Jo's Boys

Today I finished the last of the Little Women series, "Jo's Boys."  It is amazing to me how you can read a book again for probably about the 4th or 5th time and still get so much out of it.  This beautiful story takes place about 10 years after Little Men.  It won't make any sense unless you read Little Men first.  Jo's old Plumfield school has blossomed into a small college which all three living March sisters take an active hand in.  The story continues for almost all the boys in Little Men as well as Jo, Meg, and Amy's children.  There are some really beautiful passages that just warm my heart every time I read them.  There were some lessons in the story that I really needed this time around.  One thing I love about Louisa May Alcott and particularly this book is the way she writes her women characters and there is one particular chapter where the women of the college get together for a sewing group and the advice that is given to these girls means so much more to me now that I have several teenage girls that I am helping along in life.  I would have to say again that Jo and Dan's story is again my favorite.  Dan is the orphan that Jo adopted in her heart and has tried for years to help.  If you can make it through a certain talk that Jo and Dan have towards the end of the book without crying, more power to you.  Again, it has taught me so much about being a future parent and a leader of young women.  I can highly recommend this last book in the March family saga.  Even today when I closed it I was wishing that she would have written more March family books.  My mind was racing through all three books about other stories that might be told by a Louisa May Alcott enthusiast.  Consequently...writing one of them also happens to be on my 101 things in 1001 days list.  :)