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Summary
Summary
In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This powerful Little Women remix follows four young Black sisters coming of age during the American Civil War, reframing a much-beloved tale outside of its original, exclusively lily-white perspective.
North Carolina, 1863 . As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedpeople'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.
Praise for So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix
"Morrow's ability to take the lingering stain of slavery on American history and use it as a catalyst for unbreakable love and resilience is flawless . That she has remixed a canonical text to do so only further illuminates the need to critically question who holds the pen in telling our nation's story ." -- Booklist , starred review
" Bethany C. Morrow's prose is a sharpened blade in a practiced hand, cutting to the core of our nation's history. ... A devastatingly precise reimagining and a joyful celebration of sisterhood. A narrative about four young women who unreservedly deserve the world, and a balm for wounds to Black lives and liberty ." --Tracy Deonn, New York Times- bestselling author of Legendborn
"A tender and beautiful retelling that will make you fall in love with the foursome all over again ." --Tiffany D. Jackson, New York Times -bestselling author of White Smoke and Grown
The Remixed Classics Series
A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee
So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow
Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi
What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore
My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron
Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb Roehrig
Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix by Cherie Dimaline
Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa
Author Notes
Bethany C. Morrow is a national bestselling author. Her young adult novels include A Song Below Water , A Chorus Rises , and the Little Women remix, So Many Beginnings , and she is editor/contributor to the young adult anthology Take The Mic , which won the 2020 ILA Social Justice in Literature award. Her adult novels include Mem, and the forthcoming social horror, Cherish Farrah . Her work has been featured in The LA Times, Forbes, Bustle, Buzzfeed, and more. She is included on USA TODAY's list of 100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--In this skillful retelling of Little Women, Morrow reimagines the lives of the Alcott sisters through multiple lenses. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are four African American sisters rebuilding their lives after the Civil War. Meg wonders if her dreams of a husband and home are out of reach. Jo needs to find the courage to use her voice to further the cause of saving the colony built by the newly emancipated. Beth's health issues may require an unimaginable trip, and Amy simply wants to chart her own course through the medium of dance. The bonds of sisterhood are tested amid the backdrop of a country trying to forge a new path forward. Although the chains of slavery have been removed, the sisters find that they are still operating under a system that considers them not up to the task of governing their own lives. The constraints of class, race, gender, and the fragile nature of emancipation affect all four sisters in different ways. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy support one another as they summon the courage to continue rebuilding and forging a new future. Readers learn about the tenuous nature of Reconstruction, clashes between the newly emancipated and those born free, and the repatriation efforts of the American Colonization Society. The fragility of the hope held by emancipated African Americans is palpable in this narrative. VERDICT This title is ideal for public and school libraries looking for diverse retellings of classic stories.--Desiree Thomas, Worthington Lib., OH
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this reinvention of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 classic, Morrow highlights with impressive acuity the four March sisters, Black young women who come of age in the shadow of the American Civil War. After being emancipated by President Lincoln's Proclamation in 1863, the Marches build a home on Roanoke Island, a budding Freedpeople Colony. Irrepressible adoptive daughter Amethyst, 14, longs to be the center of attention; levelheaded seamstress Bethlehem, 16, battles an unknown illness; tempestuous builder Joanna, 17, pursues writing; and Meg the teacher, 19, longs to marry. The family's passionate contributions to the Union war effort are disrupted by the arrival of Joseph Williams, "a handsome, young Black man... from up north" who was "born free." Suddenly, all four sisters must confront the challenges of building happy lives amid the ruins of the past. Via delicately written characterizations, each March woman exemplifies the notion that the wounds of bondage don't disappear simply because freedom is at hand, and the racist catalyst of enslavement doesn't disappear with the stroke of a pen, as a beloved story gains new meaning through the lens of enduring Black resilience, love, and hope. Back matter includes an author's note. Ages 13--up. (Sept.)
Booklist Review
It's 1863, and though the war between the Union and the Confederacy rages on, there is a distinct peace the March sisters hold in the knowledge that they are on the other side of the old life, of slavery. In this reimagining of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Morrow invites readers into the lives of four emancipated sisters living in the freedpeoples' colony of Roanoke Island in North Carolina. Meg's ultimate desire is a family of her own; Jo gives voice to the newly emancipated through her powerful, opinionated writing; Beth uses her extraordinary seamstress skills to make beauty from painful relics of the past; and Amy masters dance styles once considered off-limits to Black people. Together, they wonder, is freedom something to be simply declared? Or is it a mindset to be learned and practiced? While readers will recognize shades of the original text, Morrow's exploration of notions of freedom, voice, and worthiness becomes far more powerful when enmeshed with the experiences of being Black, a woman, and formerly enslaved. The lyrical air of joy in the sisters' relationships is also heightened by the uniqueness of their journeys and the support they give one another along the way. Morrow's ability to take the lingering stain of slavery on American history and use it as a catalyst for unbreakable love and resilience is flawless. That she has remixed a canonical text to do so only further illuminates the need to critically question who holds the pen in telling our nation's story.
