Jo's Boys: How They Turned Out (Classic Louisa May Alcott) Paperback – 10 Nov. 2017

this book comes as an a4 print, the dated decor is just a photocopy, really angry as i bought this as a present

Louisa May Alcott was one of my favorite girlhood authors, and Little Women is still one of my all-time favorites. But although I have read it several times (as well as listened to an excellent audio version), I have never re-read the sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys since my initial reading of them at about age 12.I recently obtained audio copies of both of these books and anticipated listening to them as eagerly as my first reading, since after so many years I really remembered nothing at all about them. And while Little Men was merely satisfactory (more about that in my review of that book) Jo's Boys proved to be an enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to the March family saga.Although not quite as captivating as Little Women, still it shares many similarities. Taking place 10 years after the end of Little Men, it continues the stories of the young men of Plumfield as they each seek to find their place in the world. So while the narrow focus of Little Men on children and its exclusive setting of Plumfield made it the dullest book of the trilogy, in Jo's Boys Alcott again returns to a wider setting as she recounts the adventures and misadventures of the various young men and women introduced in Little Men in settings as varied as Austria, a Kansas prison, and of course, dear old Plumfield, now transformed into Lawrence College.Fans of Little Women will be glad that Jo, Meg, Amy and Laurie, after an almost total absence in Little Men, are again center stage. In fact, Alcott worked in a bit of autobiographical elements as "Mrs. Jo" has now become a famous author, who writes stories for young girls, and who struggles with the trials and tribulations of celebrity-hood. She also works in some of the current elements of the times in which she wrote, as the young ladies discuss higher education and careers for women, as well as suffrage.There are only a few weaknesses in Jo's Boys, none of them major. A couple -- namely Emil's relentless use of nautical jargon and Jo's frequent lapses into Marmee-esque moralizing -- carried over from Little Men. Although I am glad that Alcott didn't give everyone a happily-ever-after ending in Jo's Boys, still I felt that the end of the book came a bit too abruptly, almost as though she just got tired of writing it.Although this is a bit no-frills as audio books go -- no introductory music or announcer, for instance -- still it is an excellent production. Tantor doesn't always have the best narrators, but I must say that Tavia Gilbert did a fine job on this one.

The story is for five stars worth of wonderful Louisa May Alcott. This sequel to "Little Men" is set ten years after the first book and follows her "Little Men" as the become young men. HOWEVER, this paper back format and send about 11" x 13" and the font is rather small, hence the loss of a star.

I bought this particular copy because it was listed under the description of one which matched two L.M. Alcott books I already owned. Unfortunately, this book did NOT match the set I had, which was a big disappointment. The book itself was in good condition, but I feel misled since I expected to use it to add to a current collection.