Meg and Jo

Starred review from September 30, 2019
Kantra (Carolina Blues) charms in this outstanding update of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s 19th century classic. In this retelling, always-independent Jo, after losing her journalism job, is working as a prep cook and writing a food blog in New York City; Meg is a married and overwhelmed stay-at-home mother with two-year-old twins in small-town Bunyan, N.C.; Beth is a shy aspiring musician, and stylish Amy’s in Paris doing an internship with Louis Vuitton. After the girls’ mother, Abby, is hospitalized, Meg and Jo (who tell the story in alternating first-person chapters) rally to take care of her—and find happiness in unexpected places. Supporting characters from the original abound—rich boy-next-door Theodore Laurence III is Trey and owns a car dealership, where Meg’s husband, John, works; Mr. Bhaer (called Eric rather than Friedrich in this version), Jo’s love, is a successful chef. Kantra blends just enough of Alcott’s story of four close-knit sisters and their myriad tribulations with clever and timely new elements (unexpected pregnancies, the girls’ father as a military chaplain, parents separating), a mix that will satisfy Alcott fans as well as entice Kantra’s existing fans. The imaginative storytelling and sparkling prose make this a winner. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

October 1, 2019
The two eldest March sisters have chosen very different life paths. Can both find happiness? Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women, Kantra's (Carolina Heart, 2016, etc.) latest sets the March sisters in modern times with modern troubles. Married to her beloved husband, John, Meg is a stay-at-home mother to charming toddler twins. In contrast, Jo has become fiercely independent. After a disappointing stint in an MFA program, she's become a talented food blogger and a prep cook at the fancy restaurant Gusto in New York City. An unexpected romance with her boss, Eric Bhaer, however, throws Jo off balance. Is there a real chance for love with the tattooed, muscular, Michelin-star chef? How will she ever tell him about her writing when he dismisses bloggers as parasites? Meg's and Jo's personal problems must be set aside, though, when their mother falls ill with a bone infection. The two eldest March sisters must shoulder the burdens of keeping the farm running and looking out for their younger sisters, fashionista Amy and songwriter Beth. Returning to their North Carolina (not Massachusetts, as in Little Women) farm also means Jo must face her broken romance with Trey Laurence. Sticking close to the original plotlines, Kantra uses Alcott's beloved characters to question the choices women now confront, so the paths to romance reflect more contemporary concerns. Yet in trying to remain faithful to Alcott, Kantra's updates ring a bit too familiar. Her choice to cast Meg as a stay-at-home mom, trying to shield John from any domestic chores yet wondering if she can reenter the workforce, seems familiar. And even though Bhaer becomes a powerful, sexy food warrior instead of an intellectual, his romance with Jo runs along well-trod tracks. A thought-provoking adaptation of a beloved classic.

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Starred review from October 1, 2019
Kantra pulls inspiration from Little Women in this beautiful novel. Jo, an aspiring writer, sees her future slip away while her friends move away and build careers. After being laid off, Jo begins working as a prep-cook and a secret food blogger. Even with her professional life in shambles, Jo has one constant in her life: her sister Meg. Meg took a very different route; she married the love of her life and had twins, staying home with the kids while her husband John takes on a more stressful job to support them. In trying to emulate the marriage she thought her parents had, Meg refuses any help that is offered and alienates her husband in the process. After their mother falls ill, Meg takes on even more responsibility by managing the family farm until Jo comes home to help when her love life also falls to pieces. With everything piling up, the March sisters prove that they can get through anything. Those who gravitate toward family-centric novels with twists along the way will enjoy this novel, and fans of Alcott's original will appreciate this modern take on the beloved classic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)