Book Review: “So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix” by Bethany C. Morrow

“So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix” by Bethany C. Morrow (2021)

Genre: Historical Fiction, YA, Retellings

Page Length: 304 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the old life. It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:

Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.

Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.

Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.

Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home.

As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

I always love to read fresh takes on classic stories and that’s what intrigued me to read So Many Beginnings. It’s been years since I’ve read any version of Little Women but jumping into the story my memories came flooding back. I love the reimagined look and feel of this book and how chooses a colony as its focus and the time set in history. The Roanoke Colony seems to be a safe haven for Black people but in the back of their minds the residents are still wary. They know the fight for freedom is far from over, especially with their father being on duty in the Union army.

One of the things I admired about this novel and the original Little Women is how it displays the sisters’ very different personalities while also portraying a tight-knit family that has each other’s back. Jo is the imaginative writer, Amy is a dancer, Beth creates beautiful clothes, and Meg is a teacher with a nurturing caretaker vibe. These qualities make them stand out individually but also bring them together.

What I really enjoyed about this version of Little Women is how it uses small bits and pieces of the original work but makes it into a novel that stands on its own. Morrow’s retelling also focuses on a point the horrors of slavery and the difficulties of colonies during and after the Civil War and the changes it brought. While it is a novel about sisters and their close relationship it paints a vivid portrait of how we try to cover up things from the past. It’s about reckoning with history, overcoming tragedy, and these sisters grappling with the fact that they still have limitations to their freedom. These aspects really added to the historical parts and I can tell a lot of details came from heavy amounts of research. I think this is a novel for people who love Little Women and want to learn more about perspectives from a time of history where those types of stories have been omitted. I can’t wait to read more of these remixed classics!

Final Verdict: