The Other March Sisters by Liz Epstein, Ali Malinenko, Liz Parker - Book Review

 

ARC from NetGalley

Publish Date: February 25, 2025

The nostalgia hit heavy with this ARC from Net Galley. I was not sure exactly what to expect. The description stated that this would be from the perspectives of the other March sisters from the classic “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. The original book was told through Jo, who had firm opinions of her family and sisters and strong convictions about the world. Growing up, this movie was a staple in our house, and I don’t think I ever realized as a kid how skewed the perspective was in Jo’s favor. Watching and reading it as an adult, it is very evident, which made this book more appealing to me.

As interesting as this book was from the perspective it was written, it fell rather flat for me. Each sister had her own coming-of-age story in her way. All three were burdened with their version of an existential crisis put on them by their mother. I wonder if I would have appreciated their struggles as much if I had never seen the original movie or read the original book. My biggest issue is the storyline or lack thereof. As much as the book's themes maintain themselves throughout, no storyline connects the three sisters or comes to any kind of conclusion for the reader at the end of the book. I also feel like we are missing a piece in the book from Jo herself. As much as I appreciate giving the other sisters their time to shine it would have been nice to at least been given a snippet from Jo and not just have the rest of the family talk about her. Writing from the perspective of one character welcomingly leaves much open to the imagination for the reader. Leaving out one perspective entirely can make a story feel very incomplete.

I genuinely love revisiting these characters close to 30 years after first being introduced to them. While reading I could see the actors and actresses from the original film and hear their voices, see their outfits, and visualize the house they grew up in that was referenced quite a bit and where Beth still lived during this book. The amount of research done by these authors from the original book is very admirable and seemingly a labor of love. I wonder what this book would be like had it been read in tandem with the original?