A heartwarming tale of family with just the right touch of romance. ~ Under the Covers

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If Little Women is your forever comfort classic, Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra is the modern retelling that understands the assignment without trying to cosplay the original line-by-line. It’s family-forward, feelings-forward, and quietly satisfying in that bonding and healing way.

If you’re starting your Virginia Kantra reading journey, make sure you stop by the Virginia Kantra author guide for her complete works and the March Sisters series guide. so you have the books in order. Plus some extra fun stuff from the author.

What is Meg & Jo about?

The March sisters are grown, scattered, and struggling in very modern ways. Jo’s NYC journalism dream implodes, leaving her piecing it together in the gig economy, while Meg has the picture-perfect suburban life that suddenly feels too small. When their mom’s illness brings everyone back to North Carolina for the holidays, sisterhood becomes the lifeline.

Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra Book Review

Little Women is one of my favorite classics.  When I saw that Virginia Kantra, whom I’ve read before and enjoyed her books, was releasing a contemporary retelling of it, I was all over it!  This story as the title suggests is about two sisters, Meg and Jo.  Meg is feeling stuck in a rut in her marriage and looking for something different that gives more meaning to her life.  Jo is an aspiring chef who is also unsettled in her life.

Now, this is a loose retelling but I think the author did a really good job at taking some key points from the original and adapting them into this contemporary story.  I’ve always been a big fan of Jo and actually in this story I couldn’t help but gravitate towards Meg instead.  Her character and her issues were compelling as was her growth through the story.

I think this is also a perfect holiday book as it got plenty of celebration and family, going from Thanksgiving through Christmas.  A heartwarming tale of family with just the right touch of romance.  I am now anxiously awaiting the next book about Beth and Amy!

About the March Sisters series by Virginia Kantra

Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra is Book 1 in Virginia Kantra’s March Sisters series, a contemporary take inspired by Little Women that follows the March sisters as adults. The series continues with Beth and Amy, shifting focus to the other two sisters. Deep dive the March sisters series.

Final Thoughts

What makes Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra work is that it doesn’t treat “growing up” like a single finish line. It’s messy and uneven and sometimes you do get the life you wanted… and then you realize you want different things now. I also love that the sister dynamic is the main romance here, in the sense that the emotional payoff comes from connection, honesty, and showing up for each other when life gets sharp around the edges.

But now let’s talk Little Women. I’m curious, who is your favorite March sister?

Check out the review for the next book in the series, Beth & Amy.

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