Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet
Published by Clarion Books on November 29, 2022
ISBN: 0358567351
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads

Jo Porter’s mother has inherited an old farmhouse in Kansas. A lifelong lover of “Little Women”, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to make a living while sharing her obsession with the world. Only for Jo, it’s just soul sucking utter humiliation. She and her two sisters, Meg and Amy, along with “Marmee” perform in their family’s live theater production along with the often re-cast “sister” Beth, cute boy friend “Laurie” and occasional other side characters, including the cute boy next door. When her mother arranges for a New York based journalist (and her cute son) to come to Kansas to do a story on their so-called tourist attraction, Jo’s humiliation and desire to be free of her family’s odd business deepens.

This quick reading rom-com has all the elements you’d expect – funny references to the original Alcott book, witty dialogue, hook ups, break ups, and teen angst. And while this is a nice light-hearted read, the author does explore some of the bigger issues that teens face, including family loyalty, self-respect, bouncing back from mistakes, and knowing what you want your future to look like. There was brief mention of darker, harder issues facing one of the sisters, but these were unfortunately glossed over towards the end of the book, which was a shame.

A fun read recommended for grades 8 and up.

Reviewed by Lee Remick, York Middle School