Jo's Boys

Little Women #3

by Louisa May Alcott

Jo March and the Plumfield boys return in the third novel in the Little Women series, following Little Men.   A decade after the events of Little Men, Jo’s Boys returns to the Plumfield estate, where Jo and her husband, Prof. Friedrich Bhaer, still run their boys’ school. With the March sisters’ children embarking on their own grown-up adventures, Jo immerses herself in the lives of her students—both present and past. Freespirited Dan seeks his fortune in the Wild West, Nat’s musical career takes him to Europe, and Friedrich’s nephew Emil sets sail and is tragically shipwrecked. Their fates will depend on their strength of character and the lessons learned under Jo and Friedrich’s loving tutelage.   “This is the final instalment in the story of the March family, which is now the Bhaer, Brooke, Laurence and March families, and is a nice conclusion to the tale started in Little Women. There is still so much to know about these characters and I personally like the fact that you are left to imagine the rest of the story yourself.” —thebookwormery

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Historical, Romance

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1886

About the author

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May Alcott and Amos Bronson Alcott, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.

Reviews

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book, ladies and gentlemen: (I very much tried to make everything chronological. Anything that isn't, such as Josie whining about acting or whenever the Professor decides to grace the world with his presence, is completely due to my lack of remembrance and also my utter lack of desire to go back through the entire book, rather than skimming for the important bits, as I am already doing.)


Professor: *chortles*

Plumfield: If everybody could just stop acting in plays here, that'd be great.

Nan: ERMAGERSH I WANT TO BE A SINGLE DOCTOR LEAVE ME ALONE TOM

Tom: But I love you.

Me: Damn, they'd be a cute couple.

Mrs. Jo: I shall sit down for a few quiet minutes of writing.

Random citizens: LET'S MOB THE AUTHOR, DEMAND AUTOGRAPHS, AND STEAL SMALL TRINKETS.

Mrs. Jo: I've had just about enough of this. *pretends to be a maid*

Observant fanatic: WHY YOU MUST BE THAT AUTHOR.

Mrs. Jo: *objects on principle that she's pretending to be a maid*

Observant fanatic: No, you're not. Your picture is right there, on the side table.

Mrs. Jo: *sullen glare*

Josie: *whines about acting*

Mrs. Jo: STOP TRYING TO MAKE "ACTING" HAPPEN, JOSIE. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

Dan: *arrives*

All the ladies: *swoon*

Me: Oh, wow, these next two chapters are boring.

Ted: I'll just try and kill this here dog. For fun. Because I suck.

Rob: *gets bit defending dog and might get rabies from Don, who probably doesn't have rabies but how are they to know that?*

Don: *definitely has rabies*

Nan: Why are the women always fixing your messes? Oh, that's right, because we're better than you are. Ugh.

Professor: I say, what a jolly good joke.

Mrs. Jo: Hahahahahahahaha, why aren't we punishing Ted, dearest?

Professor: Because I'm a worthless character. I'm not even sure why I'm in this book or why you're married to me. *chortles*

Mrs. Jo: Oh. Right.

Josie: *almost drowns but totally succeeds in getting an actress to watch her act at a later date*

Josie: Totes worth it. *coughs up water*

Josie: *tries to act*

Miss Cameron: You're cute but I don't hold out much hope for your acting abilities.

Miss Cameron: *glorifies Shakespeare*

Me: *le sigh*

Tom: Um. I fear I have accidentally gotten myself engaged.

Mrs. Jo: WHA-

Tom: BUT SHE'S PRETTY, SO IT'S OKAY. I'M OKAY. IT'S FINE.

Mrs. Jo: I'm sorry, wha-

Tom: No, really. I'm embarrassed, sure, and lamenting that Nan isn't jealous, but I can live with this.

Mrs. Jo: But how on earth did you manage to get "accidentally" engaged?

Tom: ....

Tom: It involved bicycles.

Me: Well, there goes that ship.

Demi: *gets a job or something but no one really cares*

Emil: I'm so THANKFUL that I got shipwrecked with this gorgeous girl who I got to save and spend all this time with because we literally got shipwrecked, and yeah sure, there are other people on this tiny boat but the important bit is that we're totally getting engaged by the end of this book all thanks to this shipwreck. #BESTSHIPWRECKEVER

Dan: *kills someone*

Professor: *chortles* (Of course, he couldn't have known that Dan killed someone. There was something amusing in the paper.)

Dan: *rots in prison*

Nat: *does something musically inclined over the New Year or something but no one really cares*

Plumfield: SERIOUSLY WHAT'S WITH ALL THE PLAYS?

Chapter 16: All I am is flirting.

Mrs. Jo: There'll be none of-

Chapter 16: FLIRT

Mrs. Jo: -that.

Chapter 16: YOU CAN'T STOP THE FLIRT.

Mrs. Jo: *glares*

Chapter 16: *whimpers*

Chapter 17: I am a large sewing circle and some education and I am all about the girls yay! *feebly waves flag*

Chapter 18: Um, I'm not really sure what "Class Day" is all about, but Emil comes back here, announcing his engagement so that's cool.

Emil: #BESTSHIPWRECKEVER

Dan: I am home. And also damaged. But maybe a better person? Hard to tell.

Dan: Also, I think I am in love with Bess.

Me: They would also be a cute couple. Maybe if they got together, this book wouldn't have been the biggest waste of my time.

Mrs. Jo: Oh, dear heavens, no. Her mum isn't fond of you.

Dan: *spends years loving Bess, his guiding star, until he dies*

Louisa's ghost: Haha, did you see what I did there? Any hope you ever had of anyone getting together with whom they should get together DIED along with Dan hahaha.

Me: Go away, you're dead.

Louisa's ghost: AND SO'S YOUR HOPE. *fades away laughing manically*


THE END.

[Nikola · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better lose your life than your soul
Jo's Boys ~~ Louisa May Alcott



3.5/5

And thus, we come to the end of the March Family saga … Better known for Little Women and Little Men , Louisa May Alcott concluded the story of her feisty protagonist Jo in this final novel chronicling the adventures and misadventures of Jo’s boys. Entertaining, surprising, and overall a joy to read, Jo's Boys is nevertheless darkened by a bittersweet tenor.

Beginning ten years after Little Men , Jo's Boys revisits Plumfield, the New England school still presided over by Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. Once more we reconnect with Jo's boys ~~ rebellious Dan, young sailor Emil, and promising musician Nat. All are grown men leading exciting and fascinating lives, and yet, Jo remains at the center of this tale as she guides her boys through the muck and mire of life, disappointment and even murder ~~ yes, murder. Jo anchors this tale, and I had the feeling while reading this that Alcott did not fully trust, and was not certain what to do with her heroes outside of Plumfield. All were leading exciting lives, but before I could fully engage in those worlds, the boys were whisked back to Jo, and the safe haven of Plumfield, where saint and sinner can always return as adversity is never to be met alone, and the boys’ dreams of being cherished, no matter what their flaws, come true.



Jo's Boys perfectly combines the sentimental elements of both Little Women and Little Men to create a heartwarming conclusion to the series. Here, we see these young men, going onto the adventures Jo has prepared them for ~~ falling in love, exploring the world, getting into trouble. There are still lessons to be learned and the philosophical ideals of Alcott to be explored ~~ transcendentalism, spiritual development and pragmatism. But more than anything, Jo's Boys is very much a story about friendship, family, and love. It had the same kind of sentimentality and joy as we’ve come to expect from Alcott and the March family. And this is exactly what bothers me most in Little Men .

It’s clear from the beginning that Alcott knew this would be her last visit with the March family and to Plumfield. Because of this, Alcott dutifully parades out the remaining members of the March family so we may have closure with each of them as we bid farewell. The problem with this device is there are too many pages devoted to the March family, and they are by far the least interesting characters here. Jo's Boys should focus on Jo’s boys, not the boring Amy and Laurie ~~ trust me, in middle age Amy and Laurie have grown to be boring elitists. There is so much more that Alcott could have done in fleshing out Dan, Emil and Nat. Often, they end up as supporting characters in their own tale to the March family.

As Alcott reached the end of her story, it felt rushed. In just a few pages, we were given a quick update on Jo’s boys as she bade us farewell. It felt as if Alcott became bored with her primary characters and was ready to move on. Had she edited the March sisters’ interactions to a minimum, and given us another 50 pages concerning the fates of her boys, I’d have given Jo’s Boy’s another star. But the rapid, unexpected ending spoiled this for me.

Ultimately, I did like Jo's Boys ~~ liked, not loved. And I must admit, I was a little sad when reading the last words. ... let the music stop, the lights die out, and the curtain fall forever on the March family.

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

My A-Z challenge for the year with the lovely and vivacious Karly and Kristin has officially begun!

A is for Alcott


Let the games begin....


I always find that reviewing an Alcott book is a bit difficult. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with her. I read Little Women only a few years ago at the request of my mother who loved it, but didn't like the other two books in the series. And honestly, I agree with her. Little Women though moralistic and preachy, is a very beautiful and tender story about the lives of four sisters and how those lives grow and change every year, into adulthood, and marriage, and motherhood, but that sisterly bond that they have remains strong and steadfast despite the change and distance time has placed on it. Little Men is basically about the students at the school that Jo and her husband have founded, and though there are some sweet and touching moments in that one, I found the complete and utter lack of an ongoing plot rather boring, and as most of the stories contained in it are about the everyday lives of children, I found the whole thing kind of dull. Now in Jo's Boys, the preaching and moralistic side of Alcott is in full force, but I admit, I enjoyed this one much better than the second installment. I will break it down into Pros and Cons.

PROs:
I still love Jo. She is such an intelligent and witty character, and Alcott has always written her with a lot of depth. Her relationship with her much older husband, Fritz, is absolutely beautifully portrayed here, and I think their brief tender moments beat out any Nicholas Sparks insta-love romance fest any day. The way she cares for the boys and girls at the college she founded is very sweet, and her relationships with many of them are actually very endearing. She was by a mile, my favorite part of this book.

Dan. Dan. Dan. Dan. Dan. I absolutely love the character of Dan, who was the iconic "bad boy" of Book 2. We see him as an adult in this one, and I completely fell in love with his rugged outdoorsy good looks, and his boyish charm. He still has the "bad boy" thing going on, but Dan has matured, and has a strong will to do something positive with his life, one that his adoptive mother, Jo, can be proud of him for. I longed to read his chapters, and I only wish he were a bigger presence in this book.

There is much more of a ongoing plot in this one, unlike Little Men, even though stories of each character make up that plot. I found it much more engaging, and a lot less boring that its predecessor.

I loved Amy and Laurie's daughter Bess and Meg's daughter Josie, and thought they were amazing counterparts to younger Amy and Jo from book 1. Bess is a wonderful artist and Josie is a very talented actress, and I love that Alcott wrote about two such female characters who pursued and were successful in the arts, particularly during a time when women were not as successful in those endeavors.

Ok, now for the CONS
I really really really don't like what Alcott did to Meg's character. I admit that Meg was always my least favorite of the Little Women, but she is so god-awful in this one I wanted to punch her in the face. She is so moralistic and preachy, and wants her children to be and do exactly what she wants them to do and not what they want to do. She forbids Daisy to marry Nat even though THEY HAVE LOVED EACH OTHER FOR TEN YEARS, simply because Nat isn't rich enough for Daisy. Last time I checked, didn't Meg marry a poor man when her family didn't want her to? And she keeps insisting on a career for Demi that she wants even though Demi obviously wants other things. But Demi, always the dutiful son, wants to please his mother more than he wants to be happy. Barf. Barf. Barf. I wanted Meg to die.

Adult Amy is SO. BORING. She makes Lissa from Vampire Academy look like Amy Poehler.

Seriously? Why is Dan not good enough for Bess? They OBVIOUSLY loved each other. I could tell during the first 10% that there was a major love interest for these two. And its kind of a beauty and the beast thing which could have been awesome, and beautiful, and pure. But NO! Dan is not good enough for perfect Bess who needs someone with wealth and status and power. I would have loved sweet Bess to tame Wild Dan a bit.....but Dan could have given some zest to her as well, taken her out west to paint beautiful landscapes. And these two could have been really happy together. I saw a whole ending planned out for the two of them. I kept believing it would work. But no, Alcott had to take what was left of my romantic impulses and smash them. BOO HISS! Instead Bess ends up marrying some nameless schmuck and Dan ends up dying alone and unmarried. I almost dropped a star because of this.

All in all, I would say this is a solid three. Right smack dab in the middle. I think I need to be done with Alcott for awhile. Though I absolutely love her beautiful prose, her annyoing habit of preaching gets on my nerves.

[Tahera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jo's Boys is my personal favourite in the Little Women series. The book really touched me on an emotional level, especially Dan's story line and I was a little sad that he did not get a conventional 'happy ending' like the other boys did.

[Rachel Brand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally! I started reading this as soon as I finished Little Men, but didn't really get into so put it down for a few months. Around page 150 I suddenly got hooked on the stories within the book (because every chapter in an Alcott novel has its own individual plot) and read a few chapters every day until I finished it. It's obvious at the end that it's the last book she'll write about the March family as the last page lists what happens to every character - which is a bit sad, as Alcott's novels are always such sweet, simple reads. Luckily I have Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom on my bookcase to read! I once read the synopsis of one of Alcott's older, less-popular novels on Amazon, and it was described as a collection of "wholesome and moralistic stories" which I think is a perfect description of Jo's Boys. A lot of people these days don't like stories which have meanings and morals, but I do. I guess I'm kind of old fashioned in that way - I would love to live in a family similar to that of Jo March's. 9/10

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking place ten years after Little Men, Jo’s Boys shows us the Plumfield clan—led by our aging friends from the original story--growing up. Alcott makes you care deeply about her boys and her girls, giving each dramas of their own. Dan becomes a rough and rugged anti-hero, Nat a tempted world-travelling musician, Nan a single-minded doctor. Josie and Ted are much like their namesakes Jo and Laurie: impulsive and fun and always in need of some moral lesson or other.

It’s a book of racial and class privilege, but for what it is, it is well done. There are some references to woman’s suffrage, and some pretty good answers to the young girls’ questions. “Grandpa, must women always obey men and say they are the wisest, just because they are the strongest?”

Alcott has her alter-ego become a famous author of children's books, and gives us a chapter about the downside of literary fame, including being hounded with fan mail requests. “Emerson and Whittier put these things in the wastepaper basket; and though only a literary nursery maid who provides moral pap for the young, I will follow their illustrious example …”

Their little world felt like a utopia to me when I was a young reader, and it was a joy to revisit it. (My copy has the lovely pictures on this cover.) It has been almost half a century, yet there were passages I remembered so well. These little scenes stayed in my mind for all this time!

Demi, on his entrance into book publishing: “I am ready to do anything about books, if it’s only to dust them.” That longing popped in my head often when looking for jobs over the years.

Josie, in an effort to help her brother come up with a creative marriage proposal: “I read in one of Miss Edgeworth’s stories about a man who offers three roses to his lady—a bud, a half-blown, and a full-blown rose.” How often I thought of that when I was picking roses, long after I remembered where the reference was from.

So this book is a part of me, and I was relieved to still enjoy it after so many years. I may have traded the youthful romantic longings that made it my favorite back then, for an appreciation of what it is to watch young people grow into adults, but it still had the power to touch me.

I believe Louisa knew a thing or two about life, and how to shape it into a story that can last a lifetime. It has for me.

[Eva-Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

*opens book* Ah, I can’t wait to re-visit all the characters from Little Men.

A few chapters later: It’s kind of boring, but all the boys are still awesome, especially Dan. But he has a beard. That’s weird. Oh, well, I’ll just ignore it.

Later: Wow, this is really boring. Too much moralizing. Whole chapters of it. But at least the Josie-wanting-to-be-an-actress thing is interesting. I wish Alcott would focus more on Dan everyone else, though. And am I the only one who sees definite similarities between Nan and Tom’s relationship and Jo and Laurie’s (from Little Women, that is)?

Still Later: Nat’s going to rack and ruin in Germany? Meg won’t let him marry Daisy? Emil’s shipwrecked? AND DAN’S IN JAIL FOR MURDER??? WHY CAN’T THERE BE HAPPINESS ANYMORE?

*picks up book after abandoning it for several minutes* Emil’s awesome. Well, at least Nat’s getting his life turned around for the better now. Why’s everyone suddenly getting engaged? Why does Alcott stop the story to talk about women’s suffrage for chapters on end?

The Dan-Suffering-In-Prison Chapter: MY POOR BABY. HE ONLY DID IT IN SELF-DEFENSE. DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID AND GET YOUR SENTENCE LENGTHENED. Now he’s crying…OH, MAN, I JUST WANT TO REACH THROUGH THE BOOK AND HUG HIM. *feeeeeeeeeeeeeels*

Rest of the book: Well, everything’s turning out okay. Dan’s back home, everyone’s happily married or engaged. EXCEPT DAN. Who, it seems, will never get a happy ending. WHICH IS NOT FAIR. I’m soooo glad Nat and Daisy are going to live happily ever after, though. They’re both sweet. Now she’s wrapping up the story and-DAN DIED. DAN. DIED. DEFENDING THE INDIANS. NOOOOOOOOO.

*spends the rest of the day moping around the house because DAN*

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long, sometimes tedious, but almost always charming epilogue to Little Women and Little Men. Alcott wrote it in 1886, eighteen years after Little Women and two years before her death. She must have known, feeling the effects of mercury poisoning from her time as a Civil War nurse, that the lights were really going out, the curtain about to fall.

In this book Alcott continues to find a platform for her ideas, including women's suffrage, co-education, rehabilitation for criminals, and temperance, and makes a mini-Republic out of Plumfield where they can play out. Also interesting were Jo's troubles with being a famous writer, which must have echoed Alcott's.

This is the only book in the series that often strays from New England - out west, to London, to a shipwreck at sea - and these parts seemed to be either very sparingly drawn or leaning toward melodramatic. It took some suspension of disbelief to read about Emil's shipwreck and daring heroism, and Dan's rescue of twenty men from a flooded mine.

Still, I though Jo's Boys gave an interesting window into Alcott's ideas and the changing world of the late 19th century (the telephone and camera both make apperances). It's hard not to read it as a what could have been, given the differences between the characters and the people on which Alcott based them. By the time she wrote Jo's Boys, two of Alcott's sisters had died, one had lost a husband, and Alcott herself had never gotten married.

This was a compelling read for me, though, more for its famliar characters and the world it created for them than for its literary genius, and I felt a little sad at the end knowing the curtain had indeed closed on the March family.

[Rikke · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a certain sense of emptiness that only booklovers will know. Upon closing a dear book and saying goodbye to its variety of language and characters, it can often feel like some precious part of one's soul is left behind and lost forever. And here I am; with a bittersweet lump in my throat and a melancholic longing for something more.

"Jo's Boys" by Louisa May Alcott is different from the other books in this series. It is far more dramatic - even violent at times - in its plot, and is generally a far cry from the idyllic ending one would have expected.
Most of the time I agreed with Alcott's decisions in her characters' fate, but I will not and cannot accept the broken road Dan had to take. I wanted to see him succeed so badly that his dismissed dreams almost felt like a true tragedy. My heart ached for him.

However I loved the story of Nat who got everything he deserved, and dear Nan who turned out to be the perfect feminist that Jo failed to become. Emil's experiences added a tone of adventure to the novel, and Tom's lesson was an underlined deja-vu of Laurie's previous experience.
Jo's character was also rather interesting, and I loved how Alcott used her for a higher purpose and through her explained the triumphs and trials of being an admired author. It felt very authentic.

I started reading "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys" in order to catch glimpses of Meg, Jo and Amy, but I ended up enjoying the new colorful additions to the little group equally. Alcott managed to introduce the new generation with such heartfelt emotion, that I couldn't help but to give in and adore them just as much as the original characters.

"And now, having endeavoured to suit everyone by many weddings, few deaths, and as much prosperity as the eternal fitness of things will permit, let the music stop, the lights die out, and the curtain fall for ever on the March family."

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried, again, as I read the final sentence of this delightful little book. This was my third reading of the Jo March books but my first read through as a mother and homeschool teacher. While I think that Little Men is my absolute favorite of the books, this one is as dear to me as a trusted old friend. I did not want the music to stop or the lights to go out. I did not want the curtain to fall on this inspiring and tender family.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’ve read the previous books in the series, this is more of the same. Nothing spectacular but a perfectly pleasant lazy-day read. I’m glad I read these books but I very much doubt I’ll ever return to them.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a lot of memorable moments and great lessons for adolescents! I definitely recommend this one for family read-aloud or young adults!

A heads up that the beginning starts off a little slow and that not every single character from Little Men grew up to be perfect or as good as you’d wish. But we are all human, and I think Alcott specifically made her characters flawed/or be tempted so she could address life lessons that young adults would benefit by. It’s certainly a strength of Alcott’s to provide great moral lessons through her immortal characters.

Such lessons are: fame and fortune, courage, interacting with the opposite sex, drinking and gambling, laziness and personal presentation, career choices, ambition, forgiveness of others and yourself, getting past shame and regrets, waiting for love, and much more!

Alcott does mention women’s freedoms and rights a lot - she was definitely a feminist of her time. Of her time, and not of ours, and that’s something I had to remind myself of. Alcott was speaking to rights to vote and careers, not to the rubbish pushed today.

Be sure to add this to your home library! And I thought this narrator did a fabulous job for this and Little Men!

Ages: 12+

Cleanliness: see above.

**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!

So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!

[thebooksthief_ Ania ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,75⭐️/5
Nie ma już klimatu,ale piękny język.Nadal podtrzymuje opinie ,ze w tej serii jest tendencja spadkowa.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

“…books are always good company if you have the right sort. Let me pick out some for you.' And Mrs. Jo made a bee-line to the well-laden shelves, which were the joy of her heart and the comfort of her life.”

"Little Women" has long being a favourite, but this is the first time I have read the series to the end. I have to admit the two follow ups don't possess the same magic of the first book (or first two, depending on what editions you are reading). But they do have their moments, and definitely feel worth reading.

In "Jo's Boys", those boys are now venturing out on their own, with the full support of Jo and all the people who surround her. That is, with the exception of a handful of boys from the previous book who have either died, a surely upsetting experience that is hardly mentioned, or are considered 'failures', with Jo barely dwelling on them.

I felt at times that the weakness of the book was the repetition. Basically Jo sends them each off with a reminder that faith in God and their own moral character will see them right, whatever trials may come their way. While I don't disagree with this advice, I did wonder why we had to sit through it over and over. Also, a bit more specific advice would have been helpful surely?

Dan is by far the most interesting character, at times feeling like he belongs in a different novel. His adventures and tribulations were the most captivating, but his conclusion certainly the least satisfying.

I thought Christianity had a strong focus on forgiveness and redemption, so why is Dan essentially considered beyond this? Yes manslaughter is a serious charge, but he went to prison, and then, rather unrealistically, rescued a group of miners from death. Surely these things combined redeem him significantly? And why is his love considered impossible? Or any 'worthy' love, as Jo dismisses the possibility that any good woman could every marry him! Why does she get to decide that?

“Don't take it away! It's only a fancy, but a man must love something…”

Even if who he loves doesn't return his feelings, that should be between them, not decided on by her maddeningly interfering family members.

Also, I found Meg wearying and hypocritical. Already being the sister I care for least, here I hated her presence and the way she treated her children. She improved slightly by the end, but the journey was dull and annoying.

Despite these things, I did enjoy reading this novel. I loved that Nan got to remain a spinster, devoted to her work. I liked that Amy and Laurie use their absurd amounts of money to bankroll the less fortunate. I liked that Jo and Laurie seemed to have returned to their youthful friendships, with an ease that brought a tear to my eye. I laughed at Jo's son Ted, with his taste for fashion, his desire for a beaver hat, and his mother's response:
"My child, you are absurd enough now; if I let you add a tall hat, Plumfield wouldn't hold either of us, such would be the scorn and derision of all beholders. Content yourself with looking like the ghost of a waiter, and don't ask for the most ridiculous head-gear in the known world."

And there was a great deal of discussion on the importance of education for women, and many excellent points were points were made, including this observation by a girl now that she was studying that she was:
" Stronger in body, and much happier in mind. I think I was dying of ennui; but the doctors called it inherited delicacy of constitution."

After recently reading that the real life sister that inspired Amy actually died shortly after childbirth, there was a poignancy to reading the fictional version living a serenely fulfilling life, doting on her family, equally loved in return. Many people seem to hate Amy, (the fictional version) but I have always had a soft spot for her.

When the book finally draws to a close, you sense that the author is more than done with her creation.
"It is a strong temptation to the weary historian to close the present tale with an earthquake which should engulf Plumfield and its environs so deeply in the bowels of the earth that no youthful Schliemann could ever find a vestige of it."

While I had struggled with some parts of the book, the final page did make me emotional, and I am glad I read it, despite feeling passionately that Dan deserved better.

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes indeed, I do have to admit that while Little Women is both brilliant and will always remain a strong and magical personal reading favourite and that Little Men albeit unfortunately not quite as delightful as Little Women is still engagingly readable and as such also a solidly successful sequel, Jo's Boys (the third and also the final instalment of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women series), while I guess that it does provide a decent enough conclusion in so far that it presents and features how in particular the characters encountered as Plumfield students in Little Men live and thrive (or conversely sometimes fail and do not not succeed) as adults, well, Jo's Boys has for me and in my humble opinion for the most part been a rather massively disappointing and indeed also often quite frustrating and even mildly to majorly annoying reading experience.

For although both Little Women and Little Men do exhibit and show moralising messages and preachiness (and with the latter, with Little Men considerably more so than Little Women and with rather less subtlety), both novels do from where I am standing still utterly pale when compared to the almost constant and as such also absolutely overwhelming level and amount of sermons and directly in one's proverbial face both religious and cultural, behaviour-based evangelism that seems to literally inhabit almost every single page of Jo's Boys, with in my opinion Louisa May Alcott often totally eschewing engaging story telling techniques in favour of almost continuously hitting her readers over their collective heads with one moralising and message-heavy speech after another, and yes, often in such rapid succession that one cannot even really recover from being evangelised and preached at before another such volley is launched, before in particular Jo Bhaer starts pontificating once again, leaving me with considering Jo's Boys not as generally a reading pleasure but for the most part just a huge and tediously dragging slog.

And indeed, even the few instances where I have found relatable and engaging scenarios in Jo's Boys, such as for example Jo trying to hide from fans of her writing (and who are desperate for autographs) and that Nan is allowed to stay single and to just concentrate on her medical studies, these very few instances of untainted delight, they are both too few and far between and equally do not and cannot provide enough engagement and entertainment to successfully contain and mitigate the moralising, this cannot make the over-use of the latter in Jo's Boys feel in any manner less problematic and annoyingly one-sided.

Combined with the fact that I have personally also found Dan's story and how he is (and in my opinion rather callously and unfeelingly) prevented by Jo from openly and publicly declaring his love and devotion to and for Bess extremely off-putting (and not to mention incredibly unjust and inherently nasty to boot, considering that the text really does seem to show Bess and Dan's affection for one another to be totally genuine as well as mutual, that they both truly do love and very much cherish one another), while I do not in fact regret having read Jo's Boys, I will also only ever consider it a two star rating at best, as well as pointing out that from the Louisa May Alcott novels I have read to date, Jo's Boys is most definitely the one I have thus far enjoyed the least, that has for the most part not been a joyful but rather just a frustrating and painful reading sojourn.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Preach it, Louisa May! Or, maybe stop preaching it. This book is preachy, y'all. Moralizing and sermons on every page. Blahhhhhh

Also, Meg grew up to be a bitch.

Did not like.

OK, there were some good characters (like Nan, the independent woman doctor) and some good messages (many of Alcott's views were progressive, such as women's rights etc), but for the most part... nah

[Liss Carmody · Rating 2 out of 5]

In all honesty, this is a dreary book. Imagine the epilogue to the Harry Potter Series, which most people agree is somewhat hamfisted and not up to par, if not blatant fan service. Now imagine if J.K. Rowling had written it into a full eighth book, rather than a single chapter. That is what we have here. As the third (or fourth, depending on how you care to look at it) and final installment in the chronicle of the March sisters and their families, this draws much too heavily on the less-compelling Little Men for its characters and basically occupies itself giving small snippets and synopses of what happens to them when they reach adulthood. Half of the characters from Little Men are dismissed completely with two-line summaries, while the ones that remain are each dutifully given their trial, lesson, and ultimate happy ending. Mostly, the boys are married off to faceless but undoubtedly very sweet girls for whom it's impossible to care much, because they are such hollow caricatures. Two of the girls were so young in the preceding book that they are basically introduced fresh, and the best stories in all honesty have to do with their independent aspirations (theatrical Josie and pragmatic doctor Nan). There is a chapter early on in which Jo Bhaer, having acquired some literary success modeled directly off of Alcott's experience, relates the tribulations of being a famous author in that day and age. Of all the moralizing and sermonizing that happens in this book, that chapter rings the truest with both honest experience and humor. Otherwise, I could have been happy having this book compressed down to a single epilogue, a la Harry Potter.

[Галина Ганова · Rating 5 out of 5]

Синовете на Джо, оставили училището „Пламфийлд“ зад себе си, са вече големи мъже, готови да посрещнат света, независимо от трудностите, които това може да им донесе.
Луиза Мей Олкът отново ни представя една чиста и невинна история за момчетата и момичетата на семейство Марч, изпълнена с премеждия, уроци, порастване и помъдряване. Приятно ме изненада, че равнопоставието между половете беше поставено като тема и как не всяка жена трябва да е съпруга, за да има щастлив живот (нещо, което усещах, че не беше така в предишни части от поредицата)
Четенето на тази книга – последната от семейната идилия за семейство Марч беше горчиво-сладко. Привързана съм към героите и техните съдби и когато затворих последната страница имах чувството за загуба, но винаги е така, когато нещо ти влезе под кожата.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading the entire series of the March family and their descendants. I homeschool and picked up Little Men for inspiration. I gleaned so many wonderful insights for educating young children, finding our personal missions and following your bliss. In reading the entire series, I get a vision of what I want our lives to look like as I raise my children and the kind of experiences I want them to have. It is easy to involve yourself in the lives of the people in these books because you know a Meg or a Beth or you are a Jo. There is sweetness, sentiment and TRUTH throughout. It is uplifting and inspiring and you will be a better person for having read it.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great conclusion of the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott. If you enjoyed Little Men, you will enjoy Jo's Boys as it tells what happens to the boys of Plumfield as they get older. Definitely check the whole Little Women series out as they are all a joy to read.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew to love all the characters in Little Men, so one is bound to love this one just as much. There's plenty of laughter and fun in this book. The end bit has some emotional scenes with wandering Dan and I would have loved to see him happy. Ah, but that is life! A lovely read.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

''...The women of England can vote, and we can´t. I´m ashamed of America that she isn´t ahead in all good things...''

He disfrutado la novela, me ha encantado ver como han crecido sus pequeños protagonistas.
Creo que este libro mejora algunos aspectos con respecto al tercero de la saga, ''Little men'', hay mucho más presencia femenina, mujeres fuertes que reivindican la igualdad de sexos. Eso sí, tenemos que tener en cuenta que es un clásico y que fue publicado en 1886, así que tampoco le pidamos peras al olmo que nos encontramos tanto mujeres que estudiaban medicina y se labraban una profesión, como mujeres que suspiraban por casarse, tener hijos y ser amas de casa.
Es un libro que me ha entretenido, me ha hecho reír en algunas ocasiones y que me ha entristecido en otras. Creo que el tercer capítulo es uno de mis favoritos así como el personaje de Nan, que al igual que en el anterior libro me parece que está un tanto desaprovechado.

[Masteatro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado reencontrarme con la familia March aunque debo decir que la historia que aqui se cuenta me ha interesado de forma bastante desigual, unos capítulos mucho y otros muy poco. Me hubiera gustado por ejemplo saber más de Nat que tanta importancia tenía en Little Men. En cualquier caso, ahora mismo no atravieso un muy buen momento lector porque tengo otras preocupaciones en la cabeza y quizá eso también haya influido en mí valoración de esta historia

[Marta Demianiuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chyba najbardziej moralizatorska część historii sióstr March, co nie do końca mi się podobało.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've really changed my opinion about Jo's Boys in my reread of this book. I first read this book when I was 14 or 15 and I recall really liking it. Rereading it as an adult really changed my mind about this book, though. I don't know if it's because I've become completely jaded (I hope not) or just because changes taste as one ages, but things definitely changed the second time around. The excessive preachiness was maybe even more apparent in this story than in Little Men. I wonder how much of the preachiness was due Alcott's own inclinations and how much was due to the pressure from her publisher.

I think certain characters in the book kept me reading (Jo, Dan, Nat). I got about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through the book before I hit a wall. I just wasn't interested in some of the characters, but the narrative was even more of a sticking point with me. There just wasn't much of a plot. The reader jumped from one vignette to another but the only thing that connected them was that they were all at Plumfield together at one point in time. Maybe this cut the muster in Alcott's time but for today's savvy middle grade readers, I don't think it's up to par. I felt like I was watching the movie An Affair to Remember and all of a sudden it cut to a 15 minute song interlude - BORING.

There is much more of a ongoing plot in this one, unlike Little Men, even though stories of each character make up that plot. I found it much more engaging, and a lot less boring that its predecessor.

In addition, there were some pieces that seem offensive to today's readers. The comment from one of the female characters of "Our brains may be smaller [than men's]" to calling out single women as spinsters and implying that not wanting to get married and raise a family makes a woman subhuman didn't sit well with me. And funnily enough, they seemed to go against Alcott's own goals, or at least outcome, of her own life.

I know most adult readers will disagree with me but I actually preferred Little Men to Jo's Boys, at least as a young reader.

After reading this as an adult reader, I'd downgrade it from a 4 to a 2.

[Trace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last sentence of this book had me in tears:

" And now having endeavored to suit every one by many weddings, few deaths, and as much prosperity as the eternal fitness of things will permit, let the music stop, the lights die out, and the curtain fall forever on the March family."

Its sad to say goodbye to a family that I've come to know and love in this past year... Jo has become somewhat of a mentor to me after reading Little Men and Jo's Boys... and so, yes, I'm somewhat emotional that I've finished this saga regarding the March family.

I remember when I read Little Women, I felt a little disloyal to my beloved L.M Montgomery because I instantly felt I needed to jostle Anne over to make room at the very top of my favorite books list for Little Women...now I can say that I feel that way about all three of the March books.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I work on wedding stuff, I've been listening my way through Alcott's works. I liked this story better than Little Men. While still not on par with Little Woman, Rose in Bloom, Eight Cousins, or some of the other beloved works, it was still nice to see the beloved characters again.

[Victoria Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great work by Louisa May Alcott! A must read for Little Women fans! I just love this book!

[ดินสอ สีไม้ · Rating 2 out of 5]

เล่มนี้น่าจะใช้เวลาอ่านนานที่สุดในปีนี้แล้ว!
หนังสือที่คิดว่าน่าจะอ่านได้เรื่อยๆ สนุกๆ
กลายเป็นเล่มที่เข็นได้อืดที่สุด เบื่อที่สุด
หนังสือเล่มนี้ เป็นเล่มต่อของ little women (เป็นเล่มที่ 3)
เราไม่เคยอ่านเล่ม 2 ไม่รู้จักตัวละคร (ที่นอกเหนือจากเล่ม 1) มาก่อน
ซึ่งมันพลาดมาก มันทำให้การอ่าน เป็นการอ่านที่ยุ่งเหยิงมาก

ผู้เขียนไม่พูดพล่ามทำเพลง ไม่แนะนำตัวละครเก่าๆ แก่เรา
(จริงๆ ก็มีบ้าง แต่มาแบบตู้มเดียว 20 คน อะไรงี้)
จากนั้นก็นั่งคลำนั่งมึนไปทีละบท
เป็นการอ่านที่ไม่สนุกเลย เนื้อเรื่องก็เรื่อยๆ เหมือนบันทึกประจำวัน
เล่าชีวิตของหนุ่มน้อยของโจ (ซึ่งโตๆ กันแล้ว) แต่ละคนไปในแต่ละบท
มีเรื่องราวของบางคนที่ดีและน่าสนใจบ้าง แต่ก็เป็นส่วนน้อย
หลายเรื่องเล่ารวบรัดในจบในตอนเดียว
บางเรื่องน่าสนใจ และน่าจะเล่าได้สนุกกว่านี้
บางทีอาจเป็นเพราะสำนวนแปลด้วยแหละ
ผิดหวังกับเล่มนี้มากๆ และไม่ชอบมันเลยค่ะ