My parents gave this book to me for Christmas when I was just a kid – I believe it’s been sitting on my bookshelf for over 15 years, neglected and unread. I’ve seen the movie over twenty times and count it as one of my favorites, but somehow just never got around to picking up the book. After reading the first Twilight novel, I was in the mood for something more… ‘wholesome’ and challenging, and December seemed like the right month to take on Little Women, in all its classic, family-centered goodness. And I’m so glad that I did. I just finished this book by the light of our Christmas tree, and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It’s not a page-turner, and there were a few overly verbacious (is that a word?) chapters that were difficult to get through, but all in all, I really enjoyed this book and felt like the holiday season was the perfect time to read it. I loved being transported into the March family’s living room, sensing the warmth of sisterly love and motherly care. And while Marmee’s infinite wisdom and the girls’ fixation on morality may have seemed a bit much at times, I think that’s ok – sometimes the family unit needs to ‘idealized’ a little bit, considering the sad examples of crumbling families that we’re currently bombarded with in the modern media. And so this book gets two thumbs up, with a bonus point for the fact that Louisa May Alcott seemed like quite an exceptional woman.