Tarissa's Reviews > Becoming Little Women: A Novel about Louisa May at Fruitlands

“Becoming Little Women” is an interesting look on seeing how the famous Alcott family lived – before they became famous in history. The reader is transported to Fruitlands, so you can watch how the family interacted with each other, to see the other main people in their life, and how everyone worked to survive together. Most of the story is based on true fact, coming from diaries, letters, and other surviving documents. That was great! Due to the intense history lessons you're learning here, I think the type of kids that would enjoy this book the most would have to be readers who already like historical fiction, and who have also read some of Louisa's books (namely Little Women, of course). Even though I loved Little Women as child, I don't think I would have so easily fallen into this particular story when I was young, as in some cases, it is a hard story to take in.

The book has such a sad feeling in it. The Alcott family led such a harrowing, poor life. The Fruitlands utopia that Mr. Alcott, ever the idealist, had planned and attempted to create is failing. Mrs. Alcott, being much more practical, can't stand to stay there another winter with the girls, even if it means separating from her husband. With all these conflicting issues, the story feels more grown-up than a basic run-of-the-mill book you'd find in the children's section (that is not to say that children won't enjoy it though, because it is intended to be a kid-friendly story, with one exception)...

Note to the discerning reader & parents: There is a scene where Louisa accidentally sees a naked man – which is fairly descriptive of the situation, whether one wants to read all about it or not. Later, both her mother and father have to check in with her, to make sure she's recovered from the shocking experience... Also throughout the story, there is a low/mild curse word used – by one of the male characters in particular.

Overall? If you're a true fan of Louisa, this is worth a read.

My 4th book is complete for the Louisa May Alcott reading challenge on www.inthebookcase.blogspot.com.