an ‘OK’ book. I did enjoy it, but it just didn’t grip me. Sometimes I wanted to keep reading; other times, I wasn’t bothered. I can’t say there was anything wrong with the story - it just didn’t particularly excite me overall. Good characters, though sometimes I found it a little confusing to follow. I would be happy to try another book by this author - maybe this one just wasn’t for me!

[Xanthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, fuzzy, humorous modern day homage to Little Women. Cute but wouldn’t rush to read. 🎧

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you ever read a book and think I wish I’d thought of that? That’s exactly how I feel about this one, it was absolutely amazing 🥹 it’s not often at all that I cry at books but this one definitely got me. It was so nice to feel like I was getting to know the March women again & I now definitely want to read little women again immediately. I could not recommend this book more.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC received from NetGalley and Century Publishing in exchange for honest review.

⚡SYNOPSIS⚡
After thirty long years, Louisa’s daughters can finally look after themselves … or so she thinks.
Because suddenly, they’re back – apparently for good. Meg’s second-guessing her marriage. Jo’s career hangs in the balance. Amy has inexplicably quit university. None of them empty the dishwasher.
Louisa knows it’s time for some life lessons. She adores her girls, but if she’s ever going to get her (sex) life back, they’ll have to grow up – and go.
But maybe they’re not the only ones with lessons to learn… And Louisa might just discover that her daughters have something to teach her about being an adult too.

⚡ REVIEW⚡

As a child, one of the first "big" books I remember reading was Little Women. I adored it. I still adore it to this day. So when I saw Daisy Buchanan was writing a novel inspired by Little Women, but as adults in modern day England, I knew I had to give it a read. And I cannot overstate just how much of a triumph this novel is.

Louisa (the artist formerly known as Marmee), is about to let the festive season slip by with no celebration. She's broke, her ex is hounding her for money from selling the house, she's still grieving the loss of Beth, and she's lonely. So naturally, her adult daughters all arrive home within hours of each other. Meg is pregnant and doesn't think she wants to be with her husband anymore. Jo has left her boyfriend in London, but doesn't want to talk about it. And Amy has quit her university course and is planning to launch a big business (she just doesn't know what in. Or how to). Chaos ensues and a story develops that is heartwarming, hysterical, and has a little dash of heartbreak to make it well rounded. It's perfection.

Whilst present day England is incredibly different to old-time America, each character is still recognisable. Jo is involved with writing. Amy is vain. Laurie is very much part of the family. Mr Lawrence is still a curmudgeon, who loves the March girls dearly. Meg is the most changed, but is incredibly entertaining for it. Louisa as Marmee is a joy, seeing her struggle in wanting to embrace life now her children have flown the nest, but not really knowing where to start or what she wants. The sudden return of her family shoves a massive spanner in the works, but as the year this novel spans passes, things begin to work out.

I loved that all of the March women found themselves at a crossroads in this book, whereas in Little Women everything just kidn of worked out as young things. Each of them had an issue to work through, and went through some real strife before they got there.

I don't want to spoil it, but I was always mortally wounded by a plot point in Little Women. Like, disgusted. My little heart couldn't comprehend it. And it seems that Daisy Buchanan's mindset was the same as mine, because in this story, that wrong is righted. The grin on my face? Cheesier than a bag of Babybels.

There is so much humour in this book that you'll giggle like an idiot at points, but I defy anyone reading that final chapter not to shed a tear. It is devastating, yet beautifully heartwarming all at once. In that year, so much has happened to the March women, plot points that you'll recognise and others that are new - but it all comes right in the end. It finishes with the message that there is no bond like that between a mother and her children - except maybe the bond between sisters (even when they fight!)

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

[Emma Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

All Grown Up is a modern‑day retelling of Little Women, and while the premise immediately caught my attention, my feelings about the execution were mixed. There were definitely moments—especially around the 30% mark—where I found myself more engaged, and some emotional scenes were handled with real care and vulnerability.

Because this is a contemporary reimagining, I expected the March sisters to feel grounded in the realities of young women today. Instead, some moments felt tone‑deaf. The daughters’ entitlement is pushed to such an exaggerated, almost bratty level that, as someone around their age, I found it unrealistic.

Amy in particular reads as juvenile, almost like a caricature of a twenty‑something woman rather than a believable modern interpretation. Meg also comes across as naive and whiny, with very little character growth for much of the novel, which made her chapters feel repetitive.

I don’t mind pop culture references in contemporary fiction—they can add texture when used thoughtfully. But here, there were simply too many. Instead of grounding the story in the present day, the constant stream of references often pulled me out of the narrative. It sometimes felt like the book was trying too hard to be “current,” which ended up making the characters feel even less authentic.

I fully appreciate that this is the author’s own novel, inspired by Little Women rather than a strict retelling. Creative interpretation is part of the process. However, I often felt that the heart of the original characters was lost. Amy especially didn’t feel true to who she is at her core.

That said, I did appreciate the attention given to Jo’s anger—an important and often overlooked aspect of her character in the original text.

While I did enjoy parts of the story and became more invested as it progressed, I never fully connected with the characters. Much of the emotional landscape felt surface‑level, even though there were a few moving scenes that stood out.

[Simon S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Grown Up is a warm, funny, and perceptive relocation of Louisa May Alcott’s renowned March family, and all their travails, to present-day northern England.

I hadn’t read Little Women before, so I picked it up in preparation for Daisy’s book. I hadn’t realised my edition also included Good Wives as Part II, and ended up reading that too. All Grown Up picks up just before Good Wives begins, and having read both, I can see more clearly the social and sexual politics Daisy was responding to in her retelling.

The March sisters and neighbours we all know are present and convincingly reborn in the 21st century, but the marriage of Mr March and Marmee (here Louisa) has not survived the journey. Mr March (Will) is absent not because of war, but because he is feckless and unable to meet the expectations of modern fatherhood. This makes Louisa more independent, gives her greater agency, room for her own story and - GREAT NEWS! - a close friend, Barb.

Louisa, feeling old, exhausted, and beset with money worries, is preparing for a quiet Christmas Eve alone. Her peace does not last. Before the day is through, Jo, Amy, and Meg have all returned home with their bags. Everything has gone wrong, and they need their mum.

I’ve read and loved several of Daisy’s books, and this premise gives her fertile ground to explore the reality of women’s lives now compared with the expectations of 150 years ago. I found Little Women warm and unexpectedly funny, with wonderful characterisation, but it described a fairly limited emotional and creative life for women, something Good Wives doubled down on.

Daisy tackles this head on. All the March women are still looking for love, but when it comes it will be on their own terms and will support their freedoms rather than stifle them. With her usual wit and warmth, she gives us a family we can identify with and root for, one struggling to deal with Beth’s loss and the consequences of abandonment, but always ready to pull together despite their differences.

Loved it.

[Jessica Gilmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the odds are on being approved for two UK set Little Women reimaginings on the same day, but clearly the famous quartet are having a moment.
In Daisy Buchanan's funny and, at times, poignant novel the daughters of the house are not so much little women as eternal teenagers. Louisa, their mother, long divorced and drowning in money worries is looking forward to her Christmas Eve birthday and Christmas itself with no responsibilities when not one, or two but three of her daughters return home and immediately regress. Meg might be pregnant but she has left her stolid, sensible husband, Jo has run away from London and her abusive boyfriend while Amy has dropped out of uni with unformed plans to become a business woman. Not only do they forget their mother's birthday but they are appalled when they hear she is planning to sell their family home, blaming her for not managing her long-divorced husband's claim on the house, even though he was the one who abandoned them all to move to Australia when Amy was still a baby. Meanwhile their much-loved family friend Mr Lawrence is dying, which means his grandson Lawrie has to return home from New York.
The novel follows the next year as all four try to manage change. to figure out what they want and to finally grow up and move on, with the loss of Beth hanging over them all. They are helped by their irrepressible neighbour Barb and Lawrie's business partner, Mark.
This isn't a faithful retelling, in fact it works best when it doesn't try to recreate bits from the book in the present day although Amy would absolutely be a fitness obsessed girl boss wannabe. But keeping the book mainly in Louisa's POV and taking inspiration rather than direction from the original works. An entertaining read even if you haven't read the original (or seen one of the many adaptations). Recommended.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Grown Up has that lovely, lived‑in warmth that comes from a story about family chaos told with affection rather than judgement. It follows Louisa at the exact moment she thinks she’s finally stepping into a quieter, more spacious chapter of her life — the girls grown, the house her own again, the possibility of rediscovering herself (and her love life) finally within reach. And then, with perfect comic timing, her daughters return one by one, each carrying a crisis and absolutely none of them carrying the ability to empty a dishwasher.

There’s an easy elegance to the writing, the kind that lets humour and tenderness sit side by side. Meg is unravelling her marriage, Jo’s career is wobbling, and Amy has abandoned university without a plan, but the novel never treats their struggles as melodrama. Instead, it leans into the messy, familiar truth of adulthood: that growing up doesn’t happen on a schedule, and sometimes the people you love most are the ones who pull you back into old roles before you even realise it’s happening.

What makes the story shine is Louisa herself — funny, frustrated, hopeful, and quietly yearning for a life that feels like her own. Watching her navigate the push‑and‑pull of motherhood and independence is both relatable and unexpectedly moving. And as the girls settle back into the house, it becomes clear that Louisa isn’t the only one with lessons to offer. The daughters, in their imperfect, endearing way, have just as much to teach her about what it means to be an adult.

It’s a warm, charming read with a soft emotional undercurrent — a reminder that family life is rarely tidy, often exasperating, and sometimes exactly what we need.

With thanks to Daisy Buchanan, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn’t read anything by Daisy Buchanan before but was attracted to All Grown Up due to its association with Little Women which I love.

Imagine the familiar characters from Little Women transported to present day Britain. Here you will meet Mrs March, Meg, Jo, Amy, Laurie and Mr Lawrence. Beth is a presence too, even in her absence. This isn’t a straightforward re-telling of Little Women, more taking the characters moving them on a few years in age and seeing how contemporary life would treat them.

Louisa’s daughter are all grown up and she lives on her own, looking forward to the luxury of spending her Christmas Eve birthday and Christmas Day doing exactly what she wants. Her plans are rudely interrupted when her daughters all arrive on the doorstep. They may be all grown up but they arrive with various life problems, turning her back into ‘mum’ again and behaving rather like truculent teens themselves.

What I enjoyed about this book was the humour interlaced with moments of high emotion. I also felt that the author had remained quite faithful to the personalities and temperament of each of the sisters while, at the same time, having them react in thoroughly modern ways to the contemporary situations they found themselves in. There was great character development for the sisters and also for Louisa. I think it showed it’s never too late to grow and learn. There were a few significant changes from the original plot of Little Women so it will keep you guessing. There was one change in particular I especially approved of but my lips are sealed!

I enjoyed Daisy Buchanan’s writing style which was engaging and entertaining. This re-imagining of the March sisters was a great exploration of family dynamics, life’s challenges and adulthood.

[Milly Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Women for today. This was an interesting concept to put the March sisters and their mum into today’s world. Louisa had thought she had the house to herself - all her daughters had fled the nest, this was her time. But. They all arrive back on the doorstep to stay. There was a lot to enjoy about this book. I liked seeing the sisters reimagined but I also liked being able to recognise them from the original novel. Jo is still into her writing and Amy is still the pretty one and vain with it. Beth is frail but Meg, the eldest, is not quite how I remember her. You will have to correct me if I am wrong. As for the other characters, Laurie is still a huge part of the family and Mr Lawrence, while still grumpy, adores the sisters. As for Louisa, like the original Marmee, she has such a strong bond with her daughters. In this story each sister finds themselves at a point in their lives where they don’t quite know what to do - how to move forward. In the original everything sort of works out. Here they have to battle a bit before they get there and there are some things that are a little different to the original, but that is fine. We also have a couple of extra characters who add another layer. There is humour in here but I did find myself being very frustrated by the sisters’ attitudes, the feeling that they didn’t have to fill the dishwasher etc. These women are supposed to be in their 20s but at times I felt as if I was reading about teenagers. Meg annoyed me the most I think, but Amy did feel very shallow. I listened to this on Audible and the whining and the attitude - well, you’ll have to make up your own mind. On the whole I did enjoy this but not as much as I hoped that I would.

[KathVBtn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love everything about this book! Daisy Buchanan has taken a literary classic and completely made it her own with her witty and emotional update.
When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I’m actually really sad that it’s finished and I have to go back to real life.

All Grown Up brings the Little Women sisters into the modern day. The girls have all left home and their harassed mum Louisa is looking forward to her first solo Christmas in 30 years. But oh no, who’s that knocking on the door? Not one, not two but three adult daughters are all moving back in with their physical and emotional baggage all around.

It’s like they’ve never gone away, the girls reverting back to their teenage selves and Louisa trying to resolve arguments and bickering that she thought she’d left behind. And Laurie is back too, fresh from New York to stay with his uncle Mr. Lawrence. He’s also brought a handsome colleague 🥰 to bring some extra romance into the mix.

The book is so funny, uplifting, a joyous celebration of families and sisterhood with a brilliant modern day revamp. I loved the sisters’ connection and loyalty mixed with their need to annoy and pester each other. It is such an easy read and I can’t wait for everyone else to read it too so we can squeal in excitement at just how good it is!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After thirty long years, Louisa’s daughters can finally look after themselves … or so she thinks.
Because suddenly, they’re back – apparently for good. Meg’s second-guessing her marriage. Jo’s career hangs in the balance. Amy has inexplicably quit university. None of them empty the dishwasher.

Louisa knows it’s time for some life lessons. She adores her girls, but if she’s ever going to get her (sex) life back, they’ll have to grow up – and go. But maybe they’re not the only ones with lessons to learn… And Louisa might just discover that her daughters have something to teach her about being an adult too.

A charming re-telling of Little Women set in the current day. The sisters' grief over losing Beth is really poignant but the way they slip back into their childhood selves is very funny. Their mother Louisa is looking forward to an empty house and some 'me time' when all three daughters land on her doorstep expecting her to be delighted to see them which leads to some highly amusing dialogue. The only fly in the literary ointment is Meg's character which irritated me beyond belief; I just wanted to slap her. Despite this (which is obviously my personal issue) it was a very enjoyable read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Grown Up by Daisy Buchanan was such a warm, funny, and heartwarming read. The humour really worked for me, with several genuine laugh-out-loud moments, which is incredibly rare for me! Buchanan has a sharp, witty writing style that feels effortless, and I loved the clever parallels woven throughout the story to Little Women.

The only aspect that stopped this being a five-star read was Meg’s storyline. I really struggled to connect with her character and, if I’m honest, I couldn’t stand her for most of the book. As a thirty-year-old married woman, her decision to leave her husband during her pregnancy felt frustrating and difficult to understand. I could see that fear was driving many of her choices, but the reasons behind them never felt fully developed. Her decision to exclude her husband from the pregnancy journey struck me as selfish, and I found it hard to warm to her afterwards.

That said, the rest of the novel more than made up for it. It’s a feel-good, uplifting story full of warmth, humour, and heart. The family dynamics, friendships, and emotional moments were beautifully handled, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these characters.

A wonderfully entertaining read that was very nearly perfect.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Grown Up by Daisy Buchanan is a story about messy families, second chances and discovering that growing up is something we're all still trying to do. I think there's a lot in the story that resonated with me...the wanting to have some quiet time and a tidy house for sure!! I read All Grown Up without realising the comparisons to Little Women and (having not read the original) didn't realise the similarities.

Louisa is looking forward to celebrating her 49th birthday and Christmas in peace, only for her three grown-up daughters to descend on the house, each bringing their own relationship dramas, career crises and emotional baggage. The result is a chaotic, funny and often touching story about family, motherhood and the realisation that none of us ever really have life figured out.

I have to admit that I struggled with the opening chapters. The different perspectives and whirlwind of activity made it a little difficult to get into, and at times the family chaos felt overwhelming. However, once I found my rhythm with the story, I really started to enjoy it. There are some genuinely funny moments alongside a few sadder flashbacks, but the overall feeling of the book is warm, hopeful and uplifting.

I think this would be a great holiday read if you are looking for something not too taxing, with lots of relatable themes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an updated version of Little Women, with divorced Mum, Louisa, living on a suburban street, with Mr Lawrence and Laurie living across the road. One daughter, Beth, has died of cancer, but the other three have launched into their own lives - except at the beginning of the novel they all arrive back. Louisa is growing to enjoy her own space and does not enjoy her space being encroached - nor does she want to own up to her offspring that her ex-husband wants his share of the house, so she is going to have to sell their childhood home and the last home of Beth.

I loved the premise of this novel and the slightly humorous voice of the story. Initially some of the characters annoyed me (if I'm being honest), as they all seemed a bit spoiled and wet. However, as the novel went on, it became clear the unseen effects of Beth's death were still affecting them all to less or greater degrees. Different stresses in the girls lives also become clearer and I gained more empathy for the characters. As a result, by the time I reached the end I surprised myself by finding that I had really enjoyed the book and I was glad I had persevered.

[Allyce]

DNF @ 35%

I picked this up after loving Insatiable by this author and seeing that this was a book about some sisters who need to sort their lives out (usually my jam), but I hadn’t realised that it was also a reimagining of the characters of Little Women set in present day Manchester, and whilst I don’t necessarily mind that as a premise, the execution left a lot to be desired for my tastes.

The tone of this book just really didn’t work for me. All of the characters were very irritating with exaggerated personas, but in a way that felt a little disingenuous to the original characters in Little Women, and the references to events and people from the original story felt quite clunky. But even putting aside the Little Women-ness of it all, the cycling through everybody’s different perspectives also wasn’t my favourite as it felt like we would dip into a character’s problems for a chapter and then by the time we’d get back to that POV, a month would have passed which made everything feel a bit disjointed? Sadly not the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

[janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt like a modernised version of Little Women.

Louisa is looking forward to a solo Christmas, her first in 30 years. Her three girls all have their own families and their own plans so she can finally have that Christmas day she's been dreaming of. A luxurious soak in the bath, a bottle of wine and silence, doing whatever she wants to do without pleasing any others... until one by one, the girls arrive back 'home'.

With their relationship problems, family lives, and work drama, Louisa is back to just being Mum again.

Whilst it was an easy enough read, I couldn't honestly say that I really enjoyed it. I didn’t find a lot of the comedy particularly funny, and at times, it felt a bit of a slog to get through, but I definitely think that was more about me, not the book. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood 😕.

I really enjoyed just how perceptive the author was, and her writing style was sharp, poignant, and heartwarming.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC.

[S A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book.

The premise of the book based on the blurb makes you think that the story is going to be narrated by Louisa, the mother throughout. Based on the March family from Little Women living in Northern England in the modern day.

Initially I found the book entertaining, with narration of Louisa as an empty nester witty. However, when her three girls all return home the narrator kept changing. This plot device doesn’t usually bother me but I found that it did in this book. There was a strong start which then meandered for a significant amount of the middle section of the book.

Three quarters of the way through there was a shift in tone within the book that refit me engaged again. There is an emotional element with the family dealing with grief that made me cry.

This is why I’ve found this book confusing. It started strong, meandered with me really disliking most of the March girls and then in the final act hooked me back in again emotionally.

[Agi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favourite - I adored this book! It read like one of Caroline Hulse's novels and it had just the right dosis of sad, weird, embarrassment and fun. Welcome to adulthood - but also with a bit of pinch of salt.

At first I though I was going to have problems with the three daughters but in the end I fell in love with all of them and I could totally understand where they were coming from. I also adored Louisa - she was simply great and her one - liners were one of the best.
There were so many feelings and emotions in the characters and they were all so wonderfully and convincingly and compellingly written. They were wise and smart and absolutely brilliant and the male characters were to die for without being too sugary. Writing style was just perfect, the pace was just right, there were moments that I wanted to bang the characters' head on the wall or to give them a hug and point them in the right direction - living vicariuosly through the characters, no?

It is this kind of book that you'd want to read again and again but for the first time - so good it is.

[Karen Mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Little Women are not so little anymore! They've all grown up and gone their own ways to deal with what life throws their way, so Louisa is finally looking forward to some time on her own, doing what she wants when she wants! But life doesn't work out that way as the girls find themselves seeking refuge with Mum as they are all going through different things - and home is always the best place to be!

Some of the girls were rather entitled in their personalities which jarred a bit, but that's what you find in people nowadays so that made it relatable! And you could really feel for Louise when she finally has to let rip to put down some house rules! It's fascinating to see all the women trying to work out their identities, showing that it can affect us at any age about who we want to be.

it also touches on the loss of Beth and how it has affected them all, and their connection with 'home' so that was nicely done and made for a really enjoyable re-imagining of the female characters we all grew up with, seeing how they'd be dealing with life now!

[Andreea Ispas · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Grown Up – Heartfelt, funny, and real

This book beautifully captures the chaos of adult kids returning home — and honestly, it made me want to go spend some time with my mum.

The story dives deep into mother–daughter relationships, and the character development is wonderfully written. Everyone feels so real, which made it easy to connect with each of them in different ways.

I also loved the way the family dynamics were portrayed. The tension, love, and unspoken understanding between the characters felt authentic and familiar. It shows how family can drive you absolutely mad one moment and make you feel completely supported the next — that perfect mix of frustration and affection that makes families so special.

The book also explores themes of grief and loss, but it never feels forced. Instead, those moments add depth to the characters and enrich the story as a whole.

I would definitely recommend reading this book.

[C Fillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Grown Up is a lovely story about the relationships between mothers and daughters. I enjoyed the link with a well-loved classic novel, which was set in the United States during the nineteenth century. It was an interesting contrast how the author set All Grown Up in England during the twenty-first century. I found that any preconceived ideas I had about how the characters would behave were wrong. I was pleasantly surprised by the direction this book took as I thought it would mirror the original novel. I think All Grown Up could be enjoyed by a range of ages. Middle aged women will relate to the theme of their grown children struggling to make their way in the world and the conflicting feelings of wanting to support them, but also wanting them to be independent. Younger readers will relate to the issues facing women in their twenties. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

[Liv Rutherford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The synopsis of this book intrigued me. Having being a big fan of Little Women, and feeling like I was Jo March as a teenager, I decided this book would be right up my street and I was not disappointed.

I loved the book from the very 1st chapter, as a mum, whose birds havw all flown the nest, I absolutely related to Louisa (aka Marmie) 100%.
Told from differing POVs, te writing style inter-mingles the threads of each characters storyline.

The writing style flowed, there was humour, and sadness and celebrations.
This book haa you rooting for each character and their challenges.

When I finished the book, it left me wanting to know more about the characters, I didnt want the book to end.
Absolutely amazing.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.olut

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

After thirty years of parenting her daughters, Louisa March is looking forward to having an empty house. She may have debts and an ex trying to sell from under her but she has peace. Until she doesn't. Meg has left her husband, Jo is escaping an abusive relationship and Amy has dropped out of college - all need her help and support. So now Louisa is parenting adults, fighting her attraction to a younger man and hiding from reality.
I read Little Women when I was very young and just did not get it, therefore many of the references in this book passed me by. What I loved though was the fact that this is a heartwarming story of modern life in all its forms. It's funny, just on the realistic side of unbelievable, and bounds along. This is not a great intellectual read, it's one of those books that you just snuggle up with when you want entertainment, a laugh and a genuine warmth.