Timed to release just before Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation, Virginia Kantra’s MEG & JO is a contemporary retelling of the beloved classic LITTLE WOMEN. Set in our present day, the book focuses on the eldest March sisters and their lives as women. Written with a careful eye for detail and an all-encompassing love for its source material, this is a fresh and lively reimagining for LITTLE WOMEN fans and newcomers alike.

True to its predecessor, MEG & JO kicks off with the memorable opening scene of LITTLE WOMEN, in which the four March sisters are bemoaning their lack of a real Christmas, missing their father and feeling grateful for their mother, who has taken on the full load of running the household while their father is at war. Though the scene has the same warmth and sisterhood of the original, Kantra has updated her version brilliantly. Jo, a certified tomboy, is a track runner; Meg, the beauty queen, dreams of owning her own car, though any boy in town would be happy to drive her anywhere; sickly Beth is constantly in the school nurse’s office complaining of cramps; and Amy is obsessed with designer brands and fashion. Rather than fighting in the Civil War, the March father is stationed in Iraq as an army chaplain. Rounding out the cast of characters is Trey --- ahem, Laurie --- their privileged neighbor who is more interested in speeding around in Maseratis than working through his issues.

"Written with a careful eye for detail and an all-encompassing love for its source material, this is a fresh and lively reimagining for LITTLE WOMEN fans and newcomers alike."

With the stage set, MEG & JO leaps into the future, where Jo is a food blogger in New York City and Meg is a Southern lady caring for her young twins. Though Jo loves the hustle and bustle of New York City, her career has taken a bit of a downturn. She was let go from the restaurant where she once worked, and now pays the bills for her barely-more-than-a-storage-unit Chelsea apartment by writing scathing reviews of fancy eateries. Desperate to avoid mixing work with pleasure, she also eschews dating and romance in all forms. After all, no one can understand her bizarre restaurant schedule better than a fellow chef, but no one is less attractive to her, either. Even worse, her roommates and friends have all moved away for jobs or relationships, and she is feeling a bit adrift.

Meanwhile, down in Southern Belle North Carolina, Meg is the proud and stylish mother of adorable twins and the happy wife to her sturdy husband, John. But while Jo sees Meg as perfectly powdered and puffed, Meg knows that her careful attention to appearance is nothing compared to her far wealthier, better dressed and thoroughly Botoxed friends. She has always played by the rules and followed a strict schedule, but she cannot help but feel that something is missing, especially since quitting her job at the bank to become a stay-at-home mom. With her mother ill, she feels even more confined to the life she always dreamed of and starts looking for independence in surprising ways.

When the girls’ mother suffers a fall and they are forced home to North Carolina for the holidays, they learn that their vastly different lifestyles may be more similar than they seem, and that the joy they have been seeking may have been back at home all along. From here, the highlight of MEG & JO is, of course, the bonds of sisterhood between the March women, and readers will find that Kantra has pulled from LITTLE WOMEN only the best parts and molded them into something that is wholly her own. Though she has deftly brought them into the 21st century, she has not left their beautiful bond behind, and the ways that she adapts it for our modern times (including the use of social media) are fun, yet decidedly cautious.

But that is not all that Kantra brings to the table. Her versions of the famous March sisters are edgy and nonconforming; they do not fit perfectly into the molds set by Louisa May Alcott so many years ago --- and they are so much better for it. It is clear that she adores both Alcott’s characters and her own, and though she is not afraid to take risks, she is careful to remain true to the hearts of some of literature’s most beloved fictional creations.

As cherished as the original story of the March sisters is, it is certainly not as modern as we may hope --- gender roles play a huge part in LITTLE WOMEN, and though the girls are always encouraged to follow their dreams, the effects of society are unignorable. In MEG & JO, Kantra imagines sisters living in their own world, one where they can become chefs, work for Louis Vuitton and even attract the attention of men to whom they are not already betrothed. Placing her characters on a more fully fleshed-out stage allows Kantra to push them in new and original directions and sets the scene for even more journeys of self-discovery. Jo in particular (a lifelong favorite of mine) stays true to her namesake while pushing her character arc to the limits by exploring love, career and emotional trauma in ways that were just not possible in Alcott’s time. It is occasionally a jarring distinction from the original, but a lively and enjoyable one.

Those who have never read LITTLE WOMEN and have only seen the film adaptations will not be left confused by this creative retelling, but I do recommend reading the original before delving into MEG & JO, if only to give yourself the room to recognize all the meticulous ways that Kantra has updated and rejuvenated the story. Whether you’re a Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy fan, you’re sure to find something to love in this delightful reimagining --- and please be on the lookout for Kantra’s next book, featuring Beth and Amy.