In this book, Emily must write a paper for school about what she would change in her favorite story. She chooses Little Women by Louisa May Alcott; Emily is certain that she knows how to improve the story. But somehow she is transported into the story as the fifth sister who does not quite fit in. Emily tries to change the story to suit herself but finds that it is not as easy as she thought. While stuck in the story she begins to realize that maybe her life back home wasn’t as bad as she previously thought; she also wonders if she will be cursed to remain in the book to endlessly repeat the same actions without any hope of a reprieve.
Lauren has taken a beloved classic and allowed the readers to do a what-if? Generations of readers have wondered what would have happened if Laurie had chosen Jo over Amy, or what if Beth had been saved at the last minute. It is an intriguing premise and a good one for younger readers. It has been done before, notably by Jasper Fforde in The Eyre Affair, but for the pre-teens and teens who have not read his work this is a good introduction into the concept of being able to enter into a work of fiction to affect a change.
I would recommend this book to the legions of Little Women fans out there who have ever fantasized about how they would have written the original story.
Age Range: Pre-teens on up.
Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Bloomsbury USA Childrens. 2011. 320 pp.
