Little Men And Jo's Boys: (150th Anniversary Edition) Illustrated Classic

by Louisa May Alcott

The two American classics here together in one volume, Little Men and Jo's Boys, are worthy sequels to Little Women, one of the best-loved children's stories of all time, and its continuation, Good Wives. In Little Men, Louisa May Alcott takes up the story of the everyday dramas and exploits of the naughty but easy-going boys at Plumfield, now a boarding-school run by Professor Bhaer and his lovable madcap wife Jo, the most fiery and free-spirited of the four March sisters.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1871

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

[Ayu Palar]

just bought it in Kinokuniya for IDR 28,000 or $2! :D Ain't it a bliss for a book lover?

[Pâmela Possani]

Homenzinhos se passa um tempinho depois de Mulherzinhas. Assim como em Mulherzinhas, a Louisa traz muitas lições a fim de ensinar o bom comportamento e os bons modos através de coisas simples, o respeito ao próximo e a convivência com o outro, de forma muito sutil e muito doce. Os homenzinhos vão tendo maior noção sobre o impacto de suas atitudes ao longo da narrativa, através de lições muito singelas e doces.

[Emily Selders · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Experience
My introduction to this series was the 2019 Little Women film adaptation, which I loved. I proceeded to read the book and now the rest of the series, which I've also enjoyed immensely. Although I think it's written for a middle-grade audience, I found it relevant to me as a young adult. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Little Women, and the series as a whole to everyone but especially young people. The first part of Little Men was a bit hard to get through because I wasn't yet attached to the main characters and because I was in a reading slump, but soon enough I never wanted to put the book down.

Positives
It's an excellent continuation of the Little Women fictional universe. It has all of the same wholesomeness and charm that can draw me in even despite a change in main characters. I found it interesting to see how the March girls' upbringing influenced how the next generation was brought up. Despite them not being the main characters, the main characters from Little Women are instrumental to the story and are brought up enough that I felt a good sense of satisfaction and closure. The feminist message was amped up from the first book, which I appreciated. I also really appreciate it when a series decides to end purposefully instead of being drawn out despite contrived plots and decreasing quality.

Negatives
All of the quirks of novels written during this time are present, which I'm ambivalent about but are generally not favored today. There are period-typical problematic perspectives. As a nonreligious person, I wasn't a huge fan of the increased focus on Christian messaging. Something that doesn't bother me at all, but that many people dislike, is that it's character-driven more than plot-driven and the typical plot structure does not apply.

[Steph Hayward-bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this one as a conclusion to little women. I preferred little men and thought Joe's boys could have been summed up in a few chapters and form an epilogue rather than being a whole book.

[Jelica Zdravković · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. It’s so wonderfully written and incredibly comforting. I especially loved how Jo grew to embrace the character of her mother, whom she always wanted to be like in Little Women. She calmed her restless nature and grew so much throughout the story.
Dan’s character is complex and inspiring. While his ending might not be entirely satisfying, it felt very realistic.

However, I didn’t like that Nan and Tom didn’t end up together. Throughout the book, I felt they had genuine chemistry, and the storyline with Dora seemed rushed and unnecessary. I think In many ways, Nan in Jo’s Boys is the equivalent of what Jo was in Little Women. In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott was pushed by publishers to marry Jo off. By the time she wrote Jo’s Boys, she had more power and influence as a writer and could decide her characters’ fates. Even though I understand her perspective, I feel she disrespected Tom’s and Nan’s potential. Their relationship was so cute and well-developed, and I feel like Alcott’s bitterness about Jo’s fate in Little Women led her to sacrifice these characters, believing it would somehow make up for it.

Dan’s character was amazing from the beginning until almost the end, but I couldn’t help but criticize the scene where Jo finds a picture of Bess in his pocket. He never clearly expresses what kind of feelings he has for her, only that he won’t act on them. Considering that he watched her grow up and the significant age gap between them, that scene felt very uncomfortable and, to me, tarnished his character. I understand that relationships like this may have happened at the time and that Dan knew he was in the wrong, but it still felt very out of character.

Some of the stories were a bit slow and didn’t hold my attention, but for the most part, I loved the dynamics and relationships between the boys.

Definitely recommend.

[Intesar Alemadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little men & Jo’s boys ..
Louisa May Alicott ..
America ..

الجزأين الأخيرين من سلسلة لويسا ماري ألكوت .. رجال صغار وأولاد جو .. رجال صغار يعد الجزء الثاني من سلسلة نساء صغيرات .. في هذا الجزء يتحدث عن مدرسة بلومفيلد التي أسستها جو مع زوجها .. وحياة الطلاب في مرحلة البلوغ .. والصراعات التي يواجهونها .. وكيف يتعلمون من أخطاؤهم .. ديمي وإميل وتومي وآني وديزي ..
في الجزء الثالث والأخير .. تتكلم الرواية بعد مرور عشر سنوات .. ماذا حدث للأولاد .. خارج مزرعة بلومفيلد .. وكيف وجهتهم جو نحو الطريق الصحيح..

———

ودمتم بحفظ الرحمن ..

[TheLesserReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

i'm not sure what i expected from the woman who decided that laurie should marry amy

Little Men: very good i enjoyed it very much 5 stars
Jo's Boys: a little drawn out and then ended abruptly? 4 stars

[Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥰
"Latinski, grčki i matematika divni su i krasni, no po mišljenju profesora Bera važniji su bili znanje, samostalnost i vlast nad sobom, te je nastojao da ih svemu tome brižljivo nauči. "

"U školi nije bilo nagrada, ali,,Svaka čast!" gospodina Bera i dobra beleška gospođe Ber u knjizi savesti učinili su ih da zavole dužnost iz ljubavi prema samoj dužnosti  i da nastoje da obavljaju odano,uvereno da će naknada kad-tad doći".


,, Psovanje moraš da odložiš u fioku za manr i da ga zaključaš;tako ja radim sa svojom nevaljalošću.
,, Kako to misliš? "upita Den, a izgledao je kao da mu je Demi zabavan isto koliko i neka nova vrsza gundelja ili balegara.
,, Pa eto, to je jedna  moja lična igra i ispričaću ti je, ali mislim da ćeš joj se smejati''započe Demi, radostan što može da razveze na tu njemu prisnu temu. ,,Igram se kao da je moj um j3rna okrugla soba, a duša nekakvo stvorenjce s krilima kojr živi u njoj. Zidovi su puni polica i fioka o u njima držim svoje misli, i ono što je kod mene dobro i nevaljalo, sve i svašta. Dobrote držim tamo gde su mi na vidiku, a nevaljalosti dobro zaključam, ali izađu, pa moram stalno da ih vraćam i sabijam ih, strašno su jake. S mislima se igram kad sam sam ili u krevetu, pa zamišljam i radim sa njima šta ja volim. Svake nedelje sredim tu svoju sobu i porazgovaram sa duhom koji u njoj živi, kažem mu šta da radi. Ponekad je vrlo nevaljao i ne obraća pažnju na mene, onda moram da ga izgrdim i da ga dovedem deki. On ga uvek natera da se lepo ponaša i da se ražalosti zbog svojih mana, jer deka voli tu igru i daje mi lepe stvari da ih smestim u fioke i govori mi kako da zaključam nevaljstva...... ''

I ako neko može da preporuči još neko delo gde se ljudi zalažu za reformu školstva i slično bila bih mu zahvalnaa❤️🥰

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ughhhh! Heed. With Cautian. Spoiler.




They killed off John Brooke. This review is dedicated to him.

I love Alcott. I love her writing style, plots and great fun.

I just got ticked off that out of all the characters, ALL THE CHARACTERS, JOHN BROOKE!!! The father of demi and daisy.

You know what, I was thinking. Why didnt alcott focus more of meg and john? I actually was more curious about their romance and their story than Jo and Mr Bhaer.

I fell instantly in love with John Brooke. Especially those brown eyes. And I have no idea why Alcott did not dwindle a little longer on those two as a couple.

To be quite frank, Jo and Bhaer's married relationship is not quite revealing through this book. I donot see how Jo could run the house ALL DAY and then awake during the night, constantly working and having no rest. No human person can do that. I mean, you will definitively have a mental break down from lack of bodily rest.

I mean Mr Bhaer has more time to himself than his own wife. He hardly does anything but teach really. I actually find him selfish. Like, his in his own study having quiet time. I mean what about your wife? Where is the relationship between him and his wife?

This really annoyed me.

Why did not Nan marry tommy? Why did not Dan marry?

I have no idea Alcott went the way she did, but she did. I mean. I loved this book. I just got annoyed by the killing off of Brooke. I mean for goodness sake! Old Lawrence outlived him!

Anyhow. I will return to Alcott.

Next stop: the old fashioned girl by Alcott.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is such a cosy and heartwarming one that I saved reading this until Christmastime.

This particular volume features the last two installments, Little Men & Jo's Boys. The first follows the boys at Plumfield House, during their adolescence, learning academically and about society. Though the stories focus on the young men, Jo, Freidrich, Meg, Amy, Marmee, Laurie and others are still the cement of the story.

The second novel revisits some of the boys ten years later, when they have gone their own way into the world. We hear of their successes and some things that haven't gone quite right. Even the lows are written in such a lovely way that this is a worthy follow on to a dearly beloved book.

Full of new characters, personalities and anecdotes, it was a joy to delve back into this world.

🏫🎒📚🧡

[Shatha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM SO SAD.
WHY IS IT OVER???
WHY??????
AND DAN.
OH, POOR DAN.
*SOBS*
Everyone, please excuse my sentiments. I began reading Little Women when I was 11 Jo March has been my best friend for years, I'm so sad to see her go.

Re-read in 2017: It's still exquisitely good, and it remains one of the few books that can make me cry

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to read more about all our favourite characters from Little Women and to read about their lives as adults. Like Little Women this book is not a gripping or exciting read, but is full of morally strong characters, writing and ideas and pleasant stories from which one can take a lot. An enjoyable book, though perhaps not as good as Little Women.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved both of these books. I think a lot of people don't realize they are a continuation of Little women. The story has our beloved Jo and all of her family and a large group of children you grow to love.

[Márcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable must-read for fans of Little Women and Louisa May Alcott's books in general.


Image Credit

[Alyson Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't remember much of it, except it's mostly about the second generation of the March family and it's quaint and cute.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute; definitely not as good as Little Women, though. I enjoyed the little adventures and the characters, but I found it somewhat unbelievable and overly-idealistic at times.

[Shannie Joy Kosman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Men was great. Jo's Boys was too much.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Men: 4,5*

Jo's Boys: 3,5*

[Monika Skopalová · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

Little men 4*
Jo's boys 3*

[Dijana dibookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh kada bi svijet bio Plamfild, bar na kratko… Lijepa knjiga, lijepo pisana, ali za razliku od Malih zena poprilicno dosadna