The Spring Girls

December 11, 2017
Todd’s contemporary update of Little Women is an entertaining take on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved original. Meredith Spring lives on the Fort Cyprus military base in New Orleans with her four daughters: 19-year-old Meg, who dreams of marrying an army officer and escaping her less-than-glitzy home life; homeschooled Beth, who does her best to help her mother run the household; the passionate 16-year-old Jo, who has no interest in marriage and longs to travel the world and write searing pieces on social justice; and sweet-natured 12-year-old Amy, who looks to her sisters to shape the woman she will become. Their father, Frank, an army officer, is overseas for a year in Mosul, and a distinct pall hangs over the home as they worry for his safety; the girls are also concerned their mother may be falling apart under the strain of his absence. Told in alternating chapters by Meg, Jo, Beth, and Meredith, this enjoyable novel explores the bonds of sisterhood, first love, and teenage angst, and while it echoes Alcott’s novel, it provides a refreshing 21st-century update.

January 1, 2018

Fans of Wattpad online publishing phenomenon Todd will recognize the angsty teen and new adult drama in this "modern day retelling of Little Women," although Louisa May Alcott fans may not recognize much of their beloved classic. Set on an Army base outside of New Orleans, the story opens at Christmas with the four Spring sisters home with their depressed mother, Meredith, while father Frank fights in Iraq. Meredith and her three older daughters narrate in turn: sexy Meg, the oldest; unromantic Jo; and Beth, the shy homebody. Handsome Laurie next door falls quickly for smart-mouthed Jo, who is more focused on reporting current events for the school newspaper than on romance. Scandal, dating, and love triangles dominate the plot; however, other crises are related in the same gossipy, girlfriend-to-girlfriend style. VERDICT Leaving room for at least one sequel, this contemporary retelling of Little Women in fan-fiction style by the author of the popular "After" series may spark new interest in the old classic (the author's own declared favorite as a girl).--Laurie Cavanaugh, Thayer P.L., Braintree, MA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2017
An in-demand new adult author retells a beloved classic. Todd (After, 2014) sets Little Women on Fort Cyprus, a military base near New Orleans. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy eagerly await news of their father, stationed overseas, while their mother, Meredith, quietly falls apart. Meanwhile, Meg's romantic troubles hinder her goal of being an officer's wife, Jo won't let romance get in the way of her goal of writing for Vice, Beth quietly keeps house while fighting anxiety, and Amy is basically a brat. Todd includes modern touchesMeg's leaked nude selfies, Laurie's man-bunand focuses the story on the girls' romantic conflicts as each ponders what kind of woman she wants to be. An admirable concept, but the writing style, perhaps meant to reflect the high drama of the adolescent mind, makes it difficult to grasp details of the Springs' life and relationships with each other and their neighbors. This effort may not win Todd new readers, but her legion of loyal fans, who have followed her from her fanfiction days on the self-publishing platform, Wattpad, will be thrilled.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)